which prime lens?

Twirlywoos · 28 May 2014 at 08:14

What would be better for portraits and animal shots. The nikon 50mm 1.8g or 35mm 1.8g. The 35mm is cheaper and has £20 cash back. I'm looking to buy my first prime lens and its a toss up between those two. Will they be suitable on a nikon d5100?
Is the 35mm good for close ups as it has a wider fov? And is the 50mm better for bokeh?

Thanks

These are the ones i've been looking at
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-AF-S-NIKKOR-50mm-1-8G/dp/B004Y1AYAC/ref=pd_cp_ph_0

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-AF-S-NIKKOR-35mm-1-8G/dp/B001S2PPT0/ref=pd_cp_ph_1

Also what is meant by full frame?

englishpremier · 28 May 2014 at 08:36

50mm on the ASP-C sensor just isn't a useful focal length.

The 35mm 1.8 is tack sharp from the extreme corners, boarders and centre.

Across the range is much sharper than even the sigma 35mm 1.4 art, that all the full guys are raving about.

Here's a shot I took before I sold mine.

120. Anyone for tennis? by Mikedefieslife, on Flickr

Probably could have done with stopping down a little, but you get the idea.

kidloco · 28 May 2014 at 08:52

Agree with above. I initially bought the 50mm prime but its barely been used. Its just to long on a crop crop camera to make it usable in smallish spaces let alone inside.

Recently got the 35mm and its fantastic. Taken my camera out a bit more recently and the 35mm hasn't left the camera. So much so the 50mm is going to be sold I think.

Sh4rkie · 28 May 2014 at 09:07

Anything can be used as a portrait lens it's just if you're happy with the look of the final image.

35 vs 50mm are very different and portraits tend to be done at longer focal lengths (85mm+) because of how it compresses the image and the bokeh rendering. Yes it does mean you'll need to move further away from your subject to capture shots but needs must. A 35mm captures a lot more of a scene even when you're shooting very close to a subject and getting in close also means distortion, not necessarily a bad thing and can be used creatively.

http://johncarnessali.com/camera-lens-tests/4433

JBuk · 28 May 2014 at 09:45

The term full frame relates to a camera with a 35mm sensor, Your camera is a dx camera and so the sensor is a bit smaller ,any lens you use will have its image circle cropped because of the reduced size , to calculate the rough equivalent field of view when comparing to full frame you simply multiply the current lenses focal length by 1.5 , so a 50mm would be equivalent fov to a 75mm on a full frame sensor camera, it does get slightly more complex but that's a simple way of looking at it.

50mm would be better for portraits and animals as it is closer to what people consider the ideal portrait focal length , (I like 85mm on my full frame) , images will look more flattering than using a wider lens.

35mm will include more background in your shot and if you get in too close to the subject you may distort their face a little giving an unflattering look.

Of course you can still use either lens for what you want to there's no set rules

Vertigo · 28 May 2014 at 11:30

englishpremier said:
50mm on the ASP-C sensor just isn't a useful focal length.

Eh?

85mm is often regarded as a perfect focal length for portraiture on full frame, and 50mm on APS-C gives much the same field of view.

Steve M · 28 May 2014 at 13:16

This saves me starting my own thread. Was going to ask the same question as the OP as i've just bought a D5200. Think i'm going to go for a 35mm.

I'm on a budget so can anyone suggest a decent 35mm lens. £70 is my max budget..

JBuk · 28 May 2014 at 13:38

I can't really recommend anything for that price, double it and the 35 1.8 g can be had, great lens

doodah · 28 May 2014 at 13:47

In same position as Steve; it looks like the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G Lens is the obvious choice for affordable but decent first/prime lens.

Steve - save up a little longer

With the above lens, it's on the spring cash back which ends today but it's also on the summer cash back deal which ends on July 31. Providing I am not being blonde, I will get it on the summer deal.

Steve M · 28 May 2014 at 14:15

xibinim said:
In same position as Steve; it looks like the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G Lens is the obvious choice for affordable but decent first/prime lens.

Steve - save up a little longer

Nikkor 35mm on fleebay for £125 buy it now. I reckon could pick one up cheaper than that in an action but still above my budget..

I do have a mint screw fit (M42) Pentacon 50mm f/1.8, as well as a nice 28mm lens that i was using via an adapter on my Micro 4/3 camera but i've read i wont be able to focus to infinity using an adapter with them on the Nikon...

Think i'll pick up an adapter anyway as they are dirt cheap and see just how far i can focus..

