# Best portrait lens?



## bevoholic (Feb 21, 2011)

An ex coworker of mine gave my name out to a friend of hers and now she wants me to do some family portraits for her.  Right now, all I have are my 18-55 and 70-300.  What's a good lens that I could get?  I have a D5000 and I will be working outside.  Oh, and fairly cheap would be nice.


----------



## Stradawhovious (Feb 21, 2011)

NIkon 50mm 1.8 ($130 MF only on the D5000) 50mm 1.4 ($400 AF), 35mm1.8 ($200 AF), 85 mm 1.8 ($430 MF only on the D5000), etc. etc. etc.

You could also try HERE..... It seems to be a very common question.

I use a 50mm 1.8 and a 135mm 2.8 AI, and I LOVE them. the 50mm 1.8 won't AF on the D5000, but will meter.... the 135mm 2.8 AI won't AF or meter on the D5000


----------



## bevoholic (Feb 21, 2011)

Stradawhovious said:


> NIkon 50mm 1.8 ($130 MF only on the D5000) 50mm 1.4 ($400 AF), 35mm1.8 ($200 AF), 85 mm 1.8 ($430 MF only on the D5000), etc. etc. etc.
> 
> You could also try HERE..... It seems to be a very common question.
> 
> I use a 50mm 1.8 and a 135mm 2.8 AI, and I LOVE them. the 50mm 1.8 won't AF on the D5000, but will meter.... the 135mm 2.8 AI won't AF or meter on the D5000



Will the 50mm 1.4 AF and meter?  I really don't think MF will be all that much of a problem though.  I can see pretty well through my viewfinder.  And your link doesn't go anywhere.


----------



## Stradawhovious (Feb 21, 2011)

bevoholic said:


> Stradawhovious said:
> 
> 
> > NIkon 50mm 1.8 ($130 MF only on the D5000) 50mm 1.4 ($400 AF), 35mm1.8 ($200 AF), 85 mm 1.8 ($430 MF only on the D5000), etc. etc. etc.
> ...


 
The 50mm 1.4 AF-S will meter and AF on the D5000, but it's $300 more than the 50 1.8 AF D. The MF isn't that big of deal, since there is an focus indicator light in the viewfinder. So even though it won't AF, it will still tell you when it is in focus.

My link should take you to a search for "best portrait lens" which will yield 5 pages of threads, many of which contain really helpful information.

If you have a dedicated photo store in your area, chances are they rent all of those lenses. Might be a good way to see if you like them.


----------



## Light Artisan (Feb 21, 2011)

Nikon 85 f/1.4 or the Nikon 70-200 VR

You're welcome and good luck.


----------



## bevoholic (Feb 21, 2011)

Ahh, thanks.  I forgot about the indicator in the viewfinder.  Your link just says "Sorry, no results found."  I think I'm gonna go with the 50mm 1.4.


----------



## Stradawhovious (Feb 21, 2011)

Light Artisan said:


> Nikon 85 f/1.4 or the Nikon 70-200 VR
> 
> You're welcome and good luck.


 
Yeah, assuming the OP has $1,000+ for the 85mm 1.4 or $2,300+ for the 70-200, they're in like flynn.  Really good glass costs a **** ton of money.


----------



## Light Artisan (Feb 21, 2011)

They asked what the best was, not what the best was for $150 or less.


----------



## bevoholic (Feb 21, 2011)

Stradawhovious said:


> Light Artisan said:
> 
> 
> > Nikon 85 f/1.4 or the Nikon 70-200 VR
> ...


 
Thanks...hahaha.


----------



## tirediron (Feb 21, 2011)

Light Artisan said:


> Nikon 85 f/1.4 or the Nikon 70-200 VR



Strictly bush-league.  The real answer is:  The Nikon 105mm f/2D AF-DC Nikkor!!!


----------



## Stradawhovious (Feb 21, 2011)

Light Artisan said:


> They asked what the best was, not what the best was for $150 or less.


 

Whatever. I gave my opinion based on my experience, you gave yours. The OP can make up his own mind based on necessity and means.

Have a nice night! :hug::


----------



## bevoholic (Feb 21, 2011)

Light Artisan said:


> They asked what the best was, not what the best was for $150 or less.


 
Yea.  I guess I should have stated that.  I can't afford those lens'...unfortunately.


