I would like some advice on which Nikon camera/lens is best for portrait work.

Hi. I'm new to this forum, so hello to everyone.

First, a little background. I did a lot of freelance wedding photography while in college, forty years ago using high quality Minolta equipment. Then I dove into my new career, and photography became a hobby, purely for pleasure.

Now, I am retired, and want to go back to my first love, photography, so I have decided that I want to open a small portrait studio. I still have high quality lighting and strobes that function perfectly, so the only thing I need is a DSLR.

My budget is $4,000 max for a camera and lens, and I want them to be Nikon, but I really dont know much about the numerous Nikon models that are out there. I cant afford something like a D4, and I feel that a D7000 is not enough, so I'm somewhere in between.

My uncertainty is this. Should I get a D800, or maybe spend a little less for an older model like a D700, D90, etc, and invest more in a better lens? Would the older models provide sufficient quality for portrait work? The D800 seems like the perfect camera, but I'm a little worried about the 36 MP files because I've heard that some of the processing software seems to not handle anything over 25MP.

I would really appreciate some advice as to the best Nikon camera/lens combo for portrait work that fits my budget. I would be doing some landscape and still life photography as well, but those needs would be secondary to the portrait work.

When I was doing weddings, I had multiple lenses, but I found that when I was doing individual portraits, I preferred a zoom lens that covered the 55mm-140mm range, so a lens that covers something close to that range would be my preference.

Thank you for any advice that you can contribute.

Hello and Welcome to Nikonites!! I am not qualified to answer your question but those that are will be right along, I just wanted to welcome you to the forum!

Pat in NH

I have not been shooting long enough to give your question the answer it deserves, but I will say that while I was very happy with my D7000, I was astounded by the image quality of the D600 when I decided to jump on the Christmas special price Nikon offered this year. Two months later I am seriously pondering whether I want to hang with the D7000 or possibly sell it and move up to a pair of full frame cameras. Gonna mull this one for a while.

While I don't feel comfortable making recommendations on bodies, I will definitely share my opinions on lenses and software. If software is going to limit what you can process then I wouldn't consider it. I'm using Lightroom 4 for 90% of my processing and to my knowledge it'll handle the D800's 36 MP's no problem. I recently moved from Photoshop Elements to full blown Photoshop 6, but still find myself jumping into Elements (11) for quick fixes (smart healing of dust spots). While I'm not shooting 36MP's, I did run into an issue just yesterday where a panorama I put together in Photoshop would not open in Elements (single layer tiff file composite of fifteen 24MP images). I'm assuming I hit a limit on what it could handle file-wise, but I had previously been able to open similar tiffs made up of half as many D600 files, so I'd guess that it'll easily handle single D800 images.

As for lenses, like you I love a good zoom lens, and have found some that work very well for me (I really like the 24-85mm kit lens I got with my D600). But after acquiring a set of f1.8 primes (28, 50 & 85mm), and witnessing first hand the sharpness, if there's a shot that I need to get then I'm sticking a prime on there.

My recommendation coming in would be to fully research your decision on whether you want to go full frame with a D600 or D800, or get a top of the heap DX camera, and then find a good flexible zoom that will work for that camera and then see where you want to go. I'm assuming you haven't shot SLR's since the film days, so the cropped DX sensor may seem limiting to you (the 24mm in your head is a 36mm on the camera, etc.). If you can find a D600 at the price I did ($2K for the kit) that leaves you with half your budget for lenses and still being able to shoot with the kit zoom. Even without, the 24-85mm can be found "nearly new" thanks to the XMAS blowout for $300-400 fairly regularly. For portraits (I don't shoot them) I regularly see the 85mm and 105mm recommended, and the 85mm 1.8g ($499 list) and 105mm 2.8g ($985 list) would suck up the rest of your budget - though you might find that the 24-85mm zoom works for you.

And here I said I couldn't speak to cameras. LOL Give me enough time and I'll talk to anything.

Welcome to Nikonites jesyst.

