Nikon 50mm 1.8G or 50mm 1.8D?

So I'm trying to decide whether buying a 1.8G or 1.8D for my Nikon d3100. I know the basic differences, the 1.8 is slightly sharper, the bokeh is a bit better, the color and contrast is slightly better, it's lighter & it's compatible for autofocus with my camera. But it's at least $80 more. That's no problem for me, I'll work for it (keep in mind, I'm a 14 year old girl) but if there's no real difference, I'd rather save that money for a film camera or other things. Even though the manual on the 18-55mm lens sucks, I love manual focusing it. I prefer it way more than auto most of the time. I also used my friends Pentax & she had a 50mm lens on it & it was great & I'm pretty sure it was on manual focus. I really don't know though. I plan to upgrade my camera in the future so maybe the other lens would work on autofocus with it.

You will need the lens that is the AF-S version, so that your entry level D3100 will auto-focus the lens.

The Nikkor "D" would require you to manually focus the lens, although many of us use the electronic rangefinder in the viewfinder to create nicely focused images. It requires you take the time to manually focus the lens, but that will help you become a disciplined photographer.

Since you mention upgrading your camera some time in the future, any of the Nikon D90, D7000, D7100 or better cameras can certainly auto-focus any of the older legacy Nikkor AF lenses

The difference between the 1.8G and the 1.8D are the letters.

Smile!

I don't see the "slightly sharper" and "bokeh is better" part. F/1.8 is f/1.8. The D has an aperture ring while the D doesn't. The G is newer so expect more recent technology on it which makes it a better buy.

I understand why you find the Nikon 18-55mm terrible in manual focus mode. You have tasted a Pentax. It's not just the focusing alone that made the difference. It's the very bright viewfinder that makes it easier to manually focus on a Pentax dSLR.

Some people gush over the joys of manual focus. Try keeping the autofocus switched off on your 18-55mm and see if you agree. If not, the 1.8G AF-S wold be the better choice. Also keep your 18-55mm zoomed to 50mm to see how often that is the focal length of prime lens you want to spend money on.

Always invest in good lenses.

Unless you see an upgrade in your future to a D7xxx, which will focus the "D" version, then buy the G lens. You will likely have the lens for 10years.

Save up until you can get the G version.

If you are wanting to spend the $80 on a film camera, realize that the cost of film and processing is going to far exceed $80, so if you are on a tight budget, you will not likely use the film camera much.

I learned on manual focus 50mm cameras back in the 1970s. But those cameras were vastly superior as they had a "ground glass" focusing screen which aided focusing tremendously.

These days, DSLSs do not have such a thing, so manual focusing is harder. You have to watch the little blinking green light.

Consequently, I never manual focus unless it is needed. And the times manual focus is needed is when the stupid little blinking light can't figure focusing out.

Oh how I wish we had ground glass focusing screens again.