Nikon 35mm Lens

SXI - Matt

SXI - Matt

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Matthew
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After a quick bit of advice before I purchase a new lens. Looking at the one linked below, they advised it for portrait & that on the D90 it would actually work out as a 50mm

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/76070/show.html

Any way long story short, is this the best lens for me to start out with for doing portraits? Want to blur out any distracting backgrounds or other people in the shot? This the best one? Also would this be the best lens for sharp images?

I don't have an awful lot more to spend but could stretch to say £250?
 
Nice lens...I have it myself but tend to use it more for street as against portraits a a D80 body ( so same crop factor as the D90 (I think anyway!!)

It's everyone to there own but I got decent portrait results from my 50mm F1.8 (Most photographers have a nifty fifty in their kit bag and is not an expensive "fast" lens) .....The 85mm is a very worthwhile consideration too especially for head and shoulder portraits.

As for shallow DOF and bluring the background then yes any of these lenses will work fine but be aware how much OOF background can be dependent upon how close you are to the subject and how far the subject is away from the background.
 
Both 35mm and 50mm f1.8 can do portrait. Both equally as sharp wide open. You can probably buy both with £250 .....
 
I shoot on a full frame camera but I have the 35, 50, 85 & 135 primes and I find that the longer the focal length the better it is for portraits. Shooting portraits with a shorter focal length introduces more distortion to the facial features. The ideal length is 135mm which is the equivalent of an 85mm lens on a crop camera. With a budget of up to £250 you could afford to get a second hand Nikon 85mm f1.8 which is awesome for portraits.

However, if you are limiting your choices between the 35mm and 50mm then I’d deffo go for the 50mm and again if you buy second hand you could afford the 50mm f1.4 for even better bokeh.
 
If you really want to throw your backgrounds out, for a given max. aperture, the longer the lens, the better. The disadvantage is that you then need to be further from your subject in order to get the same portion of them in shot. If you're outside, this will not be an issue as you'll likely have plenty of room to move around. If you're indoors, you may find it an issue. There is no room in my house where I could take a full length portrait of an adult with a 50mm lens on a crop body so I always found 35mm much more handy indoors, the only exception being when our first baby arrived and suddenly 50mm was far better.

You could also consider the Nikon 85mm 1.8 which is a lovely lens for portraits. There is also a few 50mm 1.4 options as well.

Edited to say: Just read Rob's post. Great minds and all that :)
 
Ok this is making my choice a lot harder :-/

I might regret saying this as I'm worried I'll be over loaded with information now, so crop body? Can some one explain this? How a 35mm on my D90 would actually be a 50mm

I have £180 jessops voucher's hence wanting to buy it from them, so 2nd hand is out the question I'm afraid.

I would like it as an all rounder, so out side shot's, inside at party's ect & eventually I'd like to use my spare room as a home made 'studio' with lighting and do say family portraits. Although I feel I may benefit from a different lens if I go down that route (still learning)
 
is the DOV that makes the 35mm f1.8 to 50mm. Crop factor of 1.5 so 35mm x 1.5 .....
The distance remain the same but the depth of view is like the DoV of a 50mm on a full frame ......
 
SXI - Matt said:
Ok this is making my choice a lot harder :-/

I might regret saying this as I'm worried I'll be over loaded with information now, so crop body? Can some one explain this? How a 35mm on my D90 would actually be a 50mm

I have £180 jessops voucher's hence wanting to buy it from them, so 2nd hand is out the question I'm afraid.

I would like it as an all rounder, so out side shot's, inside at party's ect & eventually I'd like to use my spare room as a home made 'studio' with lighting and do say family portraits. Although I feel I may benefit from a different lens if I go down that route (still learning)
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IIRC the crop factor on the D90 is 1.5 ( please correct me if I'm wrong) so therefore whatever focal length lens you use the actual equivalent full frame would be 1.5 x that ...eg: 35mm lens x 1.5 = 52.5mm ( damn as near 50mm!) or 50mm x 1.5 = 75mm

Going on whats already been mentioned about limitations of space indoors and the fact that you are looking for an all rounder then the 35mm that you're looking at may fit the bill quite well for indoor portraits / parties and outdoor street scenes.....
 
Ah that makes more sense now thank's guys. Yeah do want it as an all rounder, don't get me wrong I'm not out every night doing in door shots ect, I'm just trying to find a lens that could fit every occasion. When out & about so street photography and for indoor's as well as out door portraits. How ever I am more wanting it for the potrait side using it out and about is more of a nice side part for it.