----------



## GooniesNeverSayDie11 (Feb 22, 2011)

I would go with a kit lens replacement.17-50 2.8 tamron or 16-50 2.8 tokina. Personally I dont think the shallow DOF or speed is needed in family portraits. But better IQ and focusing capabilities would be welcome additions. Are you planning studio stuff or location shot? When I think family shots, I think outdoors shots where you want to see some background and have ample lighting aside from just needing some fill. Which brings another question, do you have a flash?


----------



## ghache (Feb 22, 2011)

I've used the 
85mm 1.8, the 50mm 1.8. 24-70 af-s 2.8, the 70-200 VR1 the 18-105 VR kit lens for portraits and my favorite so far is the 24-70.

The range is really nice on a cropped body, its sharp, fast, easy to work with and the bokeh it produce between 50-70 is really nice. i love this lens.
I suspect the 70-200 to also be an excelent lens for portraiture but i didnt had the chance to use it that much. I bought the 24-70 after renting it alot, so now ill be renting the 70-200 to test it alot more.


----------



## KmH (Feb 22, 2011)

bevoholic said:


> An ex coworker of mine gave my name out to a friend of hers and now she wants me to do some family portraits for her. Right now, all I have are my 18-55 and 70-300. What's a good lens that I could get? I have a D5000 and I will be working outside. Oh, and fairly cheap would be nice.


The lenses you have will work fine, as long as you understand how to use them.

There is no one best portrait lens. Which lens gets used depends on a number of factors: indoor or outdoor how many people in the shot, how much light is available, strobed light or available light how far from the background the subject(s) are, etc.?

For a family I would use the 70-300 if I have the room to be back from them.

Were I you, I'd be thinking more about how I would be lighting them.


----------



## bevoholic (Feb 22, 2011)

KmH said:


> bevoholic said:
> 
> 
> > An ex coworker of mine gave my name out to a friend of hers and now she wants me to do some family portraits for her. Right now, all I have are my 18-55 and 70-300. What's a good lens that I could get? I have a D5000 and I will be working outside. Oh, and fairly cheap would be nice.
> ...


 
It's going to be outdoors, as I don't have any indoor studio equipment yet and that's what the lady wants.  Hopefully lighting shouldn't be too much of an issue.


----------



## AmberNikol (Feb 22, 2011)

bevoholic said:


> KmH said:
> 
> 
> > bevoholic said:
> ...



Best time for outdoor lighting is early morning or late evening...just FYI. The lighting is best then, IMO.


----------



## reznap (Feb 22, 2011)

KmH said it all.  Nothing wrong with your lenses.  Can you fire your SB600 remotely?  Do you have any lighting modifiers?  Might make a big difference...


----------



## Stradawhovious (Feb 22, 2011)

bevoholic said:


> It's going to be outdoors, as I don't have any indoor studio equipment yet and that's what the lady wants. Hopefully lighting shouldn't be too much of an issue.


 
You may want to consider looking into reflectors or flash.

The reflectors can be as simple as large pieces of white poster board (usually about 2'x2' or larger, 1.00 or less if you have a good dollar store around). For outdoor portraits, in lieu of a flash the reflectors will do wonders for lighting and eliminating shadows. I bought a 42" 5-in-1 reflector off the intrawebs ($18 delivered), and plan on buying another. I use it far more often than I thought.

I don't believe your D5000 has a commander mode to fire the SB-600 remotely, but I may be wrong. Either way, it wouldn't do much good in bright daylight anyways. (the commander mode that is, the flash would do plenty of good) For the flash you might want to look into a radio trigger. I bought one for about $60 from the local photo store, and it works great.

ETA... you can get larger "reflectors" from the hardware store if you are creative... there are all kinds of white paneling out there, some as big as 4'x8' sheets.  Use your imagination, and use what works... it doesn't always have to have a brand name on it. 

My .02, IANAL, YMMV and all that.

remember what you paid for my advice, it's worth roughly half that.


----------



## bevoholic (Feb 22, 2011)

reznap said:


> KmH said it all.  Nothing wrong with your lenses.  Can you fire your SB600 remotely?  Do you have any lighting modifiers?  Might make a big difference...


 
I can't fire it remotely, but I have the cable so I can keep it off camera on a stand and still use it.  I don't have any lighting modifiers.


