Which lens is better overall?

The Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G Lens or Canon EF 50mm/1.8?

I have the Nikkor lens, but I'm thinking about switching to a Canon DSLR and using the 50mm/1.8 lens. Not sure yet. What do you think?

Well don't just switch systems just for one lens… And it depends; which lens would be more useful for you? The 50mm is the better focal length for portraits and such; but Nikon has 50mm f/1.4 and f/1.8 lenses too…

http://www.google.com/...18&bih=569

I'm not sure why you'd think it would be useful to buy a whole other body just to use one lens. Not just any lens either, but probably the cheapest lens Canon makes and that Nikon also has a version of. Why not simply buy a Nikkor 50mm 1.8 if you want that focal length?

You really can't compare two different focal length lenses and say one is "better" than the other. It's like saying a hammer is better than a screwdriver. It all depends on what your purpose would be. You either need a 35mm or a 50mm. Neither is going to give you the same kind of image. Clearly there's a big price difference in these lenses. You have more depth of field with the 35mm and a more shallow depth of field with the 50. Among other things…

When you take into consideration the DX crop of the lenses the 50mm becomes almost an 80, which is a portrait lens. If you're doing portraits, great. But for most situations you're going to want the 35mm.