35mm or 50mm Lens: Which Should I Choose?

There are many photographers who have to choose between a 35mm or 50mm prime lens. Which one is best for you? Here are some things to consider when choosing which lens will work best for your style of photography.

 35mm-vs-50mm

Should I Choose the 35mm Lens?

The main difference between these two lenses is field of view, or how much of what you see in front of you the lens captures. The 50mm has a narrower angle, so it captures more than the wider angle (35) does. This makes sense if you’re photographing people and want them all in frame without having to step back too far from them whereas if you were photographing something like landscape shots where distance doesn’t make as big a difference

What is a Prime Lens?

A prime lens is a type of lens that doesn’t zoom. There are lenses that are considered “bad” optics, but they are still called primes because they are not zooming or moving through any other way to capture subject matter.

What is a Zoom Lens?

A zoom lens or “variable focal length” lens means that you can change the way your subject appears in the frame. Think of it like taking two lenses and zooming them closer to what you want, so instead of having to switch out prime lenses for different shots all the time, just adjust one ring on this type of lens and get multiple looks from one piece of equipment.

Do I Need Both Lenses?

It’s not necessary but many photographers do have both types of lenses because they offer such different benefits depending on what kind of photography style they are shooting. If landscape work is more up your alley then probably best suited with a 50mm while if people are who you’re photographing, a 35mm is probably going to be more suitable.

Pros and Cons of Using a Prime Lens

The pros of using a prime lens are that they are cheaper than the non-prime lenses, allowing more people to purchase them. Prim lenses can also capture photos in a different way then non-prime lenses. They have a different perspective. The drawbacks to a prim lens is that they can not zoom in and out, which means you need to take many pictures in order to get a good one, but this also means you end up with better quality pictures when you do take them.

What are the Features of a 35mm Prime Lens?

A 35mm prime lens is typically a fixed focal length, meaning that the physical size and weight of this camera make it ideal for street photography. Its maximum aperture means you can take pictures with shallow depth-of field without using zooms or other accessories such as filters to narrow your aperture;

35mm prime lenses are perfect for portraits and close up shots. They have a wide angle, which captures more of the scene in front lit or dark environments as well as an image quality that is comparable to digital cameras due to their ability use older film formats without conversion costs!

What are the Features of a 50mm Prime Lens?

lens numbers

A 50mm lens is a lens with a focal length of 50 mm. A lens with such a focal length is good for shooting in tight spaces. It can also be used when you want your foreground and background to appear in focus.

A 50mm lens is also good for portraits because it provides a natural perspective and creates images that contain pleasing features. This type of lens is especially good for photographing people because it blurs the background and follows the “rule of thirds.”

Which Lens is Better and Why?

The 35mm lens is a good option for general photography because it has the focal length to take in an entire street, or an entire building. The 50mm lens is often used for portraits and for more intimate photography because of the closeness of the subject to the camera. They are both great lenses, but I typically use my 35mm lens more than my 50mm lens.

Best Primes for Each Sensor Size

Not sure what prime lens to buy? Keep reading to find out which one is best for your camera.

Best 35mm Lenses

The best 35mm lenses for any camera system are the Tokina AT-X PRO DX and Voigtlander 17.5 mm f0.95 because they perform equally well on Canon’s full frame or APS-C sensor cameras alike!

Best 50mm Lenses

A 50mm lens is a focal length that is often used for portrait photography. The use of the 50mm lens in portrait photography is for perspective control, or to capture an image with perspective distortion that has become desirable in modern photography.

Some perspective distortion may be desirable in some situations but not all situations. There are times when photographers want evenness in their images so they will usually use something other than a 50mm lens when photographing landscapes, architecture, or anything else where straight lines are important.

A great all around lens is the Nikon 50mm f/14D. It’s one of the sharpest lenses on the market and has a good price range that makes it affordable for most budgets. A more expensive but also excellent alternative would be the Canon EF 50mm f/12 Mark II USM Autofocus Lens, which offers some improved features compared to its competitor, including better image quality and an ultrasonic motor (USM). The costlier model doesn’t come with autofocus capabilities though so if you can afford both models then I recommend going with this option instead. If your budget isn’t as high or you don’t need autofocusing abilities, then go ahead with the Nikon 50mm lens.

Sigma’s 50mm F1.4 Art lens is a powerful optic that offers high-grade performance, but if you want to get even closer the Sigma 55 mm/F 1 4 DG HSM APS-C model will allow for shallow DOFs ( depth of field ). The Canon EF50MM f / 1 8 STM and Nikon AF S Nikkor 50 MM f / 0 GR respectively come with their own share features in addition to those found on Micro Four Thirds cameras making them perfect choices among many camera systems both today as well as tomorrow!

Conclusion

If you are looking for a lens that will produce sharper images, more colorful photos or have shallower depth of field then the 50mm prime lens is best suited to your needs. However, if you are on tight budget and need something versatile with an all-around quality lens then go with the 35mm prime lens! With this information in mind, which do you think would be better suited to your photography?