Best portraiture lens for D700FX

[Alan Koh]

Hi,
I am looking for the best delicated portraiture lens to fit the D700FX.
I was told that the 85mm f/1.4 is the ideal lens for serious portrait work.
I go for photo-art shots both studio as well as outdoor portraiture.
There isn't much prime lens from Nikkor for portrait shots.
I am open to suggestions to alternative lenses apart from Nikkor but
must be able to directly fit into the D700FX camera.
I go for best quality lens and not too concern about cost.
Any suggestions?

 

[kervin13]

85 f1.4, 105 dc f2, 135 dc f2..
i personally use 70-200 for portrait..

 

[Mickey]

70-200mm vr ii - build like a tank
50mm 1.4G or D - feather weight champion

 

[pokiemon]

i use 135 f2 dc and 85mm 1.4.

 

[yyD70S]

The general consensus points towards (but not limited to) the 85mm f1.4, the 105mm f2 dc & the 135mm dc.

I have the 85mm f1.4 simply because (the focal length on FX) it doubles as my "other" walkabout lens whereby I can capture close-ups of environmental portraits + "near landscapes".

For primes, do look at the 180 f2.8 and 200 f2 too.

Hi,
I am looking for the best delicated portraiture lens to fit the D700FX.
I was told that the 85mm f/1.4 is the ideal lens for serious portrait work.
I go for photo-art shots both studio as well as outdoor portraiture.
There isn't much prime lens from Nikkor for portrait shots.
I am open to suggestions to alternative lenses apart from Nikkor but
must be able to directly fit into the D700FX camera.
I go for best quality lens and not too concern about cost.
Any suggestions?

 

[ZeroDivine]

depends on the focal length u need...
but for the skintone and bokeh rendition I would vote for 135 f/2 DC provided u don't mind the length.

 

[Blur Shadow]

200mm F/2!! It's wonderful!

 

[aspenx]

200mm F/2!! It's wonderful!

YES! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

If you have the money and the determination, go for it!

 

[catohcat]

YES! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

If you have the money and the determination, go for it!

Agree. Got a chance to use it during a Nikon event. Great bokeh and tight perspective :thumbsup:

 

[wdEvA]

alot to choose from, depending on what focal length u like. MF/AF as well.

AF - 85 1.4 / 105DC / 135DC
MF - 85 1.4 AIS / 105 1.8/2.5 AIS /

 

[indaybadiday]

50mm - its cheap and light
85mm 1.4 - sharp and cream maker
200mm f2 - king of bokeh. fast .IQ is the best

 

[Alan Koh]

Many thanks to everyone comments.
At the moment I am using the Micro lens 105mm f/2.8 VR, 24-70mm f/2.8, and also 70-200mm f/2.8 VR.
From the various comments, I narrow down to 85mm f/1.4 and the 200mm f/2 lenses.
I have seen the results of 85mm f/1.4 but do not know much about the 200mm f/2.
I like to compare these two lenses for studio and outdoor portrait shots.
Once again, thank you for the input!

 

[MARTIN1023]

Just in my opinion after i took portraiture using primes and zoom.
50mm f1.4, 85mm f1.8, 150mm f2.8, 70-200mm f2.8.
Bigger aperture (smaller f no.) like f1.4 gives super bokeh but u can only get one eye in focus if she not facing you directly. Smaller aperture at f4.0 will get both eyes much in focus but you will capture some background as well. Inorder to minimise background u have to use focal length more than 100mm. For me now i prefer to use zoom with f2.8 like 24-70mm and 70-200mm reason being i dun shoot portraiture at anything less than f2.8 now and these 2 lens are excellant for landscape and event coverage.

I suggest u rent a few lens to try out urself so that you can make a decision before u actually buy it.

 

[giantcanopy]

There isn't much prime lens from Nikkor for portrait shots.
QUOTE]

There are plenty of prime lenses in nikkon's lineup!
85 f1.4, 105 dc f2, 135 dc f2, 200mm f2 are great options on the longer end

ryan

 

[lsisaxon]

Hi,
I am looking for the best delicated portraiture lens to fit the D700FX.
I was told that the 85mm f/1.4 is the ideal lens for serious portrait work.
I go for photo-art shots both studio as well as outdoor portraiture.
There isn't much prime lens from Nikkor for portrait shots.
I am open to suggestions to alternative lenses apart from Nikkor but
must be able to directly fit into the D700FX camera.
I go for best quality lens and not too concern about cost.
Any suggestions?

Get a 135/2DC or the 70-200/2.8VRII. I suppose photo-art as in the association? 85/1.4 is good for the studio but is a bit too short for the outdoor shoots.

 

[Blur Shadow]

I think 85mm f/1.4 is adequate if you're the only one doing the studio shoot, but can be too tight if it's a group shoot. This is also subject to the space available at the studio.

 

[havoc34]

Im using 105dc F2 and 70-200Vr2 for portrait shots :thumbsup:

 

[macchiato]

50 f1.4, 105DC f2 and 70-200.
These are my pick.

 

[sf_kang]

[QUOTE
I go for photo-art shots both studio as well as outdoor portraiture.
QUOTE]

For outdoor portraiture, you don't mentioned what shooting style you're looking at, e.g tight face closeup shots, medium head n shoulder shots, or even half body shots, or the more candid full length portraits, etc.
The Nikon AF-D 50mm/f1.4 (or the latest AF-S 50mm) is great for half body or full body shots. If you want something tighter (and willing to shoot further from your subject) then the AF-D 85mm/1.4 is great.
But for shooting photo-art, then you might want to consider a lens with closer focussing, e.g. the Zeiss ZF50mm/f2 or ZF100mm/f2. As these two are makro lenses, the focus close and offer pretty good images even when shot wide open at f2. You get the wonderful Zeiss colour and 'milky soft' bokeh when shot wide open.
I use both these on my D700. The quality and build of these Zeiss lenses are just the best there is. Do note that these are manual focus lenses but that's fine for portraiture anyway.
Got them from TK Photo (Richard) at Shaw Tower, Beach Road.
Fred

 

[N-user]

If let say one has only enough $$$ to buy the "cheaper" 50mm/f1.4 and the 35mm/f2 after getting the D700... make sense??? Or just get a D90 and buy better lenses.....:dunno: