Choosing between these two lenses base on the application. Ignore the difference in image quality and design. The angle of view is by far the biggest difference. If you want to focus more on the subjects, choose 50mm. If you want to have more environment information, choose 35mm. If you want to cover both, buy both lenses, or if you have a Z7 just buy the 35mm and cropping the center and get a 23MP file (with a lost of subject isolation). Another way to consider is how the lens fit with your other lenses. If you already have a 85, probably 50 is too close, then choose 35.

I own both lenses. The 35 mm is great, but the 50 mm is more than amazingly good. It also has a special look of sharpness, color rendition and micro contrasts that always reminds me of the best Leica Prime lenses.

I sincerely appreciate your reviewing methods. Lots of "proof", rather than just talking opinions. Thank you!

The 50mm is brutally sharp. Amazing quality for a 1.8 lens. I currently own the 35mm and I’m trying to hold out for the 50 f1.2. But I’m not sure how long i can hold out 😂.

Both lenses are excellent, and sharper than I'll ever need. Thanks for the comparison, Ricci.

Great review, thanks Ricci! I've been extremely happy with both lenses thus far. Cheers!

The 50mm 1.8S is incredible, and really good value for money given it's outstanding image quality

In the end, you buy on the basis of what focal length you want to shoot at. It only hurts a little bit that the 50mm performs a hair better optically for $250 less than the 35mm, if that's your go to focal length.

Thanks for the great lens comparison, I was torn between the 50 and 35 MM. I had a Nikon 35mm f1.8G on my old D90 and it was my sharpest lens, but seemed a bit wide for photo’s I take most of the time. I now have a Z50 with both S series DX kit lens and am extremely impressed with the camera and photos I am getting from this setup. The sharpness of the 50mm S lens you hi-lighted in your review makes getting one a easy choice for me.

Well, I prefer the 35mm focal length for a prime, but the 35mm is $850. I understand they're very sharp and great lenses, but I don't understand why the 35 is $250 or so more than the 50. Seems manufacturers do that all the time. For whatever reason, the 35mm is usually quite a bit more expensive than the 50mm. Obviously I have no insight into what the manufacturing and engineering costs are but I can't imagine there's that much of a difference...but who knows.

You're supposed to get both that's why they made them... Nikon didn't make the 35/50 to compete against itself.. just buy one and then buy the other... Problem solved

nice video, and by the way that focus breathing test also proved that the bokeh of the 35 mm lens was better (rounder balls) than the 50 mm. this was apparent from the footage as the overhead lights went in and out of focus, which you didn't comment on, which is also a good point to show, as these lenses focal lengths are used for street photography and for this the bokeh can be very critical as a factor of the images look, just as in Leica M photography adding character to images, which can make an image unique to the style of whoever takes the image.

I own both and in my hands, my 35 is slightly sharper than my 50. I think one would need to have at least n = 5 (if not 10) lenses to draw any statistically significant conclusions about one vs. the other, although I will say the Z series S lenses appear to all be well made and there might not be detectable variations across individual lenses. In addition, it appears that the key lighting is hitting the edges of the frame at slightly different angles (above the Ni in Nikon on the 35mm, whereas it’s more on the n in the 50mm shots). In my opinion, the slightly different angles of the key lighting makes a direct head to head comparison of focus difficult because the lighting contrast is just going to be different on the mottled finish of a body cap. As Dennis Miller used to say on his show, “It’s just my opinion, and I could be wrong.” Thanks as always for your informational videos!

Watching this on my phone the 50 mm look sharper in every shot.

Just got my Nikkor Z 50 f1.8 S, WOW super sharp, thanks to your video. Keep up the great work !

It's difficult to find a good decently-priced 35mm and I think Nikon excelled here. Most 35mm have some major problems with fringing or poor bokeh transition but Nikon seems to have balanced the rendering nicely. I think they knowingly sacrificed peripheral performance to improve rendering and I think it's a good trade-off. I've found it even produces clean images for astro if stopped down to 2.8 to minimize coma. As for the 50mm I am blown away by it's performance in this test... I may have to pick one up.

