elemental
TPF Noob!
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2008
- Messages
- 646
- Reaction score
- 3
I got my D200 about a week ago now, and also the 50mm f/1.8 I ordered to go with it. I didn't want to have to try to track down the 35mm f/1.8 and wait for it to come in. I thought 50mm would be a useful focal length on APS-C since everyone else seems so pleased with them, but I feel more than a little constrained. Though I started on a crop-body digital SLR (I'm young), I shot 35mm exclusively the last few months, and used 50mm lenses almost all the time (I played with a 28mm briefly). I shoot mostly urban landscapes and street candids, and for my walkaround style the normal focal length was great, while the 75mm equivalent feels more confining that I expected.
I'm going to track down a 35 this week (even I have to wait for it, I am not paying more than $199), but I'm having second thoughts about keeping the 50. On one hand, I want to learn portraiture this summer and it would be a perfect focal length. On the other, I could return it and pick up a cheap wide-angle zoom from KEH (other than normals, I've really only ever felt the need for wides and superwides, so that's going to be my next void to fill anyway). I think an 18-35 would get much more use, at least in the near future, despite having much poorer optics. All the speed and sharpness in the world doesn't do much if it never comes out of the camera bag.
I guess the root of my question is do those of you who have a 35mm-range lens and a 50mm lens (on a crop body) find both of them very useful, or do you use one much more than the other since they're so close? I could also look into an 85mm f/1.8 down the road, which would give me a much bigger jump up for headhots than the 50mm would. I just don't want the 50 to sit unused, which is what I'm afraid of.
I'm going to track down a 35 this week (even I have to wait for it, I am not paying more than $199), but I'm having second thoughts about keeping the 50. On one hand, I want to learn portraiture this summer and it would be a perfect focal length. On the other, I could return it and pick up a cheap wide-angle zoom from KEH (other than normals, I've really only ever felt the need for wides and superwides, so that's going to be my next void to fill anyway). I think an 18-35 would get much more use, at least in the near future, despite having much poorer optics. All the speed and sharpness in the world doesn't do much if it never comes out of the camera bag.
I guess the root of my question is do those of you who have a 35mm-range lens and a 50mm lens (on a crop body) find both of them very useful, or do you use one much more than the other since they're so close? I could also look into an 85mm f/1.8 down the road, which would give me a much bigger jump up for headhots than the 50mm would. I just don't want the 50 to sit unused, which is what I'm afraid of.