35mm AND 50mm 1.8g?

Hi all,

Been looking around for advice and can't seem to get many views on it. I recently bought the 50mm f1.8 g lens for my D3100 and love it, portraits are superb.

However, I am also thinking of getting the 35mm mainly for indoor, low light party situations (such as Xmas) where there will be groups of 3 or more people in frame.

I took the 50 out last week and someone took a photo of me, the wife and kids and had to step back about 4 metres to get us all in frame!

Am looking at the 35mm f1.8 G; my question is; are they too similar to justify the purchase or should I spend a bit more and get something like the 18-105mm?

I've got the kit lens but it's just not quick enough for indoor use without a flash; that being said I do have a Nissin di466 which will solve that but sometimes I need to take pics quickly and not have to put the flash on all the time.

I'm not likely to do landscapes, macros,etc; just nice family shots of the kids playing and people in a party situation.

Any thoughts?

Many thanks,

Ryan

I have it and it's a great lens for the money. I'm about to go FX and will be getting the 50 1.8g to do the same job.

Have a look at the flickr group to see how it performs in the real world.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/nikon35/

I've been debating the same, "is the 35mm too close to the 50mm" and the questioned has cropped up a few times in my head too. I love the 50mm, it is an amazing lens, and it produces some amazing pictures (even in my amateur hands).

However, I'm slowly edging towards the 28mm f/1.8G, but at over three times the price, it's a slow movement indeed.
Another possible (but way over my budget) is the 17-55mm f/2.8G..... seven times the price of the 35mm f1.8G, but gives you a fast zoom that could replace your kit one.

I think the 18-105mm is a good lens, but might not be such a great portrait lens compared to the 28/35/50mm primes (then again, there aren't many zooms that can equal the IQ of a prime).

It all depends on how much lens swapping you're willing to do at the time and your budget of course

One thing to try is, stick your kit lens on, and see what kind of distances you need to move back to get the 35mm and 28mm ranges in.
This might help sway you towards a particular lens

Thanks both, I have tried to stick with the 35mm range on the kit but at f.5 it struggles indoors with low light, unless I have the flash attached that is.

I have a friend who said to stick with the 18-55 because if you were shooting groups you'd have to open the aprture to f.5 anyway to get everyone in focus so wouldn't need the extra stops the 35 provides. He has a really good point except he shoots weddings and his groups are probably 5+ people where as I'm shooting family members, probably a max of 3 at a time so could get away with 2.8/4 and then the extra shutter speed would be a blessing, especially when I'm trying to take shots of fast moving kids. I was silly to take the 50mm out with me; I had to run about 20 yards in front of the wife and kids in order to get them all in frame as they were walking; that's when I thought a 35 would be really handy.

Screw it, at £144 it's not exactly a huge risk, they still have a strong re-sale value on eBay.

I would love the 28 and all the others you mentioned but the 18-105 really was the only other one in my price range at the moment; I'm very new to photography and have just spent the best part of £500 on the camera (D3100) the flash and the 50mm prime all in a relatively short space of time.

Cheers both, I'll let you know how I get on!

RyanP - if you're gonna splash out £144 on the 35mm, don't forget there's a £20 cashback Nikon promotion on too, so even more reason to get it

Nikon Cashback - United Kingdom Current offers

yup! bought yesterday.

Really pleased with it; I'm glad I did, I'm going to do a lot of indoor shooting and although the focal difference isn't huge, it's big enough to make an impact; I no longer have to squeeze myself up against the wall or sofa to get both kids in!

I'll still use the 50 when I think I'm going to be doing more portraits just because the lens is a bit better suited and using the 35mm would have me about 2" away from someone's face which isn't nice.

Cheers all, now to claim the cashback!

Remember DX is on a cropped sensor x (1.5) So that 50mm you had on in your first post is really a 75mm that's why you had to step back 4 meters.

Now you got the 35mm that becomes a 52.5mm Right where you thought you were with the 50mm to start with. That is why your getting the results you getting now.

That 35mm f/1.8 is a little dinky lens that everyone should have in their bag and at the price and the photo's is can do you can't go wrong.

You also can not go wrong with that 18-105mm lens. A lot of people here swear by it. I'm hoping some day some one comes out with the equivalent of it in a f/2.8 version. That lens would never come off my camera

I was thinking that and also aware that the 35 is a DX lens so if I were to upgrade to a full frame one day then I'd have to get rid of the 35 (unless I wanted vignetting of course) but it seems to have a really strong re-sale value and to be honest; although you should never say never, I can't see me changing from my camera for a good while. I've only had the thing 2 weeks as it is!

agreed, I feel the same about the 24-70; that range would cover absolutely everything I'll even want a camera for; it would be my only lens.

At it's current Amazon price of £1,235 though I'd be too scared to leave the house with it.

ryanp said:

I was thinking that and also aware that the 35 is a DX lens so if I were to upgrade to a full frame one day then I'd have to get rid of the 35 (unless I wanted vignetting of course) but it seems to have a really strong re-sale value and to be honest; although you should never say never, I can't see me changing from my camera for a good while. I've only had the thing 2 weeks as it is!

agreed, I feel the same about the 24-70; that range would cover absolutely everything I'll even want a camera for; it would be my only lens.

At it's current Amazon price of £1,235 though I'd be too scared to leave the house with it.

Click to expand...

The other thing with the 24-70 is the size and weight. It's an absolutely stunning lens that gives a certain look to pics like no other, but when it comes to discretion, it's another story. If you want to be less noticed, the 35 is an ideal lens. Try carrying the 24-70 for a full day on a hike and you'll soon find out how nice that little 35 would be to carry.
And the price too... I say if you are just starting out and want to learn, get the 35 1.8 and the 50 1.8. You'll get great value for your money and just have to walk in or out to zoom. Take the left over money and go somewhere with your camera and wife/GF and take more pics.

Best of luck, and enjoy your Nikon!

Thanks Marcel, yep, have both now and will sell the 18-55 on eBay; by the time I took that into account (will probably get c.£45 for that) plus the £35 cashback for my D3100 and the £20 for the 35mm lens, I've only ended up paying about £50 for the 35mm; bargain!

swapping between the 35 and the 50 isn't a real issue, to be honest though, since buying the 35mm on Saturday I haven't taken it off the camera; just waiting for a camera bag from Santa and will confidently take both lenses out with me for parties, walks with the family, etc.

For now, that's me done with lenses, unless I start taking landscapes or macros I can't see what else I would want; I just need to develop my skills and keep learning; never took a photo with a DSLR until I had the D3100 2 weeks ago; I must admit, I've got the photography bug quite badly now!

Thanks for all the comments, help and advice!

Congrats on the two!

I started with a 50 1.8. I quickly realized that it wasn't the lens for me and bought the 35 1.8. Then after about a year, I yearned for the 50's reach again. I mentally snapped for a moment, and bought a Sigma 50mm 1.4. Now, that thing sees more use than my 35 1.8 does :numbness: So, moral of the story, you can't stick to just one. You'll be glad you got both in a while, trust me.

There is loads of 50 or 35mm topics on this forum alone. Enjoy your lenses have fun.


Gav

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk