35mm vs 50mm Lens: Which Is Better?

Now, I know you all think that you know what is a lens and what’s the main function of it, but things are far more complicated than they seem. Not only it is hard to choose the right lens, but it’s also hard to understand the importance of it. When it comes to the definition of a lens, a lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction.

Well, I would assume that a photographer is reading this article, but everybody, without exceptions, has the right to know which are the best lenses that show the world better than it is. It is certainly not enough to catch the right view or the right pose, the lens of your camera is the thing that plays one of the main roles when it comes to capturing the most perfect pic.

There are many factors that will easily mess up your mind when you doubt deciding which lens would be the best for your camera, and this article will help you out by clearing the path and showing the pros and cons of a 35mm lens and 50mm lens.

Let’s take a closer look at 35mm and 55mm lenses

A 35mm lens – A Yes or a No

I must warn you, this will be hard, choosing the right lens shouldn’t be easy. Both 35mm and 50mm lenses have their upbeat sides and that makes it hard to choose between the two of them. The most important thing to know about the 35mm lenses is width. 35mm lenses tend to capture a wider perspective in front of the camera, and that should be taken into consideration, always.

Keep in mind that if you want a portrait photo of your object, you have to move closer, because that way you will capture only the upper part of the object and not other unnecessary parts of the surroundings. Let’s move on to the pros and cons of these lenses.

Distance – This can be a pro and a con at the same time. The subject’s distance from the camera will determine if you are making the 35mm lens a pro or a con. That’s why the 35mm lenses are often defined as the most perfect lenses for photographers who travel and are passionate when it comes to catching magnificent landscapes and the beauty of nature.

The 35mm lenses offer them an opportunity to capture views as a whole without being forced to choose what part of the landscape ahead to crop out of the photo.

Bokeh – I know you are confused, you haven’t heard often that verb before, have you? Well, 35mm lenses offer a great bokeh, which means even if you are using a 35mm, you will get a great visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image. Focus is not everything, sometimes you have to make sure that the things out of your focus are in order, as well, and with the 35mm lenses, you don’t have to worry about it.

So, we can say that a 35mm lens is the best shoot-through lens you can ever have.

Light – Yep, you heard me, light is definitely a pro when it comes to 35mm lenses. And that’s because the photos with the 35mm lens can still be perfect in a low light condition space.

Are you fond of night landscapes and the stars and you are a photographer who adores taking pictures of such beauties? If your answer is yes, then get up and straight away purchase a 35mm lens, it will be the best decision you have ever made.

Detector – The 35mm lens or as I like to call it, the sharp eye, has this great ability to detect. When I say detect I mean detect literally everything.

If you feel sad while taking a picture, the 35mm lens will perfectly detect that. It just gets into your personal bubble and it makes you reveal a lot of things that you actually don’t want to reveal. If you are not relaxed while taking the photo, the 35mm lens will make sure to reveal the tension in that photo. See, as I said, it detects everything.

A 50mm lens – A Yes or a No

De facto is not like 35mm lenses and 50mm lenses have a significant difference in between, but what you should pay more attention to are their characteristics. Those are noteworthy enough to likely impact your decision of which of these lenses you should purchase. The best portraits and headshots are taken with these lenses, there’s no doubt about it. These lenses focus only on the subject in front of the camera and they leave out anything that would trigger off a not-so-perfect portrait. 

Closeness – These lenses are the closest to the focal component of the human eye. It is easy to work with a 50mm lens because of many reasons, one of them being that we as humans are created with two 50mm lenses, those being our eyes. So, it takes less effort than with 35mm lenses to search and then capture the best view in front of the camera.

Prize – These lenses are the cheapest lenses around. I’m not saying that you should purchase them because they are cheap, but if you are really passionate about photography, give these lenses a chance. 

No yelling – Funny, right? Well, a 50mm lens gives you the opportunity of being really close to the subject that is being photographed, and if that subject is a human being, then you as a photographer won’t feel the necessity to yell while giving instructions because you will be close to him/her or it. 

Final Words

Look, according to my opinion, I would say go with the 35mm lens, but the reality is that there’s no winner here, both of the lenses have something to offer, either positive or negative, they both have their pros and cons, so it’s up to you to come up with a decision.