Thanks for that.
The portraits would mainly be outdoors using available light to capture head shots and dogs etc, I've got a Yongnuo 560III flash but not used it yet. I'm going to order the Nikkor 85mm f1.8G soon. Been looking closely at the Nikkor 135mm f2 DC which doesn't seem to be mentioned much as a portrait lens, strange that...
Thanks;
pete
The 135 DC really is a fantastic lens for portraits.
For me it is the ideal focal length for portraits, due to it's compression.
The bokeh is beautiful, but it isn't just the bokeh which makes it special.
This lens was designed ( back in the 1990's) to focus the red wavelength on a slightly different plane to give a rendering to skin tones which is unique.
It's old, takes a bit of practice to get the best out of it, but when dialled in correctly (mine needs + 16 micro adjust) it is unrivaled.
It is also extremely sharp. Anyone who says otherwise isn't doing it properly!
It also suffers from green/purple fringing in certain shots. Easily fixable in post though.
I don't have a D8*** yet, but on my D700 it shines.
Shame you don't live closer, you could have a go with mine !
(Having said all that, I still want a 200 f2 !!)