Fixed Lens -35mm f/1.8 vs 50 mm f/1.8

I've got a 50 mmf/1.8 that I use quite a lot when I take pictures inside (at parties, inside riding halls etc). I like it, as it was cheap and takes very good pictures compared to the price. I think that for both Canon and Nikon the 50 mm are the cheapest. If I was going to get another one for low light situations I'd like a 80 mm or such, or even longer, but that's because I take quite a lot of pictures of horses jumping inside and I don't really want to sit inside the fence :-) So whether a 35 mm or a 50 mm is best for you is going to depend on what you want to use it for, I think that for taking pictures of cakes both will be OK. You don't have a friend that has them so you can try them?

I have 50mm/1.8 that I use for low-light photography and it's a great lens, but I find the 50mm to create some difficulty for me to actually use it in a lot of "tighter" situations. I have found myself needing to stand back more and then missed a lot of shots by having to move myself before I could frame the photo, this being in photographing bands. I guess the best advice I would have for you is to consider the situation you'll be using the lens in and whether you'll be up close and could run into this problem or if you're likely to have the room to play with. I shot pictures last year at my sister's wedding and used my 50mm/1.8 lens and found myself having plenty of room to get up close, but not too close, so if course I did not have the same issue. Either way, the 1.8 is a great lens, and the 50mm is so reasonable to buy.

I have heard that the 50mm lense is better for portraits and it seems that you will be taking portraits of cakes. I believe they are also less expensive. I have also heard from some that they prefer the 35mm. Some people will borrow these lenses from friends and try both out to see which one they like better.