Tell me to buy the lens

Is this the best price avaliable?

The local camera store has them for 499.95. I wonder if I call them and tell them I can get it online for cheaper if they will budge?

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G Autofocus Lens 2180 - B&H Photo

 

If that's the lens you want. I would tell them. My father in-law did the same thing with his 70-300 VR, he really wanted to buy it locally for a couple of reasons (return ease, supporting local business) They came down to within like $40 of the online price and that was worth it to him so he bought it locally. I doubt they will meet the B&H price but they might come down a little.

 

Maybe. Only way to find out is if you call them. Maybe just ask them if they match the prices of their competitors...?

Some places will do that, some won't.


It is a considerable savings when you factor in the sales tax you're going to pay at the store... And it even has free shipping at B&H...

I don't know what it is in FL, but sales tax is 8.25% here - that would be about $40 on that lens.

 

Oh have you also considered the 35mm 1.8? it takes great pics, isn't quite as fast as the 50 1.4 but it's only $200

 

I have the 35mm lens.
I am thinking of selling it after I get the 50mm.
I do love the 35mm but I know how sharp and how much people rave about the 50mm.

 

I wouldn't sell it just because you got the 50.

50mm is not 35mm... I don't think I would consider the 50 a replacement for the 35.

Why sell it? ...Unless you just need the money for something, but it's on the cheap side anyway, right? How much would you even get for it? I'd just keep it... What's one more lens in the bag?

 

I'd like to suggest that since you have a 35mm lens maybe look at the 85mm. That would give you 2 prime lenses that are far apart in focal length. The 85mm is probably going to be better for portraits than the 50 and it costs about the same money. Traditionally you want a lens about 105mm or more to do portraits and the 85mm will give you about 127mm.

 

so it would be a fixed 85mm?

what about the 18 to 105 zoom AF-S?

 

I'm a little confused here. Are you looking for a zoom or prime? or you don't know? If you don't already have a versatile zoom the nikon 18-105 is a great choice. There are some good sigmas, tokinas and tamrons out there as well. I have the 18-105 kit lens and I love it. the 18-200 would be sweet but alas I have what came with the kit. Obviously the 85 is a great prime lens for portraits but it lacks versatility. Depends on what you need more.

 

What do you want it for? If it's for portrait work, I would go with Vinny's suggestion for an 85 or 100mm. For head shots with a 50, you'll get a reasonable amount of background blur, but for full body, not so much. To put it in simple terms, the longer the fl, the further you can be from your subject and maintain a high level of background blur. Shorter fl's lose background blur rapidly as you start moving away from your subject.

If it's for general shooting, your 35 is probably better (closer to "normal" from the old film days) as a 50mm starts to get kinda tight indoors, unless you're in a banquet hall or somewhere you have room to move back. That being said, my Sigma 50 1.4 is a brilliant lens that I wouldn't want to be without, but my Sigma 30 1.4 lives on my camera most of the time.

 

Locally you pay like $40 worth of tax (8% isn't it in FL now?) plus the $500?

 

Yes, a fixed 85mm lens. As subscuck said the 35mm on a crop sensor camera is equivalent to a 50mm on a full sensor or film SLR. It is a standard focal length lens. IMO, unless you have a lot of money or are looking to become a professional and need the best lens at any focal length try to stagger the focal lengths some what to get some bang for your buck. 15mm focal length isn't that much and you have a lens that all you need to do is to take a step or two forward to have a "50mm view". But also as subscuck said you need to evaluate what you are using the lens for. But I would also say that if you have a need for a certain focal length because you are shooting a certain subject or a certain way then buy it, don't substitute and try to make it work.

As far as the 18-105 zoom - it is a nice lens and I did get it with my D90 but it is a trade off with lenses. Primes can be (mostly are) sharper than zooms and zooms give you more focal length options without having to move vs primes. Personally I am a zoom person, my SLR had a 50mm prime and 2 zooms and once I got the zooms that's all I really used. But with that said I wasn't and still not into portrait photography so that may be why I prefer zooms. The 18-105 can produce a very sharp image, I included an image below from it.