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nikon lenses for portraits
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Hi all,
I recently got into photography again. I got my first DSLR about six months ago. Prior to that I had a bridge camera many years ago. Taking landscapes.
My new camera is a Nikon D7000. I bought it second hand with a kit lens. I am now principally interested in portrait photos. So the lens I have is the nikkor 55-200 vr. It works fine for portraits but I would like to get something better so I am looking into getting a prime lens for portraits. I have seen nikon do 85mm lenses for under 400 euro. I know very little about lenses. Could someone advise me on a good lens to get me out of the kit lens world and into a higher level of portrait lens photography? I don’t have a lot of money and in fact that 400 price I saw (new on ebay – I don’t remember the exact lens.) is a bit steep but I am sure you can spend a fortune on lenses. Thanks a lot!!J.
Hi Jamie,
I would recommend a 50mm or an 85mm prime lens, with both coming in f1.4 and f1.8 varieties. The 50’s make great indoor portrait lenses, and the 85’s excellent outdoor portraits lenses. They make a great combo to be honest, and if shooting portraits again, both would find a home in my bag, with no personal need for any others, except maybe something wider if my intention were to shoot environmental portraits.
Given the 55-200 you have should be manageable as an outdoor portrait lens, and also for tighter headshots, I would look to add a 50mm lens for portraits. It will also be easier on the wallet too, with the current 50mm f1.8 AF-S and the older 50mm f1.4 AF-D running you about €200- €230. The older 50mm f1.8 AF-D will be even cheaper still at around €100, and the current 50mm f1.4 AF-S running the most expensive of the bunch at about €350/ €400, but also possessed of an autofocus motor not regarded as too fast. All these are Nikon lenses by the way.
My personal weakness after owning one for so long, is for the 50mm f1.4 AF-D, and feel it is a fine choice for portraits. The bokeh (out of focus areas) are not too objectionable, its fast, and very sharp (although slightly lower in contrast and only merely sharp (as opposed to very sharp) up to f2.8 ). Used, if you can snag a copy for about €180, I think you would be very happy.
There is however one stand out lens amongst the 50’s for me, and that is the Sigma 50mm f1.4. More expensive than all the rest at about €400- €500, this is the one to go for, if you want the very best in this focal range for a Nikon dslr. If portraits were my main subject and 50mm one of my main portrait lenses, this is the one I would go for, but I would not lose sleep shooting portraits with nothing but the 50mm f1.4 AF-D for the rest of my days.
Hope this helps, and good luck with your choice :)
I too have the Nikon D7000 and I do a lot of portrait stuff which you can see here. https://www.flickr.com/photos/22330403N02/sets/72157636008997566/” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;
I use my Nikon 50mm 1.8 for the vast majority of portrait work. Its a great lens and very sharp and fast. I also use a Tamron 90mm 2.8 Macro lens which is a brilliant lens and will double up for Macro/Portrait work and will be a lot cheaper than the Nikon 85mm.
Mark S.
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