What lens do you prefer for portraits?

[BME]

I have a D40 and love how the Nikon 50mm performs. Super fast and incredibly sharp. The only downside is that it is manual focus, and I have been photographing a lot of babies and children so that can be problematic.

What lens do you love for portraits?

[Claggy]

Well the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D is AF, but I'm not sure if it works with the D40 or not...

[Saralonde]

I'm not a Nikonian, so I use the Canon 50mm 1.4 and the Canon 100mm macro for most portraits. Generally I like to get quite close.

[thingy]

Im also a fan of my 50mm 1.7 for portraits.

[Nicole]

Originally Posted by Claggy

Well the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D is AF, but I'm not sure if it works with the D40 or not...

The 50mm doesn't autofocus with the D40.

But I like my 50mm on my D50 for portraits quite a bit, though I often wish for just a little more reach, so my desired lens is the 85mm f/1.8.

[baseballboy828]

I use my Nikon 35-70 f/2.8 ($500). No AF-S motor however. For something with an AF-S motor in Nikon's lineup for portraits, I'd recommend the Nikon 24-70 f/2.8, however that costs $1,700. Since children and babies are small, you might try a 105 f/2.8 Micro. That will set you back $760. You may find it's cheaper to find a used D50 or D80 somewhere. The D40's are really made with the assumption that you use the 18-55, 55-200, and maybe 70-300 VR. Are you shooting for pay or just for fun?

[jdepould]

I like the 50 f/1.8, I'm usually working in tight spaces and it's great. Can't shoot head to toe though.

[BME]

Originally Posted by baseballboy828

I use my Nikon 35-70 f/2.8 ($500). No AF-S motor however. For something with an AF-S motor in Nikon's lineup for portraits, I'd recommend the Nikon 24-70 f/2.8, however that costs $1,700. Since children and babies are small, you might try a 105 f/2.8 Micro. That will set you back $760. You may find it's cheaper to find a used D50 or D80 somewhere. The D40's are really made with the assumption that you use the 18-55, 55-200, and maybe 70-300 VR. Are you shooting for pay or just for fun?

I'm just starting to shoot for pay. I got the D40 not really knowing if I was really going to get bitten by the photography bug or not. Obviously, I have and have done a lot of work for friends and I'm starting to get paying jobs. If I had known how things would turn out, I would have gotten a D80 from the start. Oh well.

I like the length of the 50mm, so I'm wondering if the 60mm AF would be a good pick up?

[hitkaiser]

My fav. portrait lens is the Canon 60mm (macro) f 2.8

Sigma 70-300mm comes in second

[baseballboy828]

The 60mm macro doesn't have a built in AF motor either. I'd really consider selling the D40 and looking for a used D50. You can get one at Adorama for $400. I'd do it right away as the refurbs may not be around for much longer. You'' probably get about $200 for the D40. The $200 loss is easily made up by the ability to autofocus with older lenses. A small price to pay for AF on Nikon's great lineup of primes and zooms.