----------



## reznap (Feb 22, 2011)

^ Ah ok.  Not sure what you normally like to shoot, but OCF is very useful in more than just portraiture.  I picked up a set of (cowboystudio) radio triggers from amazon for 20 bucks.  I've found them to be very reliable and pretty decent range-wise.  You have to set the flash power manually when using cheap radio triggers.

Here's a link to $20 triggers and $40 light stand and umbrella.. It's cheap entry-level stuff, but I can pretty much assure you it would do more for your pictures than a new lens.  If you want shallow DOF, that's more than possible with your 70-300, especially around the 200mm range.

Amazon.com: CowboyStudio NPT-04 4 Channel Wireless Hot Shoe Flash Trigger Receiver for Canon EOS, Nikon, Olympus & Pentax Flashes Other products by cowboystudio: Camera & Photo
Amazon.com: CowboyStudio Speedlite Flash Kit Photography Photo Studio Flash Mount Umbrellas Kit: Camera & Photo


----------



## bevoholic (Feb 22, 2011)

reznap said:


> ^ Ah ok.  Not sure what you normally like to shoot, but OCF is very useful in more than just portraiture.  I picked up a set of (cowboystudio) radio triggers from amazon for 20 bucks.  I've found them to be very reliable and pretty decent range-wise.  You have to set the flash power manually when using cheap radio triggers.
> 
> Here's a link to $20 triggers and $40 light stand and umbrella.. It's cheap entry-level stuff, but I can pretty much assure you it would do more for your pictures than a new lens.  If you want shallow DOF, that's more than possible with your 70-300, especially around the 200mm range.
> 
> ...


 
Even outside?


----------



## bevoholic (Feb 22, 2011)

reznap said:


> ^ Ah ok.  Not sure what you normally like to shoot, but OCF is very useful in more than just portraiture.  I picked up a set of (cowboystudio) radio triggers from amazon for 20 bucks.  I've found them to be very reliable and pretty decent range-wise.  You have to set the flash power manually when using cheap radio triggers.
> 
> Here's a link to $20 triggers and $40 light stand and umbrella.. It's cheap entry-level stuff, but I can pretty much assure you it would do more for your pictures than a new lens.  If you want shallow DOF, that's more than possible with your 70-300, especially around the 200mm range.
> 
> ...


 
Even outside?


----------



## Stradawhovious (Feb 22, 2011)

bevoholic said:


> Even outside?




Here is a link that I think will help answer.  I didn't read any of the text, but it does show some examples of with and without both flash and reflectors.  It's pretty drastic.

Improve Your Outdoor Portraits with Fill-in Flash


----------



## CNCO (Feb 22, 2011)

depending how much you want to spend and what your expectations are. i suggest if you are asking then you are an amateur doing this for your first time. i suggest you use what you got and see the quality. me personally something with a low aperture value will work. the 85mm is very nice but the 50mm works just as well. there are two 50mm one is 1.8 and 1.4. I have the 1.8 and its awesome, i could only imagine the 1.4


----------



## AmberNikol (Feb 22, 2011)

How much do reflectors usually cost?


----------



## KmH (Feb 22, 2011)

AmberNikol said:


> How much do reflectors usually cost?


It depends on the type of reflector you're looking at.


----------



## AmberNikol (Feb 22, 2011)

KmH said:


> AmberNikol said:
> 
> 
> > How much do reflectors usually cost?
> ...


 

How about lets say for a starter one. Something that will do the job well without breaking the bank.


----------



## bevoholic (Feb 22, 2011)

Thanks for all your help guys.  As you can tell, I am new to this and all your help is greatly appreciated.


----------



## KmH (Feb 22, 2011)

bevoholic said:


> Even outside?


Optical triggers like Nikon's CLS don't work well outside. They use IR (infrared) light and the Sun's IR light overwhelms them.

So outside you use radio triggers. If you have a light stand and umbrella setup outside, you need to weight the legs of the stand to make it less susceptible to being tipped over by people or wind.
Ankle weights from Wal-Mart will work for that purpose.

Don't try and shoot in direct or dappled sunlight. Put your subjects in open shade. Then use strobed or reflected light to separate your subjects from the background, light wise.


----------



## bevoholic (Feb 22, 2011)

KmH said:


> bevoholic said:
> 
> 
> > Even outside?
> ...


 
Thanks.  Good to know.


----------



## reznap (Feb 22, 2011)

bevoholic said:


> Even outside?


 
Yes.  
I took this with off-camera flashes outside.  Same triggers as I linked to you.







