Nikkor 35mm F/1.8 vs. 50mm F/1.4

[EJKelehan]

As a relatively new shooter, having my Nikon D40 and kit 18-55mm zoom for around a year, i find it is time to upgrade lenses, and i am down to two choices, the Nikkor 35mm and the 50mm, the 35mm will save me around $245 dollars, and being 15 years old, that is a fair bit of money, both lenses fit my needs, for something with a rather wide aperture, and decent capabilities for both landscape, architecture, and portraits. Does any one know of any reasons why i should spend the extra $245 for the 50mm, such as optical quality that would be so much greater, or things of that nature...

 

[CWN]

With the D40 and 35mm lens you're going to need that camera really close to the subject for portraits.

If you don't mind manual focus, the 50mm f/1.8D would work for your needs since nothing you mentioned involves the need for fast focusing.

 

[EJKelehan]

I've briefly looked into the 50mm f/1.8D, but I'll have to go back and look at it further, thanks for the recommendation.

 

[PatrickHMS]

All of these lenses mentioned here, unless they are AF-S lenses, will only be manual focus on your D40.

 

[CWN]

I guess I assumed (bad thing) he was talking about the G versions of those lenses which are both AF-S.

 

[EJKelehan]

Yes, i was talking about the AF-S versions, but i looked at a refurbished 50mm F/1.8D on Adorama for $100, so for that price, i'm fine with manual focus...

 

[Sw1tchFX]

If your focus is portraits, you'll want the 50mm f/1.4G. Don't do the 50 f/1.8 because if you're manually focusing, you'll have a real tough time getting that perfect focus on the eyes at f/1.8 with the tunnel of a viewfinder the D40 has. the 1.4G is also sharper wide open, and much sharper at f/1.8ish.

If you want something more flexible that can do waist up portrait or just general low-light, than the 35mm f/1.8 for sure. Again, it's a pretty darn good lens.

 

[EJKelehan]

Yeah, I'd really like the 50 F/1.4, but unfortunately i can't really justify the extra $345 over the 50 F/1.8, so, i think the F/1.8 is gonna be my pick, and maybe I'll be able to sell it and upgrade to the 50 F/1.4 after next summer at work, but right now, it looks like the 50 F/1.8 will be my best value, thanks to everyone for their knowledge/experiences, and sharing them with me.