Splitting hairs for practical purposes. I like the versatility of my 35 better. I decided to go with the 35 and the 85. 35 and 50 aren't worth owning both IMO.

This video was what I was looking for this summer--trying to decide between the too. I knew I wanted the 85mm so I had to choose 50mm or 35mm. I chose 50mm after looking at so many general videos about the difference between the two focal lengths. I love it though now I wish it had the multi-focusing system. Wonder why they skipped it on the 50mm...

The comparison procedure is so practical and useful!

I also prefer the closer minimum focus on the 35-S 10" versus 18".

I have both and they are great yet I also shoot with the 50mm more or the 24-70mm 2.8s till my 85mm arrives! Thanks for another great review!

What were the AF settings for all video tests?

Isn't the fact that you're closer with the 35 making its DOF shallower and thus affecting the corner sharpness?

thankyou for these most helpful videos, among the most useful channels in youtube of our genre. great job, just got my 50 and 85mm lenses haven't tried them yet but have an event I'm extremely looking foward to testing them out..in cinema this weekend

It's not just fast auto focus but smooth transition in autofocus

Have the 35, 50 and 85 S with my Z6ii. All 3 of them are amazing in terms of image quality. Recently added the 105 Z macro to my line up too, will play with it a little more to see how it stacks up.

Hi Ricci. I have recently purchased the 50mm 1.8s to be used with z6. Immediately after changing from 24 70mm f4 kit lens, I can hear the focus motor on the 50mm. I can also feel it on my hand too. Is it normal? I just wanted to make sure the piece I have received is not defective. Thanks

You may already know but if you hold alt or shift (I think) both images will move together. Thanks for the review 🙂

Good lord, this lenses are so sharp. Next year im planing to buy one mirrowless and the 35/85 1.8 Z ..Thanks Ricci and keep up the great work

Overall good video as is with a lot of the ones you've done. Some very useful information. However, I don't really see one being "better" than the other. I think people wil lagree that the 50 1.8 S is very very sharp, and perhaps one of the sharpest lenses Nikon has put out todate, and possibly one of the sharpest lenses in its class. But at the same time, I wouldn't necessarily say one is better than the other, or that "which one is best for you" because the one that is best for you is likely going to depend on what you shoot and your style. I'd probably get both of these as each has its own characteristic. I'd say the 50mm is probably a more "universal" lens (can be used for street, portrait, some landscape possibly) more so than the 35mm which can be a bit wide for things like portraits but might be good for group shots. So I don't think one is necessarily "better" than the other in terms of usage. Sharpness, yeah the 50mm probably wins there. But I think between the two, you can't really go wrong with either one, and it really just matters what you're looking for. If you have the budget, maybe get both. But if you can only afford one and want a good all-around lens, the 50mm is hard to beat. The 35mm is probably going to be more useful for things like landscape or street photography because of the FOV is wider, and really if someone is a prime shooter (not specializing in one particular area, but perhaps a mixture) you almost would want a 35 and a 50, among others (maybe even a 24 or 20mm and 85 to round out your kit).

If you have a 50mm G lens there is no point buying this unless you need quieter focus. With the latest fw update the AF is plenty fast and you can use an external microphone for the af noise.

hello, thanks for the video!! may I suggest to crop the 35 mm to make it 50 ( cropped ) and then compare?... I know it a lot of work..but I´m struggling with wich lens to go... I guess that 35 cropped should be much closer in terms of sharpen... thanks again

Sorry I'm new i have a stupid question. Can't the 50mm turn into a 35mm if u just get closer to the subject?

I have to agree the 50mm is my favorite!

Great comparison!

I haven't tested the 50 but the 35 does not handle lens flare well at all. The 24-70 f/2.8 handles it much better than the 35 prime which was surprising. Overall I'm not that impressed with the shorter z primes.

