Use film too, it's a lot of fun. And I actually don't mind the Nikon 50mm, it's built better than the Canon one afaik.
That's not saying a lot, the Canon 50mm f/1.8 is atrocious, I don't know many people that have still got them, most went straight for the (much better built) f/1.4
The Canon and Nikon f/1.4s are about on par (though the Nikon feels nicer)