If you're planning to shoot mainly with strobe the only other factor that would influence your decision is the final size of the output. How large are you planning to print? If you don't plan on going larger than 24"x36", D700 or 7000 should be plenty. I do prefer the look from the 700 compared to 7000, but I'd say mostly with available light because I can get less digital noise at high iso. On the other hand, the D600 is pretty impressive. It might not be as tough as the 800, but if you're working in a studio, you should be able not to bang or drop it too often.

Lenses is where you should be spending most of the money. 85 1.8 G, 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8 will run you to the bank for a loan, but these are the lenses you will end up buying. It all depends on the size of your studio and the distance you like to work with while doing portraits.

Good luck making up your mind and shopping around. Take your time (unless you're in a hurry), and remember that you can always rent before you buy when not sure about a certain focal length.

Marcel said:

Welcome to Nikonites jesyst.


Good luck making up your mind and shopping around. Take your time (unless you're in a hurry), and remember that you can always rent before you buy when not sure about a certain focal length.

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Marcel, that is an excellent tip fro all us! Thanks!

Pat in NH

I have considered the D600, but from what I have read, it is a consumer level camera and it may not stand up to more demanding conditions. Also, I read that it has a very low flash sync speed, (1/200th or something like that).

jeryst said:

I have considered the D600, but from what I have read, it is a consumer level camera and it may not stand up to more demanding conditions. Also, I read that it has a very low flash sync speed, (1/200th or something like that).

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If you want to do strobes in the studio, the 1/200 should not worry you since the duration of the flash is much shorter than this anyway.

Being a consumer level camera does not influence the quality of the sensor and image processor. The main difference I see is the toughness of the body and if you plan do work in the studio this should not affect the output.

But, we all have different point of view about this and it's you that will take the money out of your bank account to satisfy your needs. And your needs are the main deciding factors here. All I can do is mention that I've been greatly satisfied with the D7000, D700 and D600. The final decision is your's to make and not me. But I still advise you to maybe get a less expensive body and the best lens you can get with the left-over money.

Ideally you should choose FX format cameras. The resolving power is ideal for portraiture. There are several good choices out there, the D600, D700 (which I use) and the D800. I don't know how much room you have to shoot, and that could be a big consideration when choosing a lens. The best portrait lens for headshots or 1/4 shots is a 105mm. For other portrait applications, something around 85mm is usually ideal. If you are somewhat space limited and want to do group shots you might have to go as low as 50mm. I would not go any lower than that though as you could then get into problems with perspective distortion.

I have a decent amount of working space, about 20 feet or so, and find myself using my 105mm and 85mm Nikkors most of the time.

Welcome to the site!

You may already know this, but there is a $200 instant rebate on the D800 that expires on Sat. There's also a lot of lens rebates. Amazon is also giving a free 32gb sd card, backpack, and 2% cash back: Amazon.com: Nikon D800 36.3 MP CMOS FX-Format Digital SLR Camera (Body Only): NIKON: Camera & Photo

Keep in mind that you could get a very nice D700 used for around $2,200

The best camera is the one that works best for you. While you'll get some sage advice on these forums, it's always best to visit your local camera store and talk to the folks there. Join a photography club. You're about to plunk down several thousand dollars for a little black box with a bunch of buttons on it, so you want to make sure you're not just taking stabs in the dark.

D800
My personal opinion is that this is too much camera for someone new. The D800 is serious business. Yes, it would be incredible for what you're wanting to do. And don't worry about the 36 MP, you can actually dial that down to more manageable sizes thru the camera options. This camera + good portrait lens is going to be pushing the boundaries of your budget.

And that's the question I have before I post anything else. You mentioned $4,000 for camera/lens. What is the rest of your budget for this project? You're going to need lights, backdrops, stands, modifiers, triggers, etc. Your studio is probably going to need painted as well.

What is your total budget?

Browncoat said:

The best camera is the one that works best for you. While you'll get some sage advice on these forums, it's always best to visit your local camera store and talk to the folks there. Join a photography club. You're about to plunk down several thousand dollars for a little black box with a bunch of buttons on it, so you want to make sure you're not just taking stabs in the dark.