I only currently have a stock 18-105mm lens & having just made a house purchase need to spend wisely now more then ever :)
 
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SXI - Matt said:
Ah that makes more sense now thank's guys. Yeah do want it as an all rounder, don't get me wrong I'm not out every night doing in door shots ect, I'm just trying to find a lens that could fit every occasion. When out & about so street photography and for indoor's as well as out door portraits. How ever I am more wanting it for the potrait side using it out and about is more of a nice side part for it.

I only currently have a stock 18-105mm lens & having just made a house purchase need to spend wisely now more then ever :)
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The 35mm will cover more bases and doubles reasonably well as a portrait lens. I would say that it sounds like your best option for the time being. If you get serious about portraits, you can always review the situation at a later date.
 
Hi there

I've got a d90 and started off with just the kit lens. I bought a 50mm f1.8d and used that almost exclusively for a year. Left me wanting a bit more room inside occasionally but a terrific lens. The 35mm is very well regarded, and if I had my time again, itd be hard to choose between the 35 and the 50.

What it might be worth doing, using your kit lens, is setting the focal length to 35mm and 50mm to see which works best for you.

A left field suggestion might be to get a 17-50mm f2.8 as this would be a bit of a compromise - cover the focal lengths but image quality not quite as good as the primes.

Hope that helps

S
 
If I did want to go down the route of just a portrait based lens for out side and indoor shots, what's my best bet?

Thank's & sorry for going over the same point over & over just want to make sure getting the right one
 
SXI - Matt said:
If I did want to go down the route of just a portrait based lens for out side and indoor shots, what's my best bet?

Thank's & sorry for going over the same point over & over just want to make sure getting the right one
Click to expand...

It really depends on how much of your subject you want in shot and how much room you have. If you have plenty of room , go for something like an 85mm or even longer. If you don't have the space, you don't have much choice as that'll dictate what sort of length you can use.
 
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If you want a portrait specific lens then you'd be better off with a 50mm lens. You may not get full length shots when restricted for space but it'll give far better results for head & shoulder portraits and nicer bokeh backgrounds. The f1.8 is only about £120 new.
 
I think then until I decide on exactly the kind of portraits I prefer & get the best results from I should go with the 35mm or 50mm there resale price is still good so can always trade up later on
 
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-Rob- said:
If you want a portrait specific lens then you'd be better off with a 50mm lens. You may not get full length shots when restricted for space but it'll give far better results for head & shoulder portraits and nicer bokeh backgrounds. The f1.8 is only about £120 new.
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50mm or a 35mm which is technically a 50mm when on a crop? Sorry confusing my self now :LOL:
 
50mm lens which would be the equivalent of a 75mm lens on your crop camera.

As suggested by someone earlier, if you are unsure on what length to get then try setting your 18-105mm lens at 35 and shooting for a while then try at 50mm and see which you prefer. I have both lengths and i love both lenses. They both have their pro's and con's so there is no easy answer, it's down to your preference.
 
If you're still struggling to decide then simply let one of us take the pain away from you and spend the voucher on your behalf.....alternatively simply buy me something!! D :D :D

The idea of playing around with your present lens and seeing what focal length works better for you before taking the plunge sounds like the best advice given tbh
 
Haha I feel that may be the easier option, who would of thought this could be suck a hard decision :LOL:

I think ill play around over the next few days and go jessops Friday and decide
 
i say go play in jessop and if you decide to buy either the 35mm or 50mm you should have some money left and buy yourself a decent CPL filter and you won't be sorry.
 
I love my 35mm for head and shoulders portraits on DX, easy to throw BGs out and it's not a limiting focal length in that you can still get some wider shots, albeit with a fair few more steps backwards than with something like a 17mm....
 
Got the 35 1.8 myself, had the 50. Suits me a little better really due to indoors space etc. Both same sharpness/contrasty to my eyes.

Got the 18-70 for wandering around/general use which is quite a nice little lens.

Going to get a 85 or if next year and the camera fairies being nice to me i'll maybe get a 105 (depends on the usual - cash) its about twice the price. Point is - looking ahead....

3 lenses will do me.

Those lengths work for my subjects :) (daughters 9 months and 4) but soon as the youngest gets mobile and out and about, i can step back a bit with nice focal length and enter into the creamy land of 85/105 bokeh ;) for now 35 is great for baby portraits though (i like it anyway).

