35mm or 50mm for the Nikon D5000

[blacklilly]

Hi! Apologies if this question is a near repeat of any other thread. I've had a look through the forums and articles, but didn't find anything that quite matched what I think I need!

I've just recently purchased a Nikon D5000, and had grand plans for getting a 50mm lens - namely the Nikkor f1.8, but found out that it doesn't have autofocus with a D5000. I want a prime lens as I plan to work on improving my candid and portrait shots, but also want to do a lot of band shots, so the need to focus quickly is quite important.

For both still and moving subjects, which lens would be a better choice - the 35mm f/1.8G or the 50mm f/1.4?

Thanks in advance for your help!!

[mattdm]

Beyond autofocus, there's something else to think about: the 35mm is a "normal" lens, giving you a moderate field of view and perspective roughly comparable to what the world looks like to the human eye. This is very versatile and can be used in all sorts of different situations.

50mm is a short telephoto range. Decent for portraits, but kind of cramped for other uses in the house, and not much telephoto reach outdoors.

(You probably already know this, but: the 50mm f/1.4D won't auto-focus on your D5000, and since the D5000 has a mediocre/poor viewfinder, manual focus is going to be a pain. (You literally won't be able to tell where the focus plane is, no matter how good your eyes are.) You'll want the newer, more expensive f/1.4G.)

The 35mm f/1.8G isn't, by the way, a great lens. It's a great lens for the price, and gives you speed and flexibility that you can't otherwise get for $200. But great Nikon lenses are about 5-10× that price.

[Exiztence]

Originally Posted by mattdm

(You probably already know this, but: the 50mm f/1.4D won't auto-focus on your D5000, and since the D5000 has a mediocre/poor viewfinder, manual focus is going to be a pain. (You literally won't be able to tell where the focus plane is, no matter how good your eyes are.) You'll want the newer, more expensive f/1.4G.)

The D5000 has a focus range meter function (I Don't know what it's called in English) which you can turn on and use in the A and S modes. This meter will indicate whether the object you're aiming at is in focus and what way you'll have to turn the focus ring to get a good focus.
(It works just like the light-meter in the M mode.) So you don't have to rely on your eyes at all.
It's still hard to focus on moving objects, but with practice you'll be able to focus quickly on still ones.
I still wouldn't recommend the lens for shooting a band wide-open. And for you it'll be only useful for portraits I guess

The 35mm will be great for candid shots and a slightly wider view of the stage, but you'll have to get quite close for portraits.
I think in the end you'll need both the 35mm and the 50mm (or 85mm for that matter) in AF-S format to be ready for all shots.

I don't know what lenses you have right now, but if you have a 18-55ish lens already You could try to get a AF-S 50mm or 85mm first and the 35mm later on.
If you're on a budget or don't have a basic zoom already I'd get the 35mm which will be useful as well.

Ah decisions, decisions

[dbevisjr]

I'll throw one other consideration into the fray. Your D5000 I think has a 1.6x crop factor. Shooting with a 35mm focal length your field of view will be comparable to shooting at 56mm focal length with a full frame camera. And shooting with a 50mm lens on your camera will then compare to 80mm focal length on a full frame camera. I think the auto focus is an important issue since I have a D60 and it is a BEAR to focus manually. Learning to use the meter, the green dot in the lower left corner and rapidly select a focus point is critical for accurate manual focus on these cameras.

[blacklilly]

Thanks for the information so far! There is indeed quite a lot to consider.

@Exiztence - I got the double zoom kit when I bought the camera, which gives me the 18-55mm lens and the 55-200mm. I'm currently edging towards the 35mm, but I'm gonna take a look at the other suggestions.

Another thought, if not a Nikkor lens, what other makes would you recommend?

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by mattdm

Beyond autofocus, there's something else to think about: the 35mm is a "normal" lens, giving you a moderate field of view and perspective roughly comparable to what the world looks like to the human eye. This is very versatile and can be used in all sorts of different situations.

50mm is a short telephoto range. Decent for portraits, but kind of cramped for other uses in the house, and not much telephoto reach outdoors.

[...]

The 35mm f/1.8G isn't, by the way, a great lens. It's a great lens for the price, and gives you speed and flexibility that you can't otherwise get for $200. But great Nikon lenses are about 5-10× that price.

First point: I've harped on and on about this: the PERSPECTIVE of the lens doesnt change, only the field of view. It gives you a similar field of view as a telephoto lens, but the same perspective of a 50mm lens. Try it yourself: shoot with both eyes open with a 50mm and a 35mm lens and you'll see a difference.

