Nikon Lenses - help me please

jamiebonline

jamiebonline

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Hi all,

I am fairly new to photography. I have a Nikon D7000 and a nikkor 55-200 vr lens.

I would like to get a better lens for portrait photography but my budget is below about 200 pounds.

I have been looking at prime lenses for this purpose. Now I am aware of the nikon 50mm 1.8 G, 50mm 1.4 G and 85mm 1.8 G. The last is too expensive for me! :(
So it is between the first two, unless someone can suggest something else.

My request: Could someone explain to me the advantage of getting, for example, the 50mm 1.8 in the first place for portraits? How much better is it than the 55-200 lens I have. I am sure there are some obvious reasons but tell me anyway before I spend any money :)

Thanks!
 
50mm is pretty much a must have lens IMO. Its small, light and image quality wise will beat a zoom costing £1000+. You can shoot at say f1.8, f2, f2.8 etc... which means that you can have a high shutter speed/maintan a decent speed in bad light/get the background out of focus.

Get a used 1.4G or new 1.8G
 
Did the d7k have a motor? if so you can probably get a used 50mm f1.4d.

I find its a bit close sometimes, and at f1.4, very thin focus. But well made, light and feels faster (light entering wise).

Might be best to go to a meet and see if there are any nikon users with a lens you can borrow to try... See if you get on with it etc...
 
I would suggest the Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II VC LD Aspherical, if your only other lens is a 55-200mm, the f1.8 of the Nikons is nice but pretty much not suitable for portraits unless you want just the eye's in focus so you end up at f2.8 or around there anyway, that's why I suggest the above Tamron.
 
I remember being in the same boat as you when I had my D3000, assuming you also have the 18-55mm kit lens too.
I bought the Nikon 50mm f1.4 at the time and the jump in image quality was huge, way more than I was expecting. I've never used the f1.8 but the f1.4 is great and as somebody else has mentioned, you would be better getting a second hand one of them instead of a new f1.8. Yes the dof is very thin at f1.4 but its nice to have the option if you want it, plus it's better built then the f1.8 which might feel a bit plasticky in comparison.

Get one you won't be disappointed.
 
I've never used any of Nikon's AF lenses, but my old Nikkor 50mm f1.4 AI - bought new in the late 70s - is excellent. Solid build quality, well damped focus ring and good optics. I've used on on my Canon 30D and it's works just as well as it does on my film bodies. The only snag is that my ageing eyes are finding it harder to focus manually with the dim/small crop viewfinder.

If Nikon have maintained their quality control, I don't think you'd go wrong with the modern version of this lens, providing you want a 50mm.
 
I have 50mm 1.4G - 50mm 1.8D and the 85mm 1.8G

i also use a D7000- Out of all the lens listed, the 50mm 1.4G, is my go to lens for nearly everything to do with portraits.

As for the difference between your kit lens , MASSIVE, the quality and sharpness is amazing, yeah we wont see much difference in terms of bokeh(1.4-1.8), thou the 1.4, is sharper.

the 50mm 1.8mm D will run fine on D7000, just not as smooth, thou the auto focus is fast ****.

85mm 1.8G, great lens, thou without stating the obvious i find you will get more use out of the 50mm,,,, if u have the money get the 1.4,,, though 1.8 is still a great buy


I tend to shoot a lot at 1.4,,, but thats just because i can
 
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The 85mm will be a bit long for general portrait work, 50mm just right. I have the 1.4G but by all accounts the 1.8G is a cracker and in budget. The 1.4 is sharper across full frame, but I don't think you'd see the benefit on DX, so I'd go for the 1.8.

Prime lenses are great, and not just for the wide aperture, you get better contrast and colour rendition as well. As Simon says you'd have to spend an awful lot to get a zoom with the same optical quality.
 
On a crop body, I find 50mm is ideal for portraits. It allows a comfortable working distance in most homes where an 85mm might be too long.

Since the D7000 has the in body AF motor, you should be able to save some of the extra you spent (wisely IMO) on it over the D3100 or the other models without the in body motor and get any AF 50mm, even the older pre D one (mine cost me £40 but that was about 10 years ago now!) Personally, I'm not a fan of ultra shallow DoF, especially in portraits, so I'm more than happy with f/1.8 but if you do like having an eyelash sharp and the rest of a face OOF, keep your eyes open for an f/1.4 in 2nd hand ads (I find Amateur Photographer magazine handy for this, there are usually a few 2nd hand shop ads in the mag with reasonably up to date stock lists and contact numbers.)
 
Thanks so much for the advice guys. I think I will go for the 50mm 1.8 G. I could always trade it in some time in the future for a secondhand 1.4 G. I am too impatient now and want it new. Can't afford the 1.4.

One related question, which it seems pointless opening a new thread for, is there some distortion on close up shots of the face only on a 50mm? Considering that I have a D7000 and the 50mm will produce cropping which changes things? Excuse my ignorance ;)
 
You'll get no noticable distortion from a 50mm lens, either full frame or "cropped" on the D7000.
 
The f1.8 should serve you well. The f1.4s have a slight edge, but you pay a lot more for this and it is slight. You can always get an f1.4 in the future, if you really feel that you need it, and you'll be in a far better position to decide after you've used the f1.8.

Don't worry too much about speed in the f1.8 - f1.4 range, it's only about 2/3 of a stop and most people don't shoot wide open very often. The old Nikon f2.0 had a formidable reputation.
 
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