just bought Nikon D90 (HELP purchasing - lens & other recommendation??)

[dezignx]

Hey all,

I just finally purchased my first DSLR camera (Nikon D90 - body only).....I am new to all of this as I stated a while back, but I need some help with selecting the type of lens to purchase??
The type of photography I am interested in is like portraits (children, senior pics, families, models, music artists)

What lens do you all recommend and besides the lens & camera, will there be anything else I need to purchase to start up?

Thanks

 

[Josh220]

You'll want to look into lighting for portraits.

You can go simple and get something like a 50mm 1.8 lens for dirt cheap. Another popular portrait lens is Nikons 70-200 f/2.8 but at $1800 I think it would be overkill for your needs.

 

[dxqcanada]

Hmm, I would choose the Nikon AF 24-85mm.
Nice focal range for Portraits.

I use a Minolta AF 28-135mm.

 

[kundalini]

35mm f/2 Nikkor
50mm f/1.4 Sigma
85mm f/1.4 Nikkor
105mm f/2.8 Nikkor
24-70mm f/2.8 Nikkor

 

[Josh220]

35mm f/2 Nikkor
50mm f/1.4 Sigma
85mm f/1.4 Nikkor
105mm f/2.8 Nikkor
24-70mm f/2.8 Nikkor

The 24-70 is still backordered.

 

[NateS]

I would keep your kit lens for general walk around and for portraits get the following if you are on a budget.

85mm f1.8 or Tamron 90mm f2.8 The 85 would be better for straight portraits, but the Tamron 90mm is just as sharp (maybe sharper depending on who you ask), but is slower to focus and obviously not as fast.

If you are doing actual portraits instead of shooting just portrait shots of family and such, then I'd stay away from the shorter lenses like the 35....just don't get much background blur with those....too much DOF unless you are really close to your subject. 50m f1.8 is a good one to have too.

 

[Josh220]

I would keep your kit lens for general walk around and for portraits get the following if you are on a budget.

85mm f1.8 or Tamron 90mm f2.8 The 85 would be better for straight portraits, but the Tamron 90mm is just as sharp (maybe sharper depending on who you ask), but is slower to focus and obviously not as fast.

If you are doing actual portraits instead of shooting just portrait shots of family and such, then I'd stay away from the shorter lenses like the 35....just don't get much background blur with those....too much DOF unless you are really close to your subject. 50m f1.8 is a good one to have too.

He doesn't have a kit lens, he bought the body only.

"I just finally purchased my first DSLR camera (Nikon D90 - body only)"


Anywhere from about 70-100 is the "sweet spot" for portraits. So something in that range. Some go lower, and some go higher, but something around there will get the job done.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

the nikon 50mm is pretty nice for portraits on DX

 

[Montana]

Anywhere from about 70-100 is the "sweet spot" for portraits. So something in that range. Some go lower, and some go higher, but something around there will get the job done.

Which on a crop sensor Nikon, starts at about 35mm. I would second getting the 24-70. very useful range, fairly fast. If you are going to be using studio lighting, you'll likely be stopped down anyways. The zoom would also make a decent walk about lens (although perhaps not wide enough at times). I just think if you were to just purchase a prime lens for portraiture, you'd be disappointed at other times.

 

[PhotoXopher]

My two favorites right now on my D90 are the Nikon 35-70 f/2.8D and my new Sigma 18-250 f/3.5-6.3

The 50mm f/1.8 is also right up there...

 

[dezignx]

*She* lol

I thank all of you for trying to help....

now I feel even more confused lol....I assume any of the above that you all named are fine to shoot portrait shots with

How to decide which lens to get or what should I look for to help me choose better?

 

[Josh220]

Anywhere from about 70-100 is the "sweet spot" for portraits. So something in that range. Some go lower, and some go higher, but something around there will get the job done.

Which on a crop sensor Nikon, starts at about 35mm. I would second getting the 24-70. very useful range, fairly fast. If you are going to be using studio lighting, you'll likely be stopped down anyways. The zoom would also make a decent walk about lens (although perhaps not wide enough at times). I just think if you were to just purchase a prime lens for portraiture, you'd be disappointed at other times.

Sorry, I should have clarified that. However, as I mentioned in my previous post, the 24-70 is backordered unless you go with a lower brand. This is why I am getting the 70-200 for now, then hopefully the 24-70 will come off backorder sometime soon.

 

[Josh220]

*She* lol

I thank all of you for trying to help....

now I feel even more confused lol....I assume any of the above that you all named are fine to shoot portrait shots with

How to decide which lens to get or what should I look for to help me choose better?

Do you want a lens strictly for portrait, or an all-around lens that is good at most areas? What other areas of photography are you interested in?

 

[dxqcanada]

You decide what to get by how much you can spend.

You may find that what we recommend is not affordable ... at least at this moment.

Additional equipment ... for portraiture ... it would be lighting.
That is another story ... you will get much feedback concerning what type of lighting equipment you should get.

If you give us a price range (for a lens and for other equipment) ... then we can comment even further.

 

[dezignx]

Well portraits is basically the type of photography I was interested in and taking some personal shots for my own collection but thats about it. What are some all around lens?

To be honest I really don't have a price range but I didn't want too spend too much as I am just starting out....I would like to get what could get the job done. I priced the 18-200mm and I was like whoa! lol but if that is the only lens that I could use then I wouldn't have no choice but to get it but I see there are other options, so I'm considering the other options first.