Looking for a fixed lens to go with my 50mm1.8 (portraits mainly)?
I shoot maternity, newborn, family portraits etc. I LOVE my nifty fifty. Nifty doesn't do it justice, the lens is amazing, but need just a less focal length. I find there are shots that I would love to get in a little closer. I just got the 18-55 nikon lens (super cheap and pretty decent) But i prefer fixed lenses. Will the 35mm 1.8 be a waste, is it too similar. (52mm vs 75mm on my DX d90) SHould I go for the 28mm or just wait till I can afford something SPECTACULAR down the line.
The 35/1.8 DX is useful and very handy, consider it a fast normal for this format. That said if Nikon made a 28/1.8 I would have it in an instant (are you listening, Nikon?).
Personally I would not go much beyond 35mm, the wide angle distortion will make portraits less flattering.
To see if a 28 or 35 is something for you take a piece of masking tape (you know the papery stuff that's very easy to remove) and "lock" your zoom on either focal length. It will not come close in quality but at least you will get a feel for the focal length.
Thing is that a wider lens might not be what you need. That will give you more distortion the wider and closer you go, not a good thing for portraiture. Back in film days I liked a 100mm lens to close in on the face.
If you definitely want to go with the wider lens, yes I would go with a 28 as opposed to the 35, not that great a difference between the 50 and the 35. But you said you have an 18-55, can't you work with that to get a feel for 35 vs 28?
Actually to get better dof you want to go to more of a telephoto lens - the 85mm f1.8 can't be beaten as a portrait lens - I use it for headshots & full body shots in the studio.
Another lens worth considering is the 24-70mm f2.8, again a great portrait lens - not cheap though - you pay for that constant aperture!
I have both the above & they are worth their weight in gold. Neither are cheap though. I've not heard that many good things about the 35mm f1.8…
If you need something wider, but very similar in quality to the 50mm f/1.8, the 35mm f/1.8 is tough to beat. Before you buy, head to the camera store and try one out to give you a better idea of whether or not the focal length works for you. It's tough to find wider than that at good quality without dropping a lot of cash, but you could also look at the 14-24mm (significantly more expensive than the 35mm).
Also consider getting some kind of macro lens. The Tamron 60mm macro is about $600ish, and will allow you to get really nice detail shots of baby hands, feet, etc.
The 35 mm would be a waste because it is NOT a portrait lens.
The portrait lenses for your fine D90 would be the 50 mm that you have, a 60 mm f.2, 8 macro (dual purpose) and an 85 mm lens. Any longer lens will be too long for your APS-C sensored camera. Lenses shorter than 50 mm introduce distortion in the subjects face.