Here's a cheap reflector.. but you'll need someone to hold it, or use a stand and some clamps.

Amazon.com: Opteka 43" 5-in-1 Collapsible Disc Reflector, Translucent, White, Black, Silver, Gold, with Carrying Case: Camera & Photo


----------



## ghache (Feb 22, 2011)

I bought 2  X 42 ich 5 in 1 relfector from ebay for dirt cheap.
they work really good and would buy them again.


----------



## Ginu (Feb 22, 2011)

I think best bet is a fast lens like a 35/50mm AFS either 1.4 or 1.8, cheapest route for a beginner and if the OP doesn't like the lens and result, then the lens can be sold quite easy.


----------



## reznap (Feb 22, 2011)

Ginu said:


> I think best bet is a fast lens like a 35/50mm AFS either 1.4 or 1.8, cheapest route for a beginner and if the OP doesn't like the lens and result, then the lens can be sold quite easy.



IMO, a 35mm f/1.8 should be on every Nikon owner's wish list.


----------



## KmH (Feb 22, 2011)

You know, I had a one of the AF-S 35mm f/1.8G lenses for awhile, but I sold it.

For me it had to much lateral CA and I didn't care for the bokeh CA and purple fringing at the larger apertures.


----------



## KmH (Feb 22, 2011)

AmberNikol said:


> How about lets say for a starter one. Something that will do the job well without breaking the bank.




Add www.bhphotovideo.com to your favorites list. If they don't have it, you don't need it. They also have some technical info you can track down.

Their prices are very competitive and they are IMO the most reputable photography store on planet Earth. If you are ever in NYC, plan at least a day to just wander around their store.


----------



## bevoholic (Feb 22, 2011)

KmH said:


> AmberNikol said:
> 
> 
> > How about lets say for a starter one. Something that will do the job well without breaking the bank.
> ...


 
I second this.  I have purchased all my equipment from them sans the camera body and kit lenses.  Their store in NYC is amazing.  Their prices are significantly less than my local camera stores as well.


----------



## AmberNikol (Feb 22, 2011)

Thanks! I booked marked that site. ;-)


----------



## djacobox372 (Feb 22, 2011)

I would get the 50mm f1.8 af-d over the 50mm f1.4 af-d for outdoor portraits. 

At f2.8 and above they're identical in performance (both near perfect), if you want to shoot at f2 or lower, then the 1.4 will outperform, but you'll rarely need to shoot that wide outdoors.


----------



## ghache (Feb 22, 2011)

djacobox372 said:


> I would get the 50mm f1.8 af-d over the 50mm f1.4 af-d for outdoor portraits.
> 
> At f2.8 and above they're identical in performance (both near perfect), if you want to shoot at f2 or lower, then the 1.4 will outperform, but you'll rarely need to shoot that wide outdoors.


 

I shoot my 50mm at 1F4 outdoor with good result.
This picture have really small pp done to it.

IMO, For 150$, that lens can't be beat. never ever






Exposure0.001 sec (1/800)Aperturef/4.0Focal Length50 mmISO Speed100








Exposure0.001 sec (1/800)Aperturef/4.0Focal Length50 mmISO Speed100


----------



## bevoholic (Feb 22, 2011)

I ended up purchasing the 50mm f/1.8D.  Should have it by Friday.


----------



## Stradawhovious (Feb 22, 2011)

bevoholic said:


> I ended up purchasing the 50mm f/1.8D. Should have it by Friday.


 
Once you get used to the MF you will wonder what you ever did without it. 

Good choice. :thumbup:


----------



## bevoholic (Feb 22, 2011)

Stradawhovious said:


> bevoholic said:
> 
> 
> > I ended up purchasing the 50mm f/1.8D. Should have it by Friday.
> ...


 
I been practicing using my 18-55 with the focus on M just to get a feel for what I'd have to be doing.  I don't think it should be that much of a problem for me.


----------



## snaplounge (Feb 22, 2011)

I love my Tamron 28-75mm 2.8. Sharp and fast on all length..  My best investment so far. At 5.6 it is sharper than Canon 50mm 1.4 prime.


----------



## ghache (Feb 23, 2011)

snaplounge said:


> I love my Tamron 28-75mm 2.8. Sharp and fast on all length.. My best investment so far. At 5.6 it is sharper than Canon 50mm 1.4 prime.


 

is it sharp at 2.8?


----------

