im in the market for a used or new, 35mm for my nikon d80.

im just confused as to what fstop to choose from - the 1.2, 1.4, or 1.8.


i know what the fstop is and how it works, but how do i decide which is best? i primarily want to use this lense for night time outtings (70% of time) and the sometimes daylight shots.


Sorry if this is a dumb question.

 

The lower the f-stop number the more available light the lens will let it. You are not always going to be shooting at the maximum aperture though because it will give you a shallower depth of field.

So the 1.2 > 1.4 > 1.8 in terms of maximum light available for the camera to work with. Obviously more light is better for low light situations.

That being said... Besides light each has their own pros/cons in terms of sharpness at different apertures. Also the 1.8 is DX only.

 

^ pretty much. i had the 35mm f1.8 and rarely had it wide open as the DoF didn't work for a lot of my shots. unless you truly need 1.2 or 1.4, i'd say save some money and get the 1.8 and don't be afraid to crank up that iso a bit

 

ive did some reading and it seems the 1.8 would work for me.


However, your statement about "it being DX Only". What am i to take this from this statement? I am bit confused? Are you saying it will not be suitable for d80?

 

DX means only for cameras like the D80, D90, D200, D300. These are crop cameras. Basically the sensor is smaller than 35mm cameras.

FX lenses like the 1.2, 1.4 are for cameras like the D700, D3. These are full frame sensors which are the same size as 35mm film.

The 1.2 and 1.4 are more of an investment because they can be used if you ever upgrade to FX and they have basically been the same design for many years so they hold their value well.

I wouldn't necessarily say 1.8 is good enough because the 1.2, 1.4 are sharper at 1.8 then the 1.8 is at 1.8. Ya know what I mean? Don't base it just on maximum aperture base it on the entire package. The 1.4 might be more money but it's sharper in some cases and holds its value.

 

Keep in mind that not only do you pay more for more-open lenses (lower f-stop) but they often weigh more. Sometimes a metric crapload more! Just double check all the specs on lenses you are thinking about.

 

so imperial units won't get affected?

 

Canon shooter here I had the famous Canon 50mm 1.1 too thin a dof for most I sold it, I now own the Canon 50mm 1.2 good luck trying to pry it out of my cold dead hands

 

ahh i see what your saying. thanks for the information, very helpful.

just 1 more question - so being that I have a DX, if i were to purchase a lens of 1.4 35mm - ur saying it would work but it would be better for an FX and buying it would mean that i would be able to use it later if i ever made the upgrade - correct?


as where the 1.8 will be worthless since it caters to one category...?

 

it doesn't really matter to you if you aren't planning on going full-frame in the near future. the 1.8 will not be 'worthless' as the DX format is not going anywhere anytime soon. it all depends on how much you're willing to spend. any version of this lens is fantastic and if you really don't need to open up to 1.2 or 1.4, the money you save buying a 1.8 can be spent in better areas.

just my opinion