Lens question

Smith

Hi there!

I'm thinking, should I buy nikon af 50mm f1.8d OR af-s dx 35mm f1.8g? Or should I buy both & why?

Thanks!

ImageX Photography

Smith wrote: »

Hi there!

I'm thinking, should I buy nikon af 50mm f1.8d OR af-s dx 35mm f1.8g? Or should I buy both & why?

Thanks!

What kind of camera do you have? A 50mm on a DX camera is the same as a 75mm on a full frame camera. You want that much focal length?

I have a DX camera and went for the 35mm 1.8. No regrets.

pickerbw

I have the 35mm as well, and love it. I got it back in May and has only been off the camera twice since then. I think it's a great focal length on DX, because it's pretty close to normal (52.5mm @ 35mm equivalent). I honestly can't think of any faults with it. Most of my photography is just taking pictures of my family, and it serves that purpose well. Here's a recent picture I took with it.



The 50mm is good if you want a more traditional portrait focal length, but I think the 35mm is more versatile.

Hope that helps.

Smith

That's a very good photo, pickerbw. I like it. Thanks for the responses, I believe it's for d90 machine, and it's very important for me to choose. I guess I could try 35mm.

pickerbw

Smith wrote: »

That's a very good photo, pickerbw. I like it. Thanks for the responses, I believe it's for d90 machine, and it's very important for me to choose. I guess I could try 35mm.

Thanks. The photo was taken with a D90 as well. I'm pretty sure it was wide open, so even at f/1.8 it's relatively sharp. If you're still not sure you could try renting both, each of which can be had for $20/week or less from borrowlenses.com.

Smith

I definitely agree! Renting is actually a wise investment I believe, and I don't think many people realize that. I mean, why buy many lenses if they're going to be sitting there in your room and not using them? I could make a portfolio (or expand) out of various lenses such as telephoto, fisheye, zoom, etc. I think it's like, why buy Lamborghini when you can rent it, ya know? But yeah, I definitely need a wideangle lens, I think it's a must own for every camera out there.

InsuredDisaster

It depends on what sort of shooting you do, and whether you prefer wider or more telephoto. If you have a zoom (say an 18-55) do you tend to shoot more around the 35mm or the 50 mm mark? That would probably help a lot.

For me, I'd go with the 35mm over the 50. I think the 50 might be a bit much on the DX format. I hardly ever used my 50 unless I needed the wide open aperture for some reason. (I have a 50f1.4 and a 35f2) This year so far the 35mm has been used for around 1,300 shots where as the 50 has only been used about400 shots so if you are anything like me. . . .

I wouldn't really buy both in your case since both are 1.8. Unless you plan on being in some situation where you can not move any closer to your subject but still need a fast lens, then just take a few steps closer with the 35mm and you should be all set. I find its usually a lot harder to move back though so another reason why I'd go with the 35mm.

I'm not sure you'd consider the 35mm "wide" on the DX format. I always was considering getting a 20mm prime for my DX camera.


Anyway, have fun testing if you do end up renting.

ImageX Photography

Smith wrote: »

I definitely agree! Renting is actually a wise investment I believe, and I don't think many people realize that. I mean, why buy many lenses if they're going to be sitting there in your room and not using them? I could make a portfolio (or expand) out of various lenses such as telephoto, fisheye, zoom, etc. I think it's like, why buy Lamborghini when you can rent it, ya know? But yeah, I definitely need a wideangle lens, I think it's a must own for every camera out there.

The 35mm is not a wide angle lense. If you want wide... go with a Tokina 11-16 or a Nikon 12-24. I like the Tokina because it's the best super wide angle lens available. Just got one yesterday.

Since you have a D90 you need to use the 1.5X crop factor. What ever focal length the lens is..... multiply that by 1.5 for the true focal length on your camera.

InsuredDisaster

ImageX Photography wrote: »

The 35mm is not a wide angle lense. If you want wide... go with a Tokina 11-16 or a Nikon 12-24. I like the Tokina because it's the best super wide angle lens available. Just got one yesterday.

Since you have a D90 you need to use the 1.5X crop factor. What ever focal length the lens is..... multiply that by 1.5 for the true focal length on your camera.

Haven't used the Tokina (but have heard good things about it) One of my most used lenses on DX was my Sigma 10-20. The only downside of this lens (and many of the wide angle lenses for DX) was the general slowness of it. It is not a lens you want to show up with to take a picture of a dark alley, which is why I was looking at getting a 20mm 2.8 prime. On DX, this would be roughly equivalent to a 30mm lens on a full frame camera. Now you are getting into "wide" angle lenses. Not quite as fast as a 35mm 1.8 though.

ImageX Photography

InsuredDisaster wrote: »

Haven't used the Tokina (but have heard good things about it) One of my most used lenses on DX was my Sigma 10-20. The only downside of this lens (and many of the wide angle lenses for DX) was the general slowness of it. It is not a lens you want to show up with to take a picture of a dark alley, which is why I was looking at getting a 20mm 2.8 prime. On DX, this would be roughly equivalent to a 30mm lens on a full frame camera. Now you are getting into "wide" angle lenses. Not quite as fast as a 35mm 1.8 though.

That's why for me.... the 2.8 Tokina was the way to go. It's fast and wide! I ALMOST bought a Tokina 12-24 but it's an F4. The deal fell through... thankfully! I do also own the 35 1.8 but it doesn't get used much. I have a new 17-50 2.8 that will be on my camera most of the time now. I'm covered with 2.8 from 11mm all the way to 200mm. I'm only missing 50mm-70mm.... and I can live with that... for now.