50 nifty or 35mm for a d90

[AdamR]

A 35mm lens on a DX camera, is equivalent to a 50mm full frame, right?

If I'm looking for the versatility of a "50 nifty" lens on a DX camera, should I really get a 35mm?

Thanks.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by AdamR

A 35mm lens on a DX camera, is equivalent to a 50mm full frame, right?

If I'm looking for the versatility of a "50 nifty" lens on a DX camera, should I really get a 35mm?

Thanks.

In terms of field of view, yes. It's still VERY different in terms of rendering (how the subject looks), distortion and so on.

[DSJohnson]

I'm in the same boat here. I want a 50mm, but I have a DX camera (D5000) and 50mm on that is equal to about 75mm which is way too tight for my purposes. So I think I'm going to be getting a 35mm.

Have been doing a lot of research and have found that the Nikon 35mm f/1.8 AF-S DX Lens has gotten a lot of really positive reviews... great sharpness even wide open, some distortion at times, and moderately good bokeh, though Sigmas 35mm f/1.4 was referenced a lot as having much better bokeh but definitely not as sharp at the Nikon... so it would depend on what you prefer... smoother bokeh or crisper sharpness.

Nikon is averaging out at $200

[AdamR]

Thanks for the replies!

[flomaster]

35mm F/1.8 For the WIN!

I have it and couldn't be happier, had I bought the 50mm I would have wished i had the 35mm the 50 is just to much for indoors (at my house at least).

35mm = perfection


-=Jason=-

[Odai]

I've got a 50mm 1.8 and the Nikon 35mm f/1.8 AF-S DX Lens I gotta say both of them are great value for money. But in practicality as in a walk around lens and indoors the 35mm is superb.

Very rarely do I take the 35mm off my camera. The results are always great, but it does sometimes turn things a bit purple, not very often but shiny surfaces seem to make this happen. To be honest not really a big problem happens very rarely.

On the other hand while walking around having the 50mm attached to your body forces you to think a bit more about composition and in general to push yourself. I first owned the 50mm helped me develop my composition and creativity.

If I would need to choose which I would buy now out of the two it would still be the 35mm. The 50mm just is too long whilst walking about in new places. But for less than $100 I don't see a reason why not get the 50mm for those portraits.

[Shokinen]

I bought my 35mm last fall and I just posted some example in another thread. I didn't want to overshow them so click on the following link if you want to see some real examples:

What lens should I buy next?

[JessicaO]

When I shot on film I had a 50mm macro and loved it. With my DSLR I didn't know about the crop, got a nifty 50 and ended up selling it because I just felt that I was having to back away from everything I was photographing. I'm hoping to get a 35mm prime next and I'm fairly sure it will be the right one for me

[andybender]

Though I don't own either lens yet, I decided to add the 35mm to my shopping list over the 50 after looking back at the EXIF data of past photos I was proud of. It seems most of them were around the 35mm focal length, so I must trend to that for some reason. If that's where I shoot, seems to me that is the prime I should get. Do you trend towards any focal lengths? Just my two cents.

Also (I should probably know this already), does the D90 have an internal AF motor? I have a D3000, so the Nikon 50mm is manual only for me, while the 35mm can auto and manual focus.

[Nicole]

Originally Posted by andybender

Also (I should probably know this already), does the D90 have an internal AF motor? I have a D3000, so the Nikon 50mm is manual only for me, while the 35mm can auto and manual focus.

Yes, the D90 does have an internal AF motor, so the 50mm can auto-focus.