Looking at my first prime purchase for FX format....

10 Gauge

Senior Member
So I'm enjoying every second of my new D750 and 24-120 that it came with, but I just feel like I'm missing something by not having a good bright prime of some sort.

Back when I was on a crop body, my absolute favorite lens for just about everything was my 50 1.4. Now that I'm on a full frame setup, I am eyeballing the 85 1.8. This should give me about the same focal feel as using a 50mm lense on a crop body, right? I was also looking at the 50mm to run on the full frame, but I personally feel that it's going to be wider than I really want.

Is an 85mm a good "all-around" prime lense for a full frame, if I am going to choose just one (at least for the somewhat forseeable future)?
 

Pretzel

Senior Member
The 85mm is a FANTASTIC portrait lens, and Nikon's 85 1.8G lens is one of the sharpest you'll find, especially for the price. If you liked the 50mm on the crop, the 85 will be just a little tighter on your FF, but a very good investment. IMO, of course. As far as the 50mm, it's also a fantastic lens, at being only ~$200, why not get both? ;)
 

10 Gauge

Senior Member
I think you sold me on the 85. I believe I may like the slight bit of added tightness with the 85. I'll definitely look in to the 50 further down the road as well. I think the 85 is going to be more at the focal length I'm looking for, for the time being.
 

10 Gauge

Senior Member
Blah. Mind is going overboard thinking about the options again. Preferably I'd like a 35 & 85 in the bag but after looking at the price of the 35, which seems a bit much for a plastic 1.8, maybe I would be better off just going with the middle ground 50 for right now?

I've read that some people claim the 50 1.8 is actually slightly sharper than the 1.4 when stopped down to 2+. Any truth to that claim?

I'm certainly not opposed to saving ~$300 on today's Amazon order either. Lol.
 
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J-see

Senior Member
I myself prefer the 35mm (ED) above the 50mm. They're both as plastic as the D750 but the 35mm is the sharpest of both. The Sigma is even some better.

The 50mm costs next to nothing so it'd be a shame to NOT have one.
 
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rocketman122

Senior Member
depends what you shoot. id rather go 24/28mm if im going wide to the 35 end. and if im in the 50 end, id rather go to the 85 end for the compression and aesthetic perspective when shooting people. its a basic portrait lens. you can shoot people with 50. but not a face shot. it doesnt look aesthetically pleasing. you can do a group shot of 3-5 half body shot or 6 people full body and it will look kick a@@. personally when I shoot family formals im far back shooting people with my 70-200. usually it comes out to 70mm when theres more than 5 people wide. 4 people I can also shoot vertically and it fits perfectly.

its up to you. looking at your RC car pics on flickr I think the 35 would be better but if youre shooting what youre shooting already then a different focal length may be better to cover your range. dont shoot closeups with the 85 and expect a lot to be in focus. 85 has a small depth of field and if youre shooting closeup of the cars youll be disappointed.
 

10 Gauge

Senior Member
Probably won't be doing any more RC photography unfortunately, have since gotten out of it.

Definitely leaning on the 50mm 1.8 for the time being.
 

singlerosa_RIP

Senior Member
re 50 vs 85...you can always crop down from wide, but you can only back up so far if you're not wide enough. I have the 85 1.8 and the 50 1.4D and find I use the 85 for portraits (when I don't want to lug the 70-200 around) and use the 50 when I need a super-fast lens or when I want to travel ultra light (no grip, no flash, etc.). Mostly, the 24-70 is what's on my 750.
 

10 Gauge

Senior Member
Just thought I'd update.... Ended up going with a 50 and spending the savings on a few extra accessories such as CPL / ND filters for my 24-120, spare batteries, new neck strap, etc.
 
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