That's the plan anyway - you need to think where you are heading really, although lenses hold value reasonably well.
I'd get a 35 and a flash that comes off your camera for 250 - a whole new world to be confused by :)

Maybe look at flickr as you can also search by lens i think. Really, its a 'feel' thing as well....
 
SXI - Matt said:
50mm or a 35mm which is technically a 50mm when on a crop? Sorry confusing my self now :LOL:
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Technically a 50mm lens is a 50mm lens be it on a “crop“, full frame , medium format, half plate or full plate
The only thing that changes is the area of the image recorded
All the chat about crop factures just confuses the issue.

The ideal length for the most flattering portraits is about 80mm ,in practical terms all the format changes is how far away you need to be .
 
I've got the 35mm ( bought off of here ) and I love it - really, sharp. Just a great lens, especially used for the money
 
the 35 and the 50mm are both very handy lenses. The 50mm is physically smaller/lighter.
The 35mm will probably be more useful but I personally get better shots from my 50mm
 
I have the 1.8G 35, 50 and 85mm lenses on a D90. They are all great lenses. I do think that the longest lens possible for portraits works best, the perspective becomes more flattering and you are not quite so close to your subject. In my case that is the 85mm, before I got it it was the 50mm. The advice to use your kit lens at 35 and 50 and see how you get on is spot on and will save you some money.
That said the 35 is good flexible lens, can be used for city/landscapes. A final consideration for the future is the 35 is a DX specific (crop sensor) lens whereas the 50 would also work on an FX (full frame) camera if you ever plan to upgrade.
 
paulminus273 said:
Technically a 50mm lens is a 50mm lens be it on a “crop“, full frame , medium format, half plate or full plate
The only thing that changes is the area of the image recorded
All the chat about crop factures just confuses the issue.

The ideal length for the most flattering portraits is about 80mm ,in practical terms all the format changes is how far away you need to be .
Click to expand...
this!

basically, all this talk of 35mm is 50mm means the 35mm field of view on a crop sensor is equivalent to 50mm on a full frame. people like to relate to full frames. the amount of distortion, lens property like ability to generate milky bokeh are still the same. a 35mm is a 35mm no matter the format.

this is why i posted saying i am not sure about 35mm for portraits. as mentioned, ideal portrait lenses are 80+mm.

but having said that, if you want to do more with a lens, and you will be working in doors, a 35mm offers most useful field of view on a crop sensor.

as mentioned, best way is to stand in your soon-to-be studio and use your kit lens to see which focal length offers enough field of view. 50mm is still good for street photography.
 
Thank's for all the great advice guy's I do appreciate it. Managed to borrow a 35mm (the one I posted) off a friend, so will be off out & about with it to see how I get on. Then swap to 50mm on my stock and see how I prefer it or don't as the case could be. I appreciate the 85mm would be the ideal portrait, but would like to be able to use it now & again for non portrait's to, so when out & about.
 
When I move in at the end of the month & my skill's & knowledge improve & I invest in the lighting ect I'll be investing in an 85mm for the portraits at home, so for now I'll be going for a 50mm or 35mm keep it as a multi purpose to

Keep looking at a decent lens that cover's the entire range just cant bring my self to spend that much on a lens
 
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To stir it even more just buy a Tamron 17-50 f2.8 hahahahaha

You get good sharp 2.8 on both 35 and 50 hahahahaha
 
Just to clear one more thing then, and I'll apologies now as it's a really simple question, I'm just getting my head around it all. The 30mm or even 50mm F1.8 would throw the background out better then say a F2.8? So if I was taking pictures at a small busy venue I could blur out the busy distracting background?

Can you also set it the other way so when out and about I can still take sharp street pictures?
 
You need to understand DOF with aperture. Wide open the 35 or 50 with f1.8 you can defo blur the background and we call this bokeh. f1.8 would definite blur the background more than f2.8. Prime lens will always open up the aperture wider then a zoom lens, the Tamron 17-50 i talking about is a zoom lens that can shoot fix f2.8 and it throw out the background nicely at 2.8 too and retain nice sharpness.

On the prime lens you can always stop it down to 2.8, 4, 5.6 , 8 etc to get more in the scene ......

Usually most lens is sharper when stop down. on my 35 and 50 the lens is very very sharp at f2.8. But wide open is also sharp so thats why is a good lens lol.
 
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