Nikon d5100 50mm or 35mm?

I will be buying a nikon d5100 and I'm not sure if I should get the 35mm 1.8g or the 50mm 1.8g. I'm fixed on a prime lens because from my research they take sharper images. I have no problem using my feet to zoom in and out. My main goal is to take beautiful photos of my kids at home and when we're out. Would the 35mm be too far a view or will the 50mm be too zoomed in for home photos? Or is the kit lens fine for my goals?

For 35MM film, the 50MM lens is a good compromise between 35MM wide angle and 135MM medium telephoto. My Nikon F and Nikon F2, both came with 50MM lenses. I do not know if my 35MM experience crosses over to digital. Nikon lenses, however, are all top notch. For what you say you want to do, on a 35MM film Nikon, the 50MM lens will do the best.

The 35mm is best for scenic pictures. And the 50mm would be best for portraits of your kids. (try and get in close: head & shoulders for some really outstanding shots). I really think the kit lens would be fine for your goals and easier to work with. For instance, I always try and pre-visalize my final picture. And I also try and fill the frame with my subject matter. By doing this and using the maximum resolution setting (the one that give the most pixels), I know my pictures are going to come out great! Before you go running out and buying another lens, take a $10.00 bill have two 11x14's made of your best shots of the subject matter, your kids. I personally like the far end of the 28-to 50mm lens for people pictures. And the 28mm end for scenic's. With your portraits try and use the widest lens opening of your zoom. This throws the background out of focus and emphasizes the subjects (kids). If you feel the need to improve these shots, then go shopping for another lens.

It really comes down to your preference. Either will work. Many owners of cropped (DX) cameras prefer the 35mm lens as you can be a bit closer. But I still prefer the 50mm lens on a cropped camera (and it is a f/1.4 so that kind of clinches my preference for the 50mm lens).

You have to backup a bit when using a 50mm lens on a DX camera when compared to a FX camera though.

But should you ever want to jump to full frame, then the 50mm lens would be a better choice.

And for portraits, don't discount the 85mm lens on either Dx or Fx cameras. This lens is the absolutely best lens for portraiture - backing up or not.

Try taping your zoom ring on your 18-55 kit lens to 35mm and 50mm and shoot for a week at each setting. See how you like each focal length. We don't know what your situation is like, so you'll need to determine this yourself.

In general, for a crop sensor camera like yours, 35mm is a good choice. However, the 50mm lens is slightly better for portrait work, but may be a tad long for general use.

Personally, I would stick with the kit lens as the zoom feature is nice when shooting kids. If you want to do more artistic shots of the kids, then the 50mm would be the likely choice so you can better control your depth of field.

To get nice shots, you'll need to read up on lighting and how to control depth of field. A nice prime lens on a camera set to auto will take identical images as your kit lens except for low light situations. You'll want to be using aperture or shutter priority, depending on what the kids are doing.

If the ceilings in your house are white or very close to white, your best use of money for the next thing to buy would be a Nikon SB700. Use bounce flash for a pleasing lighting. You will solve motion blur more effectively than wide aperture.

I have shot for many years with a 50mm lens because it is so dang sharp, and it works great in low light, and for defocused backgrounds (you have to get the camera out of auto mode though) but i have missed too many shots over the years as well because it's just not wide enough.

So the 50mm is flattering for people shots when you are up close, but you might find that it's just not wide enough for all around use. I think the 35mm is a better walk around lens, something to photograph your kids as well.