Edia Loc: Central New Jersey

The 50mm lens on a crop sensor camera yields about 75mm focal length. I find it good for portraits and yields significant Bokeh when you open it up. The 35mm lens yields about 50mm making it a good walk around lens on the D3300. Both lenses are sharp but I give the nod the 50mm lens for tack sharpness. Your 18-200mm zoom will not be as sharp but will cover your landscape photo range. Generally you do not need a fast lens for landscapes. f11 or higher is used for most landscape photography. A tripod is a must for landscapes.

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

As mentioned earlier, I use the 50mm f1.8D on my D7100. I don’t mind that it’s the equivalent field of view of a 75mm lens, as I would have my 105mm on my previous FE2 about 95% of the time. I find it to be extremely sharp and VERY fast AF. Can’t ask for more.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Well, for good glass at a affordable price a FX 50mm prime lens is good for general shooting. But remember your D3300 is a DX (cropped factor) camera and its "normal" lens is a 35mm lens. A 50mm would be more like a 77mm on your camera. A fast f/2 35mm FX lens would not be cheap. For Nikon typically the FX lenses are the better "pro" lenses, though many DX lenses, including 35mm could be really good as well. As others have stated you might be better off with a Wide Angle lens for landscapes. Something in the range of 15mm to 24mm would be cool.

ptk Loc: Oregon, USA

You have received many good answers that I agree with. Your 18-200mm lens covers a decent range; have you thought of taking sample photos with it strictly at 50mm to see how you like it, or if you can determine what is missing that a prime 50mm might have?

I have a Nikon D5300 and an old prime 50mm f/1.4 lens that works with it (entirely in manual mode). The only thing the prime has that my 18-55mm does not have is a wider aperture, and I find I only use it for portraits and never for landscapes, cityscapes, architecture, etc. (I am neither a professional, nor a very good amateur). If I wanted a faster prime lens for landscapes, I would pick a much shorter focal length for the wider field of view.

My 50mm f/1.4 was very handy decades ago with my 35mm film format FM. It was the only lens I took to university in Germany (Stuttgart) and for travels around Europe. If I had to pick a faster prime lens than my 18-55mm, I would consider Nikon's 35mm for those kinds of travel with my DX format D5300. But my 18-55mm does such a good job I just take it now for travel or general use, most recently including a trip to Mexico City and its environs.

Jim Bob

Not really. 35mm or wider.