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Possible Duplicate:
What do all those cryptic number and letter codes in a lens name mean?

Nikon 50mm f/1.8D

Nikon 35mm f/1.8G

what does the D and G distinction mean on these lenses and why does it matter?

Community
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kacalapy
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    Duplicate: http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/496/what-does-all-those-parts-in-a-lens-name-mean – mattdm Dec 27 '10 at 19:21
  • This is definitely a duplicate of the question matt noted. I'm closing as a duplicate. – jrista Dec 28 '10 at 01:56

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G means "gelded" which means there is no aperture ring and so the aperture can only be adjusted on the camera itself. D means "distance information" and helps the camera to know what it is focusing on based on distance.

http://www.ehow.com/about_5385361_nikon-vs-lenses.html

Sarah Haren
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    I highly doubt that Nikon chose to label their lenses with a pejorative term like that. More likely that's an after-the-fact joke explanation made by a clever but unhappy customer. – mattdm Dec 27 '10 at 19:13
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    In this context the G(elded) lens is also a D. See http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/nikortek.htm#g ... Ken also explains the other limitations of G. – Leonidas Dec 27 '10 at 19:18
  • While I tend to agree with Matt about the naming, I do think it's an apt description for it. – Joanne C Dec 28 '10 at 01:09