D800
My personal opinion is that this is too much camera for someone new. The D800 is serious business. Yes, it would be incredible for what you're wanting to do. And don't worry about the 36 MP, you can actually dial that down to more manageable sizes thru the camera options. This camera + good portrait lens is going to be pushing the boundaries of your budget.

And that's the question I have before I post anything else. You mentioned $4,000 for camera/lens. What is the rest of your budget for this project? You're going to need lights, backdrops, stands, modifiers, triggers, etc. Your studio is probably going to need painted as well.

What is your total budget?

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$4000 is my camera/lens budget. Everything else is taken care of.

I guess my real quandary, is that I dont know much about Nikon lenses. I see the same focal lengths with huge differences in price, and I'm just not sure about the choices available. Are the kit lenses that come with the D800 good enough, or are they junk? What are the designations for the good Nikon lenses vs the not so good ones?

jeryst said:

I guess my real quandary, is that I dont know much about Nikon lenses. I see the same focal lengths with huge differences in price, and I'm just not sure about the choices available. Are the kit lenses that come with the D800 good enough, or are they junk? What are the designations for the good Nikon lenses vs the not so good ones?

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Are you taking aperture into account? Anything fast is going to be much more expensive.
Fyi there are a lot of lens rebates that started today. Check the link at the top of the page.

sent from my phone

2nd hand D700 with under 10,000 clicks: $1500
Nikon 50mm 1.8G: $400
Nikon 85mm 1.8G:$500
Nikon 105mm 2.8G: $800
Nikon 180mm 2.8D: $750

$50 left for a nice dinner

What he said ^

If you don't have a Nikon DSLR I don't see any reason to start with a DX camera for a professional business. If I were you I would only consider the FX line. If you already had DX cameras then it wouldn't matter but you don't. As for which body, I see a number of key factors you should use to determine the right choice: 1). As someone mentioned, how large are you will you be printing? The size of output could be a determining factor. 2). Do you need the extra ruggedness of the D800 body. Will you be shooting on location much? 3). Do you have the computer power and storage to handle the large files of the D800. Storage is cheap but you'll need a lot of it.

I see your choices as:

D600
D800 (but not the E as it's more prone to moire which is much more common in portraiture)
D700

I would get a d700 with an 85 f1.8
this combo seems to be the best for portraits without putting a lot of unwanted detail

jeryst said:

I cant afford something like a D4, and I feel that a D7000 is not enough, so I'm somewhere in between.

My uncertainty is this. Should I get a D800, or maybe spend a little less for an older model like a D700, D90, etc, and invest more in a better lens?

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Maybe I am kind of misunderstanding it... but "You" do not feel that the D7000 is enough...? But you would be willing to step down to the older D90 which the was replaced by the D7000...???

If you are really pressed to go with an FX body then I would say that with the limited budget that you have to start out with you may only be limited down to a D700 (used may make a bit more sense when budgeting). You will need to get several lenses which will amount to $1-2k depending on what you end up picking up (whether new or used). Then would you also want to get yourself a flash? Then spare batteries, memory cards and the list will go on and on... and your $4k budget has already dwindled down and you would be in the red putting more money than what you initially figured to invest in.

So now the real question is can you afford to not go with an FX body? The D7000 is a great all around camera with enough goodies to shake a stick at (Video, Photos, HDR etc). How about the D300s. While it may not be the newest greatest thing it can still offer plenty on the table in a DX body. The D90 is also still a great camera, but do remember it is like the D300s just out of production and was replaced by the D7000/7100 body. So now keep in mind that any of these cameras will do the same thing in the overall scheme of things, but it may be something worth taking a look at before you go brushing it off to jump to FX bodies.
These will keep you within budget and still allow you to pick up other lenses without breaking the bank.

I still have lights ......if they are the old flashes they are 300v and will bugger your new DSLR ..you could use them if you fix up some trigger system that isolates the new from the old ...ie will they trigger with a flash sensor rather than a cord??

If your budget is $4K then forget a D800. If I were you, I would put my priority toward lenses. Get a good bit of glass and then in the future move up to full frame if required. Either that or get a used D700 as others have suggested.

Bang for buck you can't beat the 85 1.8g. Do you plan on doing family portraits too? May need something on the wider end too.