Nikon D40X macro lens question

hi guys, i'm very new to taking pics. Currently have a D40X with kit lens.. thinking of buying 35mm f1.8 or the 50mm f1.8... the 50mm f1.8 is cheaper but cant auto focus on my cam set. Main purpose of the lens is for taking bettas and some other small fishes/shrimps...

my question is to ask you guys for opinion if AF is needed to take pics of betta (person taking the pic>me>is quite noob in taking photos)....if it's not so important, i might go for the 50mm as it's cheaper. Therefore hope you guys can give some input on which lens i should buy...

[Cool Dude]

hi bro. me using D40. if not wrong prime lens 50mm will not autofocus for D40 even it is AF lens. if manually focus for you is okay, then you may go for the lens. but for me is a no, cos u might use the lens for other purpose as well. from i point of view, think the kits lens should do the job well, if u use the m mode.

anyway, i am also new to photography

Originally Posted by Cool Dude

hi bro. me using D40. if not wrong prime lens 50mm will not autofocus for D40 even it is AF lens. if manually focus for you is okay, then you may go for the lens. but for me is a no, cos u might use the lens for other purpose as well. from i point of view, think the kits lens should do the job well, if u use the m mode.

anyway, i am also new to photography

have you tried close up filters before? do you think close up filters + kit lens would do better than kit lens alone? or is there no difference

Close up filter will only make your kit lens look worse than it is.

The 50mm will not autofocus on a D40. It's cheap but not very sharp. The lens you want for fish photography that will autofocus and give you best pics is the AF-S 60 mm f/2.8. Sharp as a tack and very fast auto focus.

Originally Posted by I_M_Canadian

Close up filter will only make your kit lens look worse than it is.

The 50mm will not autofocus on a D40. It's cheap but not very sharp. The lens you want for fish photography that will autofocus and give you best pics is the AF-S 60 mm f/2.8. Sharp as a tack and very fast auto focus.

ic..but that's a bit out of budget. didnt know close up filter will make my kit lens worst...

Originally Posted by ItEndyCatAro

ic..but that's a bit out of budget. didnt know close up filter will make my kit lens worst...

Well, a close up filter will reduce the dof you have. Maybe worse is not the right word, but if you're starting with a lens that is low-end, the close up filter will only make shooting pics more difficult than if you were using a higher end lens with the filter. Maybe "more challenging" is the correct term.

[ymmij]

usually when you do macro you use manual focusing which might give you better control...

[amiidae]

Manual focusing is not as easy for fish photography.

Bro

Not sure if you are interested still ... fish photography you should not be using Primes. Its almost impossible to shoot wide open at 1.8. the DOF is to shallow. Zoom will be easier . the 17-55 would be ideal.

Manual focus is difficult when taking fast moving fish. For shrimp, it is still OK. Macro lens will let you to take close up photo with good distance. Close up filter will do also but sometime the working distance is too short to work with.