Second: the 35/1.8G has some flaws (namely some chromatic abberation wide open, which is a common issue with fast primes), but it's still a VERY good lens.

[Exiztence]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

First point: I've harped on and on about this: the PERSPECTIVE of the lens doesnt change, only the field of view. It gives you a similar field of view as a telephoto lens, but the same perspective of a 50mm lens. Try it yourself: shoot with both eyes open with a 50mm and a 35mm lens and you'll see a difference.

That's when you take a photo with a full-frame only.
You'll have to compare the photo's of the 35mm with a crop-sensor and a 50mm full-frame.
They'll be exactly the same. You'll take the photo from the same spot, so it has the same perspective. 35mm = (almost) equal to 50mm when on crop, so FOV is the same.
You'll only notice difference in DOF

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Second: the 35/1.8G has some flaws (namely some chromatic abberation wide open, which is a common issue with fast primes), but it's still a VERY good lens.

The D5000 has a built-in CA correction. So no problems with that.

I think the 35mm is a good one to start with and you'll enjoy the freedom (yes, freedom!!) of a prime lens.

An other thing you could do is: Go through all your photo's you've taken recently and look what focal length you used the most. It'll be an indication of what focal length you'll enjoy to have on a prime.
It'll be an indication: Have in mind that with zooms you could've been lazy and zoomed in instead of taking a few steps closer to your subject. So you could also take one with some mm less than indicated.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by Exiztence

That's when you take a photo with a full-frame only.
You'll have to compare the photo's of the 35mm with a crop-sensor and a 50mm full-frame.
They'll be exactly the same. You'll take the photo from the same spot, so it has the same perspective. 35mm = (almost) equal to 50mm when on crop, so FOV is the same.
You'll only notice difference in DOF

[...]

The D5000 has a built-in CA correction. So no problems with that.

I think the 35mm is a good one to start with and you'll enjoy the freedom (yes, freedom!!) of a prime lens.

What you're describing in your first section is a field of view difference. I'm taking about perspective. If you shoot both a 50mm and a 35mm lens on a crop body, you'll notice that the 50mm lens represents subjects the same size they are to your naked eye. On a 35mm lens the objects in the viewfinder will be smaller than the are to the naked eye.

That's a field of view equivalent: taking one image at 50mm on full-frame and one at 35mm on a crop sensor will yield essentially the same field of view, but a subject in the centre of the frame will be smaller on the image in the 35mm image.

That's PERSPECTIVE, not FIELD OF VIEW.

As for your second point: The D5000's CA correction extends only to JPGs, not RAW. If you shoot RAW, as you should, then the CA correction is useless.

[mattdm]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

First point: I've harped on and on about this: the PERSPECTIVE of the lens doesnt change, only the field of view. It gives you a similar field of view as a telephoto lens, but the same perspective of a 50mm lens. Try it yourself: shoot with both eyes open with a 50mm and a 35mm lens and you'll see a difference.

I didn't say the perspective of the lens changed, did I? I said that (on the original poster's 1.5×-crop camera) the lens has a "normal" perspective.

In your example: to get the same framing (i.e. fit the same stuff in your field of view) with a 50mm lens as with a 35mm lens, you have to move back. That changes the perspective. (In this case, since you're further back, it would be compressed, as things in the distance are.)

Since the lens is a "normal", what you get with a print viewed at a natural distance is roughly the perspective you'd get just looking at the subject.

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Second: the 35/1.8G has some flaws (namely some chromatic abberation wide open, which is a common issue with fast primes), but it's still a VERY good lens.

It's a great lens, for the price.

[vandergus]

What you're describing in your first section is a field of view difference. I'm taking about perspective. If you shoot both a 50mm and a 35mm lens on a crop body, you'll notice that the 50mm lens represents subjects the same size they are to your naked eye. On a 35mm lens the objects in the viewfinder will be smaller than the are to the naked eye.

This is really a magnification thing that you're seeing, not a change in perspective.

That's a field of view equivalent: taking one image at 50mm on full-frame and one at 35mm on a crop sensor will yield essentially the same field of view, but a subject in the centre of the frame will be smaller on the image in the 35mm image.

Have you actually done this cause I'm pretty sure it won't come out that way (Assuming you are the same distance from the subject). As mattdm has already pointed out, perspective is determined by your position relative to the subject, not by the focal length of the lens. Therefore, a 35mm lens on a DX body will allow you to achieve similar perspectives to a 50mm lens on an FX camera. True story.