THC_SsSsSnake · 28 May 2014 at 17:45

Vertigo1 said:
Eh?

85mm is often regarded as a perfect focal length for portraiture on full frame, and 50mm on APS-C gives much the same field of view.

This

englishpremier · 28 May 2014 at 18:56

Vertigo1 said:
Eh?

85mm is often regarded as a perfect focal length for portraiture on full frame, and 50mm on APS-C gives much the same field of view.

Field of view would be the only thing that's the same though.

More often, I'd argue 85mm is used to compress the background and isolate the subject.

It's quite dangerous to say X focal length on a 1.5x sensors is the equivalent of X on a full frame sensor, as while in terms of what you can see (field of view) it is, You're not going to be able to match the DOF (if shooting wide, as touched upon above) but also if we talk about wider lenses, where distortion is concerned (perspective distortion not lens distortion) then X=X regardless of the sensor size (unless your subject is at the extreme edges of the frame).

Anyway, this guy wants to photograph his pets. The Nikon 35mm 1.8 will be great for this.

Twirlywoos · 28 May 2014 at 19:14

Thanks for the replies everyone. It is a hard decision and from doing a bit of research it is commonly discussed but falls down to personal preference.

atm I'm using the 18-55 lens which came with the D5100. I am moving close to the subject or shooting from a distance and using 18mm focal length 3.5f 200 ISO, shutter speed 1/30 Auto White Balance to get pics like this:

JBuk · 28 May 2014 at 19:20

Is it my eyes or is the child monotone lol?

What you could do is set your lens to 35mm then to 50mm and see which focal length you prefer the most

Twirlywoos · 28 May 2014 at 19:34

JBuk said:
Is it my eyes or is the child monotone lol?

What you could do is set your lens to 35mm then to 50mm and see which focal length you prefer the most

Yeah, I used that selective colour thing.

I was advised to do that too but the problem is that I prefer both.

What is better though when taking portraits (by better I mean retains sharpness and detail), to move away from the subject with the 50mm lens or to move in closer with a 35mm lens?

JBuk · 28 May 2014 at 20:20

majnu said:
Yeah, I used that selective colour thing.

I was advised to do that too but the problem is that I prefer both.

What is better though when taking portraits (by better I mean retains sharpness and detail), to move away from the subject with the 50mm lens or to move in closer with a 35mm lens?

I think the monotone looks wrong in that shot , like the child is ill or something

It really depends what you want , for a head and shoulders shot then the 50, for full body and some background then the 35

The problem you will get moving in close to someone's face with a 35 is that you will get some perspective distortion , the nose and front parts of the face will look weirdly bigger and very unflattering, the 50 will be less so and better for that , an 85 even better as it will compact everything and give a more flattering look

I like my 85 on full frame for portraits but love using a 70-200 at around 100-135mm too

Twirlywoos · 28 May 2014 at 22:01

Decided to go with the 35mm as imo it is a more versatile lens. Thanks for everyone's help.

danoliver1 · 28 May 2014 at 23:06

majnu said:
Decided to go with the 35mm as imo it is a more versatile lens. Thanks for everyone's help.

Good choice mines never off my camera, dont forget to post some piccys when you get it.

Twirlywoos · 1 Jun 2014 at 12:39

englishpremier said:
50mm on the ASP-C sensor just isn't a useful focal length.

The 35mm 1.8 is tack sharp from the extreme corners, boarders and centre.

Across the range is much sharper than even the sigma 35mm 1.4 art, that all the full guys are raving about.

Here's a shot I took before I sold mine.

120. Anyone for tennis? by Mikedefieslife, on Flickr

Probably could have done with stopping down a little, but you get the idea.

How do you manage to get the ball and the grass in the foreground in focus at the same time? It looks like there is a horizontal line at the grass level that is in focus with the ball remaining in focus too (however it appears slightly soft at the edges)

I'm taking a similar shot but with my cat in the garden and either the blades of grass are in focus or the cat's face is.

I'm using:
focus mode - af-s
af area mode - single point
Metering - matrix

Or is there something else I must do?

Thanks

Ksanti · 1 Jun 2014 at 13:15

englishpremier said:
Across the range is much sharper than even the sigma 35mm 1.4 art, that all the full guys are raving about.

It's a lovely crop lens but there's no need to just straight up lie...

Sub optimal due to not being able to show test charts on APS-C Nikon cameras but you can still see the difference (ignore the corners as obviously the Dx lens isn't meant to be covering that)
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=614&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=2