Nikon 35mm f/1.8 Lens Necessary?

[ytechie]

I just ordered the Tamron 28-75mm 2.8 lens after long deliberation. My plan is to start with portrait photography of my neighbors and friends, and then get into wedding photography.

Now that I have the f/2.8 lens, would a 35mm f/1.8 (from Nikon) be redundant, or am I going to run into situations where I'll want the extra aperture?

Thank you for any advice you may have!

 

[PhotoXopher]

Hard to say really... I went with a Nikon 35-70 f/2.8 and still use my 50mm f/1.8 quite a bit.

I actually traded my 35mm f/1.8 for the 35-70 f/2.8.

For me, 35 was too wide for portraits - I felt I was right in their face all the time. 50 is pretty good, although 85 might be ideal (on a crop sensor anyway).

 

[HeY iTs ScOTtY]

I would say yes for sure! A 1.8 will allow you to get a lot more shots and has a lot more potential for allowing you to be more creative as far as lighting goes. A 50mm 1.8 is one of those lenses that should be in every bag really.

sorry didnt see you were talking about the 35mm.

In that case I don't think you would need it as much as a 50mm, not enough to buy one at least. If you don't have a 50 get one.

 

[Dao]

Keep using your existing lens. Shoot the type of photos you like. And then you may know if you need the 35mm lens.

Here is my experience.

I have the Canon 50mm F/1.8 lens. Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 lens and a 70-300mm 3.5-5.6 IS lens. When I tried to take the outdoor portrait type photos of my wife and daughter, I found that I end up using the telephoto zoom lens most of the time because I like the way the photo looks when I use that lens and adjust the focal length to around 70 to 100mm.

So at that time, I know I need a prime lens around that range and now I have the EF 85mm F/1.8

But that is just my preference and you maybe different. So I will say just keep shooting and later on you may find what you need. If you find that the focal length of most of the portrait type shots you take are around 50 to 70mm, then you may not want to get the 35mm lens for that purpose. On the contrary, if they all falls around 35mm range, I will say get it.