Your insta photos are very nice. Interesting that you have both the 6 and 7 yet I can’t see any photos shot with the Z6.

Thank you. I own both lenses. In my opinion, the 35 mm is an excellent lens. But the 50 mm is a dream lens, especially for portraits. Sharpness, bokeh, contrasts at the highest level. I'm impatiently waiting for your test of the 85 mm/1.8 S.

Excellent comparison!

Since I already own the F mount 50, Kinda kicking myself for not buying a F mount 35 first, but now ill just skip the 35 and get the 24 1.8 next month.

Exactly what I was looking for

Thanks for the review!! Nice Channel btw. keep up this awesome work! :)

Thank you

Ricci, can u compare the 35 1.8 S vs 35 1.4 Sigma art ?

I own this lens and was impressed with the video quality. What body did you shoot this with?

Hello. Which lens do you recommend for the video? Z 50mm 1.8 or Z 35mm 1.8 . Thank you for the video work. very interesting.

Good one mate

How did you test the video focus speed? The z50 offers two options to adjust the auto focus speed and the focus tracking speed to your needs!

thanks!

I have a Z6ii and Z 70-200 S 2.8 that I bought for sports photography. $2200 sale ouch. Can I use that lens for filming sports with a tripod? According to the video, the 35mm has better or faster sharpening. Does that make it a better lens for video?

thanks..great video like always

I could never afford that prime lens. 😭 Nice video by the way 👍

I really want to see both lenses compared side by side for the size difference. Your hands were fidgeting all the time when you were holding both lenses. Are they much different when it comes to sizing?

Superb info and thank you, Sir.

Thanks Ricci! Is there much difference between the 24-70 2.8 s and this primes?

I've been reviewing several of your lens comparisons and I now wonder if you would expect any significant differences on a Z 6 or Z 6II? That is, would the differences in sharpness be as noticeable (albeit, they are somewhat subtle even on the Z 7) on those 24 mp cameras? My instincts tell me that for anything other then the high megapixel Z 7 or Z 7II, the 4.0 zooms are as good as you will get and I only use primes (I have the 50 S 1.8 and the 35 S 1.8) for low light situations. Yes? Somewhat yes? :-) Thanks for doing these comparisons!

你的很多比较视频确实有用，我选择35，显然他更加通用，虽然50更锐

Great review. I’d be very interested to see a zoom to prime comparison, just how much better are the primes compared to the zooms?

Just ordered the 35 mm why does the 50 mm look sharper -.-

Nice video but I’m curious about the how you get the smooth focus on the af video testing focus.

What FOcus mode u suggest for Videos ?

Z6 doing well

The 50 is a legend

Thanks for creating the video. My only question you continued to say “it’s really hard to tell the difference” in many cases in which there were clear, albeit subtle, differences in bokeh quality, brightness, sharpness. I’m curious why these nuances were not mentioned.

In the AF video test, is the sound from the built-in mic? cant even hear the motor :O

Hi, can you tell what the sound was at 7:20 when you make object closer?

Jurassic Park!!!!

hey Ricci,what about 85mm lens test?

I have the 50, 85, and after some reviews on KZfaq I bought the 35 1.8 too. And I'm quiet disappointed from the 35 1.8 I sold my sigma art 35 1.4 to buy the Z lens but I'm very sorry no I did. The Z has absolutely no chance against the art lens. I didn't expect this at all. So I hope one day a 35 1.2 is coming out that outperforms the sigma but for now I want my sigma back.

50mm is brighter

These are so expensive, especially the 35mm. The 50mm may be worth its price during the periodic Nikon promotions. But the 35 is so close to $1K. I hope some third party like Tamron or Viltrox come out with some 35mm f2 under 500 USD.

However, I noticed that 501.8 has obvious color noise while 35 1.8 does not

I like my 50mm S, but I still think that my Sigma 50mm Art is sharper and more pleasing.

I have both lenses

The most apparent difference in this video is how you talk when looking at the sample pictures in lightroom... yawn...

sorry...I felt asleep...