28mm f/1.8G and 35mm f/1.8G??

§am

Senior Member
As some of you know from some other posts, I'm hoping to pick up a 28mm f/1.8G early March, as I think it'll compliment my current lens line up quite well.

It was a tough choice as I was contemplating the 35mm f/1.8G for a long time, and prices had just come down to £~145 (plus £20 cashback from Nikon on top), making it a very tempting lens to have given the price. However, with the 28mm a definite buy for me in March, I chose to forget all about the 35mm - having a 28mm, 35mm & 50mm seemed to introduce too much choice into the equation when dipping into my camera bag.

BUT...!!!

I've just had an email saying I could pick up the 35mm for an amazingly low price of £~105 (after cashback), which has now thrown me off my purchasing decisions.

The question is -for that price (and considering I am still after the 28mm), do I splash the cash out, or hold back and spend it elsewhere??

(I hate NAS - it plays with your mind too much and empties your wallet even faster!)
 

gqtuazon

Gear Head
Hi Sam. There is no such thing as you can only have one or the other IMO. :cool: Get both to satisfy your NAS. I have both and they come in handy when it comes to low light situation.
 

stmv

Senior Member
my Prime lens go from 15 - 20 - 28 - 50 - etc,,

I have one old manual 35 lens, but I hardly use it, I find the 28 covers the range enough, so,, I have not been tempted,,, but if the price is right... sure.
 

§am

Senior Member
This is my fear... £100 spent on a 35mm which might not get as much use once I get the 28mm.
Or £100 spent towards the 28mm instead, or even towards a new flash!

It's silly cheap price that keeps calling out to me...
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
You're shooting DX, so I look at it this way as a primarily FX shooter, "Would I have room for a 35mm and a 50mm in my bag?" OK, it's really a 42mm and a 53mm, but you get the idea. I think the answer is yes, and given that a good prime doesn't seem to take a serious hit on the used market, if you get the 28mm you may not take a huge hit on reselling the 35mm at your price. That said, given that you have the 18-55mm zoom to cover the spots in between I'd wait and make the investment in the 28mm as early as possible. The difference isn't that significant, and if you ever step up to an FX body that's one less lens you're going to have to move.

But who the heck am I to be the voice of reason?! LOL
 

§am

Senior Member
Now you've confused me...
35mm & 50mm = 53mm & 75mm (full frame equivalent), but then you go on to mention the 42mm & 53mm (28mm & 35mm crop equivalent).

But I think what you meant was, hold fire on the 35mm for now and get the 28mm ASAP, but if I didn't, then the 35mm is still a good investment until I did, as I could get a good resale on it...?
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Sorry about that. I meant to say 28 & 35, not 35 and 50. I had started with a personal example as an FX shooter and then deleted it, but it left the 50 stuck in my head.
 

§am

Senior Member
Jake - makes so much more sense now :p

Rick - I already decided that the 85mm f/1.8 for me is not a lens I need at the moment. Maybe one for the future sometime :)

I have decided for the price I can get the 35mm for (and current resale value) it makes no sense not to pick one up for now.
I'll get the 28mm in March too and that'll be my lens budget gone for the next 6-12 months :(

Problem with NAS - you have to make sure you've earned enough brownie points with your other half :p
 

Alex66

New member
If you get the 35mm perhaps its worth considering the 85mm G or perhaps a used 17/18-50 f2.8 zoom? I have a 28mm2.8D and the 35mm DX I rarely use the 28mm but for £5 I could not pass it up. The 85mm is very nice on DX near a 135mm in FX, apart from the 1.4 are there any 24mm or less lenses with a built in motor? 24mm makes a nice 35mm ish equivalent on DX and would quite nicely complement your 35 and 50 pairing.
 

Alex66

New member
OOPs did not see the comment about the 85 my bad. Another alternative what about the 35mm a used D80 or D90 or D200 and a 24mm2.8 D think it can be had for less that a 28mm G and the body would open up a whole world of quite nice well priced lenses? After some one stole my D5000 I went for a D90 over the D5100 so I could use the older screw drive AF lenses.
 

§am

Senior Member
I'd love another body, especially one that would let me use some of the non AF-S lenses, but I'd be hard pushed to use both that and my D5100 body.
The choices you've mentioned Alex are certainly ones I'd consider if I was going down the D90 type route, but alas for the forseeable future, the only body I'll be having is the D5100 :(

And I'm not at a stage where I'm even close to confident to manually focus (I've given it a few tries and failed - well failed when taking pics of kids etc, but stills of fruit and so on - manage that ok!)

Who knows, by the time March comes and I go to purchase my 28mm, brownie points may not be aplenty anymore and I'll have saved myself some cash!! :p
 
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