Ideal Portrait Lens for D40? AF or MF ?

[melbster]

Hi Everyone,:)

I'm looking for a good no nonsense portrait lens for around £80-£200 (cheaper the better !)

I have been viewing various posts and it seems a 'nifty fifty' would fit the bill.....Would you agree and if so any recomendations?

One more thing, could anyone clarify whether I must have an Autofocus lens with the D40? or will a manual focus lens be ok? :thinking:

Thanks in advance... :thumbs:

[melbster]

Anyone ?? :(

[alexisonfire]

The 50mm f/1.8 or f/1.4 both fit into your budget but are both manual focus on a D40. They are equal to roughly 80mm on a 1.5x crop which is the ideal portrait focal length. They are both incredibly sharp and offer excellent low light capabilities. Unfortunantly there isn't a great deal of choice for the D40 in the focal length you need with autofocus. The Nikon 18-70mm is pretty damn good for not a lot of money. The minimum aperture shouldn't really be a problem if your working in studio conditions, and its sharp stopped down. Your best bet for sharpness, autofocus and low aperture would be the Nikon AF-S 28-70 f/2.8 but is well out of your budget :(

[melbster]

Thanks for that concise info.. Much appreciated :thumbs:

[theory]

I would recommend a voigtlander nokton 58mm f1.4 which is designed as a MF lens and is such a pleasure to use with an outstanding bokeh :) they seem to be about £200ish and worth every penny imo.

ooh, also investigate katz eye (split prism) focus screens, they are great too!