Best Lens for Portraits with the Nikon D80?

Question

I just purchased a Nikon D80 and I love it but I want to find the best lens for portraits. I shoot a lot of indoor portraits and hate flash so I need something that will be great for lowlight situations. I only shoot face shots. no full body or waist up shots.


Also, I have read that when shopping for lenses for DSLRs you have to do some calculations. Here is what I read about it from KenRockwell.com can someone please help with this?



"Digital SLRs have a sensor only 67% as big as film, so any lens used on digital gives a smaller field of view similar to a lens of 1.5 times the focal length. Take the focal length you use on your film camera and divide by 1.5 to get the focal length you need on a digital camera for the same effect. For instance, a 28 - 105 mm lens is about perfect on a film camera, which means for a digital camera you want an 18 - 70 mm lens"

I would also like to find something reasonable in price as well as good quality since I have already spent about 1,300 on the camera in the past few weeks.

Answer 1

For portrait lenses, the standard zoom range is between 70mm to 105mm. SInce Nikon doesn't use a full sized sensor equivalent to 35mm film, you need to multiply the zoom factor by about 1.3x to get its equivalent in film. As such, a zoom of 70mm in digital format is equal to about 100mm in film. But its really not a major issue. Whats important for portrait is the zoom range of 70-105mm because this minimizes distortion (its like what you see with the naked eye).

If you like low-light, the best lenses would be with maximum aperture openings of f2.8 (the 17-55mm, the 70-200mm, or the macro 105mm); which all cost an arm and a leg because they are considered "pro" lenses. Both the 17-55 and the 70-200 will cost $1500 each, the 105 is slightly cheaper.

A cheaper alternative would be a prime lens ( a lens with a fixed zoom) like the f1.8 50mm and 85mm.

Your kit lens with a70mm zoom is fine except that, as you already know, has a small aperture of f3.5. To increase shutter speed, you can always crank up the ISO to 800 and your D80 should still give you low noise photos.

Note likewise that lenses have a sweet spot in term of apertures. WIth large aperture openings (f2.8), you get a shallow depth of field (subject focused, background blurred), but if you focus on the eye, other parts of the face may not be sharp. Ideally, you'll still want a small aperture (like f8) to make sure the subject is well focused. Because of the slower shutter speed, a tripod will be your best friend.

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Best Lens for Portraits with the Nikon D80?
I just purchased a Nikon D80 and I love it but I want to find the best lens for portraits. I shoot a lot of indoor portraits and hate flash so I need something that will be great for lowlight situations. I only shoot face shots. no full body or waist up shots.


Also, I have read that when...

Answer 3

I like fhotoace's suggestion for the 24-85 lens, but I also see it's out of stock at B&H. It does review well, though.

If you can't find that lens or don't want to spend $550-600, consider the one I use. I'm NOT a professional photographer, so I have to remind myself not to buy a lens for every special need and try to make the best choices for overall use.

I have the Nikon Normal Macro 60mm f/2.8D AF Micro Nikkor Autofocus Lens, which sells for $400. Besides the obvious 1:1 macro use offered by this lens, once you get done with the lens factor calculations (1.5X), it is an effective 90 mm lens. This is the "classic" focal length for portrait work. (85-105 mm range prime lens) It gives you a nice working distance so you are not crowding your subject and it is a very sharp lens. f/2.8 is, of course, the maximum aperture "throughout," as there is only one focal length.

Again, I'd say fhotoace's choice of 24-85 gives you the range that you want and the f/2.8 is as good as you will find for real-world money, but if you want a prime lens that is easier on the wallet, look at the 60mm f/2.8 Macro Nikkor.

Answer 4

Nonoy covered it pretty well.

What Ken Rockwell means is that since the sensor of DSLR's is smaller than the regular film SLR's or the "Full Frame" SLRs like the Canon 5D and Canon Pro camera's you end up getting a more "zoomed in" pic with your digital. So a 50mm lens on a D80 is actually a 75mm lens. (x1.5)

This is good if you like shooting sports or wildlife etc.. because your 200mm lens becomes a 300mm lens, but not so great if you're doing landscapes because your wide 24mm becomes a 36mm lens.

Anyway, my suggestion for a nice portrait lens is the 85mm 1.8. ~$300-350.

Answer 5

Best Lense For Portraits Nikon

Answer 6

I bought a used 50mm f/1.4 for $200 for low light photography. This works out to 75mm on a D80, which makes it usable for portraits, too.
A 50mm f/1.8 would be much cheaper - they´re practically giving those away on eBay.
The 85mm f/1.8 is a better option for portraits, but this focal length isn't really suited for much else. It's also a more expensive lens.
If you're not familiar with the maths regarding f-numbers, f/1.4 is twice as fast as f/2, which is twice as fast as f/2.8... which is twice as fast as f/4. In other words, at f/1.4 your shutter speed is eight times faster than at f/4. You also get very shallow depth of field at these aperture settings - if you´re not careful, you´ll end up with just the tip of the nose being in focus.

Answer 7

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