Should I save up to buy the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 or buy 50mm f/1.8 lens?

At the moment I don't exactly have the money to buy the 50mm 1.4 AF-S… Do you think I should save up, or just buy the 50mm 1.8? I'm just really really eager for a new lens to take some good portraits! Or 35mm 1.8 is another option. Which would be the best to use on my Nikon D5000?

Added (1). So is manual focusing for the 1.8 not like manual focusing on for example, an 18-55mm lens?

Get the 50/1.8 and the 35/1.8 for a little more than the 50/1.4!

Well for one, the 35mm might be a bit too wide for portraits, and may cause distortion.

The f/1.8 is plastic, and feels cheap. It gives great quality for the price you pay. Unless you are real serious about photography, and are doing photography that require very fast lens, the f/1.8 wil be good enough for portraits.

Now if you said weddings or any other low-light setting, I would say yes to the f/1.4, but If you don't really need a super fast lens, then don't get one.

I'd save up, using a manual focus f1.8 is a lot more difficult than using the autofocus 1.4

Are you willing to learn how to manually focus the f/1.8 lens?

If not, you will want to save your pennies for the AF-S 50 mm f/1.4 lens

My opinion is a little complicated but here go's.

1--35mm is too wide, even on a D5000, to be a portrait lens, per se but it can certainly be done if you enjoy portraits done at that length. The 35mm 1.8 would be a more nicely constructed lens than the 50mm 1.8 but 50mm is closer to the conventional portrait lens length for a crop-sensor DSLR.

2--MTF charts are what measure the various qualities of lenses. Historically, the MFT charts for the Nikkor 50mm 1.4's are not quite as good as their 50mm 1.8's even though the 1.4's are more expensive, the newer ones are built better and a 1.4/50 is capable of more extreme shallow depth of field than a 1.8. What I'm saying is that while people may turn their nose up at the current 50mm 1.8 because of the poor quality of construction, optically, it's a better lens in some ways than the 1.4. Also, when you get to 1.4 and faster lenses, focusing wide open becomes an issue because you have to hit exactly the right focus or the photo fails. For example, when shooting a portrait with a 1.4, you may focus on only one eye on a face, leaving the other out of focus. Whereas with the 1.8, you would be less likely to make a mistake like this. Unless you are shooting in low light, the 1.8 is totally adequate.

3--If you still prefer the 50mm 1.4 for it's bokeh properties and a desire to use a better-built lens, try looking for a used copy at BHPhoto.com, Adorama.com or KEH.com. Lenses are safer to buy used than cameras because they are less complex and if you buy from one of these sites, you'll get a guarantee. As as been suggested, manual focus versions are very affordable but even the early AF's can be also.

I shoot on 35mm and digital and have several copies of both the 50mm 1.4 and 1.8 from as old as the 1960's to the AF models and have handled the 50mm 1.4 G also. Both lenses are capable of amazing photos and it's really up to you as to what qualities of each are important to you right now. Good luck and enjoy your new lens (whatever it turns out to be!)

I think you should go with Nikon 50mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

50mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon DSLRs
Lens construction: 7 elements in 6 groups
Closest focusing: 0.45m/1.5 ft.
Accepts 52mm filters
Includes 52mm lens cap, rear cap