What lens for portrait

Mmarques

Mmarques

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Name
Marco
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Hi everyone,
I have a nikon d3100 and would like to know what lens would be best for portraits in a studio set up.
Thanks,
Marco
 
From my limited knowledge I would say 85mm or 50mm afs one as the afd one will not auto focus.
 
sep9001 said:
From my limited knowledge I would say 85mm or 50mm afs one as the afd one will not auto focus.
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Hi kev, thanks for your reply, yeh I was thinking of getting a nifty fifty afs but wanted to see why people's opinions were first.
 
the 100mm macro lens will take excellent portriaits, as well said above the 50 & the 85mm.
 
Would the 60mm Macro be a better lens than the 50mm? Plus youd have the chance for macro stuff too
 
Depends how much room you have. If it's only a small home studio setup 100mm will be too long. Nothing wrong with a 50mm. Nice lens for not a lot of money.

I adore prime lenses but must admit to now using a 17-50mm f2.8 for the majority of my home studio work
 
It's true that the 50mm is a faster lens than the 17-50, but I wouldn't have thought that really comes into it when the op is after a lens for studio use and I'm assuming studio lighting will be involved.

The 50mm also weighs about as much as a packet of crisps so anything else is bound to feel heavier. The tamron certainly isn't heavy compared to other zooms.

And as for the 17-50 not being sharp, yours must have had something wrong with it :shrug:

I'm not knocking the 50mm, it's obviously better for you, but a zoom shouldn't be overlooked, especially in a small studio environment
 
antihero said:
Depends how much room you have. If it's only a small home studio setup 100mm will be too long. Nothing wrong with a 50mm. Nice lens for not a lot of money.
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I agree.
I have gradually gone away from zooms, and although I still have a 24-70 and 80-200, I use primes wherever I can, and in the studio I Always use primes.
In a studio environment, where you can move around, a zoom is less important.
Primes are sharper, faster (although with studio lighting you won't need the extra speed, unless you want the shallow dof), and much lighter.
As for focal length on a crop, either the 50mm AF-S or the 35mm AF-S lenses are super sharp for next to no money. They also have a good, natural looking apparent perspective, which is flattering. Sometimes with a zoom like the 17-55, if you are too close, and shooting at the wider end, the results can be very un-flattering. This happens less with a 35 or 50mm, as you would need to move back, instead of zooming out wider with a zoom.
In my opinion a zoom is a little more convenient on location, where "zooming with your feet" is not always an option, although I personally would still try and use a prime whenever possible.:)
Good luck with your decision, and let us know your decision and let's see some shots !!
 
Personally my 70-200 is glued to my camera for studio work. I will use a 60mm macro for close up shots of the full face as it brings out so much detail in the eyes.

Very rarely use the 24-70 for portrait work tbh.
 
Raincloud said:
Would you opt for the 60mm Macro in place of the nifty fity GHP?
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Yep, wouldn't hesitate.
Before I got my 135 DC, I used to use my Nikon 105mm micro lens for portraits.
On a crop, 105 might be a bit long for a studio, depending on room of course, so a 60mm is a better length, being the equivalent of a 90mm lens on full frame, which is a great portrait length.
It is a very sharp lens. The latest G version does suffer a bit of fall-off in the corners wide open, but on a crop sensor you'd never know.
I think it would be a great choice.
 
My shout would be for either a 24-70 or a 70-200. Depending on if you are are wanting to do a lot of tight crops or more full length shots. I have the Sigma version of both and am more than happy with them. Doing more and more portraits with them - all be it not in a studio environment. I would say on a crop frame the 24-70 is a decent shout for a zoom over the 17-55 because you get that zoom which is more flattering and therefore more useful than the wider focal range at 17-24.
 
I'm in agreement those above that say that the 50mm is too short for head and shoulder shots - you end up standing too close and getting weird distortions. Mine was so under used I sold it on here recently :)

My two favourite portrait lenses are the 24-70 and 70-200 (y)
 
Bristolian said:
I'm in agreement those above that say that the 50mm is too short for head and shoulder shots - you end up standing too close and getting weird distortions.
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don't think i've ever managed to get distorted head and shoulder shots at 50mm. On a crop body anyway, might be different on FF?
 
antihero said:
don't think i've ever managed to get distorted head and shoulder shots at 50mm. On a crop body anyway, might be different on FF?
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I agree. 50mm is a great focal length on either crop or full frame.
I have never seen any distortion from this lens, even close up.
I will stand corrected of course, if some examples get posted.
Also, I tried loading some 50mm images into Lightroom, and applying the lens correction, and could see no difference before/after with regards to distortion.
So I'm afraid I don't understand Bristolian's post.
 
I use 3 lenses for Portraits

50mm f1.8 - 85mm f2.8 105mm f2.8

all good in their own right (y)


Les :D
 
Matt9581 said:
Tempted for nifty myself, but hear mixed reviews
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Mixed reviews? Really?
The reviews I have read have all said sharp, good bokeh, light, cheap.
Nothing too bad there !
Incidentally, the reviews on bokeh seem to point to the 1.8 G being a bit nicer then the 1.4 G
 
After recently picking up a Nikkor 35mm 1.8 for my D60, I can honestly say it's the best thing I have bought for my camera. The step up in image sharpness is superb, and if you are free to move around to get the best composition then I would happily recomend this lens to anyone else. The 35mm on a DX gives around the same folcal length as a 50mm on a FX camera.
 
I regularly use the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G for portraits... It's pin sharp, cheap and gives plenty of working space in a small home studio environment without the distortion with wide angle lenses!
 
I sold my 50mm as I just found this was to close on my crop-sensor, I opted for the 35mm indoor shots and 85mm outdoor or the sneak an peek look lens around the house...(that just sounds wrong :thinking: )
 
Wow loads of different lenses to choose from, just made a list of all the lenses everyone has mentioned so far and it's a long one :) would any of these lenses frame the subject from head to toe ie full frame family shoots etc.?
 
i just got the 50mm f1.8 for my d3200 and its great face face shots
 
i use 50 and 85, cant fault any of them for portrait work, sharper than the 16-85 that i also use.

Prime every time
 
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