Need Portrait Lens

brenda

New member
I have a D7100 and need a new portrait lens. Should I buy the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G Lens or the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR Lens?
 

TwistedThrottle

Senior Member
Hi and welcome!
It depends on what you plan on using it for and what lenses you have alreaedy. The 24-70 is a fantastic lens, but maybe a bit overkill for crop sensors if you are just looking for a portrait lens, its very expensive and quite heavy. The 50 f1.4g is a fraction of the price but only covers the one focal length, which is a pretty good one for a crop sensor camera. I purchased the 50 f1.8g and have been very pleased with the results, but I also have an 85 f1.8 that is also a great focal length on crop sensors for head shots and close ups. If you dont mind 3rd party glass, the Sigma 18-35 f1.8 paired with a 50 or 85 or both is quite the combo that covers more than the 24-70 and the 3 lenses combined still come in cheaper than the 24-70 alone.
 

kevy73

Senior Member
Both are great len's and will yield great results.

Is there any way you can hire each for a day or two first to get a feel for which one you prefer?
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
Welcome aboard. Enjoy the ride.
We look forward to seeing more posts and samples of your work.

I agree with both previous posters. Also, if you have a local camera store, you might be able to take a free test with both lenses.
 

Danno

Senior Member
I have a D7100 and need a new portrait lens. Should I buy the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G Lens or the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR Lens?

I have used the Tamron 28-75 F2.8 on my D7200 and loved the lens and the focal length. It stayed on my camera. I also used an 85 f1.4 D that belongs to a friend of mine. I really like the 85, but not quite as much as he did.

If you are only going to get one I would go with the 24-70. I think you would be pleased with that. But I agree with Kevin... The best thing to do is rent them each for a day or so and see what you like. That is always the best way to go if you are not sure.

Welcome to the forum. I wish you well in you search. Let us know what you go with.
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
Hi Brenda and welcome.

As TwistedThrottle mentioned, it depends on how you want to use it. A 50mm lens will work fine indoors for headshots, but if you are looking for full body images, you might not have enough room to back up and fit someone completely in the frame. Outdoors it would be fine for headshots and full body but not as versatile as a zoom or several primes of different focal lengths.

BUT the advantage of an f/1.4 lens is its low light capabilities and its razor thin depth of field.

Outdoors sometimes longer focal lengths such as 200mm are desired for the compression. Plus when your subject stands far enough away from backgrounds, a 200mm gives very pleasing bokeh (providing you don't stop down way too much).

Ultimately down the road you might want to consider something in the 50-85mm range, something wider such as 35mm - but keep watch around the edges of the frame since body parts can get stretched (perspective distortion) if they are close to the edges, and a longer focal length 125mm to 200mm for compression. If you are going to shoot groups of people, then a focal length wider than 50mm tends to be desired.

So there really isn't one right answer. You need to identify what types of photos you want to do - just headshots, full body shots, and/or group photos. From there you might be able to narrow down your choice.
 
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