An evening with my brother’s Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens made me want a similarly unintrusive, light and fast lens. I figured Nikon offered an affordable standard (50mm) prime lens–maybe even in its DX line.

I discovered Nikon actually offers very few options especially within my ~$200 budget. Oddly, the only prime lens in the DX line is a fish-eye? Yea, because a $600 distortion lens is really practical for most photographers…

On the upside, the limited selection and Nikon’s excellent non-DX offerings made my choice pretty straight-forward. Until last week, it was looking like I’d get the $120 Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 D. I have no idea what the “D” signifies. But, $120? That’s “cheap” for such a fast high quality lens! It’s one of Nikon’s fastest and sharpest lenses and is less than half the price of the one-stop faster Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 ($440.)

Then just as I was about to buy the 50mm, f/1.8 I saw that Nikon will release a 35mm, f/1.8 DX lens in March. Retail price $199. what?! what?!

Because of the crop factor for most DSLRs, the 35mm is closer to the standard 50mm focal length than the 50mm lens I was going to buy. By the same math, the 50mm lens is the equivalent of a 75mm lens. Nikon is actually classifying the new 35mm as a “wide-angle” lens. This seems like a bit of a stretch, but it is indeed wider than the adjusted 75mm of the 50mm standard lens. Confusion.

Here’s my dilemma synthesized. Any advice is welcome: The 50mm, f/1.8 is actually more like a 75mm. This short telephoto range is ideal for close up portraits. The 35mm f/1.8DX can take some good intimate portraits, but the wider angle can make facial features slightly out of proportion. That said, I figure the wider angle will make for better environmental portraits and street photography. Although reviews for the 35mm are not out yet, since both are Nikon manufactured, I assume the glass and build are top of the line.

My budget remains $200. So I think I need to decide whether I’d like to focus on portraits or street photography. I’m leaning towards portraits. Thoughts?

Incidentally, if I had a limitless budget, I’d probably get the 50mm f/1.4 ($440) for portraits and indoor shots and the new 35mm f/1.8 DX for street and environmental portraits. Actually, maybe I’d forgo the 35mm altogether and get a $900 super wide-angle lens like the Nikkor DX 12-24mm f/4.

***UPDATE: Thanks for the feedback. I’ve decided to wait for the 35mm, f/1.8! My review and sample shots are here.

4 Comments