50mm or 35mm

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Most-D

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Hi all,

Forgive my ignorance - and the fact that I'm sure some of you will have answered this question many times before - but which lens should I buy: 35mm or 50mm?

I'm going to Japan and will be working with a team of guides - so with this in mind, I'm putting together a small kit so that I can properly document my trip and my time on the hill. I work with a Nikon 5100.

In addition to some other lenses I'm looking at, I'd like a fixed prime. Could anyone advise?

Thanks guys,

Faith
 
Well it depends what you'll mostly be filming, if you'll need a longer lens or not. In general Id say go with the 35 unless you know there are some longer shots you'll need to get...does your nikon do internal crop at all?
 
Because I'm on a DX crop sensor (Nikon d5100) a 50mm will actually come out as a 75mm as the focal length... so I guess the 35mm would be better? Agggg confusion.
 
get the 35. 50 is great for interview type shots, but if you can find a lens that's 18-35, not sure if they have the sigma 18-35 1.8 for nikon (i think they do), but I use it on my crop cameras all the time and it's such a nice walk around lens for anything that isn't going to be a tight shot. 18-35 is such a nice range for crop, would highly recommend it
 
Also, another good thing about the 35 is that if you're on a trip, I'm guessing there will be shots that have limited space. A lens like the 18-35 allows you to get within a few feet of the subject and still have the same type of composition as the 50 without needing to be 10-15 feet from the subject. You can be basically right in the person/subjects face, without any distortion with the advantage of picking up good audio just from the shotgun on camera
 
id go with the 35mm. way more versatile and you may find yourself switching lenses a lot if you go with the 50mm just to get the shot you want.
 
13518732:SourSteezle said:
get the 35. 50 is great for interview type shots, but if you can find a lens that's 18-35, not sure if they have the sigma 18-35 1.8 for nikon (i think they do), but I use it on my crop cameras all the time and it's such a nice walk around lens for anything that isn't going to be a tight shot. 18-35 is such a nice range for crop, would highly recommend it
Click to expand...

I own the sigma 18-35, awesome lens, super sharp. It's a great range for a crop sensor.

I will say, it is seriously heavy, so take that into account. That being said, if you're carrying a DSLR in the first place, weight/size shouldn't be that big of a deal imo
 
Faith,

With all of this information in mind, please keep note of the lens format coverage. If the lens is designed for APS-C sized sensors, like your Nikon D5100, then you might want a lens closer to the 50mm range. Versus, if the lens is designed for full frame sensors, like on a Nikon D810, then you might want a lens closer to the 35mm range to compensate for that 1.5x crop factor on your D5100.

What other lenses do you own?

If you plan on sticking to the DX sized sensor for a while, invest in glass that is designed for APS-C sized sensors. If you plan on upgrading to a full frame sensor in the future, then invest in full frame glass.

There are plenty of options out there for Nikon mounted glass. Set your price range, and go see whats out there. If you are looking for a nice quality lens for half the price, I like to highly recommend Sigma.

I hope this information helped and that you get great coverage of your trip to Japan!
 
13529335:xnick11 said:
Faith,

With all of this information in mind, please keep note of the lens format coverage. If the lens is designed for APS-C sized sensors, like your Nikon D5100, then you might want a lens closer to the 50mm range. Versus, if the lens is designed for full frame sensors, like on a Nikon D810, then you might want a lens closer to the 35mm range to compensate for that 1.5x crop factor on your D5100.

What other lenses do you own?

If you plan on sticking to the DX sized sensor for a while, invest in glass that is designed for APS-C sized sensors. If you plan on upgrading to a full frame sensor in the future, then invest in full frame glass.

There are plenty of options out there for Nikon mounted glass. Set your price range, and go see whats out there. If you are looking for a nice quality lens for half the price, I like to highly recommend Sigma.

I hope this information helped and that you get great coverage of your trip to Japan!
Click to expand...

this is completely wrong... a DX 35mm will still be subject to the 1.5x crop factor lol, if you put a DX 35mm and a FX 35mm on the same crop body, the focal length will be exactly the same. Plus no one makes a DX 50mm (m4/3rds doesn't count) so that's really just wrong.
 
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