AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f1.8G vs. AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G (D40 Kit Lens)

My friend Gabby gave me a great idea for a post that stemmed from yesterday’s post about my new camera lens: a photo comparison! I’m by no means an expert when it comes to lenses and why they do what they do, but I know I understand better when something is being demonstrated for me so here goes.

I tried to replicate the same environment in both photos, but obviously it wasn’t perfect. C’mon, it’s ME conducting this experiment.

In the photo above, you can kinda see the biggest difference in the background of the left photo compared to the background of the right photo. The 35mm lens produced a blurrier background, making the subject a lot more prominent and in-focus. The shutter speed on the left photo was 1/125 (much faster) compared to the 1/40 in the right photo.

Like in the first set of photos, the f/1.8 lens has a much smaller area of focus, which really draws your eye into the picture and on to the subject. You can see in the photo taken with the kit lens on the right more of the letters on the book are in focus. Although this isn’t a bad thing, I like to equate it to the saying, “If everything is a priority, nothing’s a priority.” And just like in a photo, if everything is sharp and in focus, your eye isn’t really drawn to just one thing. As a result, you’re left with a photo that’s just… well, nice.

If you’re a beginner photographer, the biggest advantage the f/1.8 lens offers over the f/3.5-5.6 lens is the wide aperture and the faster shutter speed. These two things make for much more creative photography in an indoor, low-light setting.