heading down a new path. . .

[Chuck]

I'm looking to get into photography (much) more seriously, after years of point-and-shoot.

I would like to focus on studio/portraiture work - - and in addition to the basics really learn: artificial lighting, capturing skin tones, posing, etc., etc.

For equipment, here's what I'm thinking:

Nikon D90
Nikon 50mm f/1.8D
Nikon SB-600

Plus, of course, lot's of reading, classes, and practice, practice, practice .

Any thoughts on this as a good starting kit?

Any other recommendations for starting down this path??

thanks,

Chuck

 

[Chuck]

bump - - any help here??

thanks

 

[joemc]

Instead of the 50mm.... I would look at the 85 1.4...That is hands down the very best Nikon lens for portraits..... Fantastic lens!!! And...if you have not bought the D90 yet...The D300 is a great for the price.
Cheers, Joe

 

[Chuck]

I'm just learning all this - - but doesn't the 85 get multiplied by 1.5 because of crop factor, leading to an effective Focal Length of ~130mm??

I'm sure that's a good FL for some portraits, but to start I was thinking of a cheaper lens, and one that would let me work more close in to my subjects.

What would the D300 give me for portraiture that I don't get on the D90?

thanks

 

[UUilliam]

For portraits you should use 85mm (75 - 100mm)

 

[Plato]

Instead of the 50mm.... I would look at the 85 1.4...That is hands down the very best Nikon lens for portraits..... Fantastic lens!!! And...if you have not bought the D90 yet...The D300 is a great for the price.
Cheers, Joe

Yes, but you're going from a hundred dollars to twelve hundred dollars for the lens alone. It would make sense to stay closer to the OP's ballpark and perhaps suggest the 85mm f/1.8. He can get that for $450.

 

[Chuck]

For portraits you should use 85mm (75 - 100mm)

85mm on full-frame or crop frame??

plus an 85mm 1.4 lens is quite expensive for a beginner like me, I think

 

[UUilliam]

full frame tbh
a 50mm is 75mm equiv. on a 1.5x crop sensor (nikon)
or an 80mm equiv on a canon (1.6x)

 

[inTempus]

Keep in mind that while the field of view on a crop sensor is smaller thereby giving you the "effective focal length" figure, the distortion to the image caused by shorter focal length lenses is still there. 50mm is 50mm no matter how you slice it.

For proper portraits you want to shoot with a longer lens to reduce the distortion. This page will give you examples of what I'm talking about:

Untitled Document

Sometimes you don't have the space to use a 85mm lens on a crop body so you have to use something shorter like a 50mm. But for portraits, I like to shoot 85mm or better. My outdoor portrait lens of choice is my 70-200mm.

As for the D90 vs. the D300, I see no reason for you to spend the extra money on a D300. Spend it on glass and get the D90. The D300 will give you better weather sealing, sports worthy AF and a few other amenities but nothing that will improve your portraits. The D90 is a stellar crop body camera.

 

[KmH]

Your equipment list is a good start. Start with the 50mm 1.8 but don't fill the frame with your subject to minimize distortion. Save up to get the longer 85mm lens later.

Since your looking to concentrate on portraiture I would say skip the SB-600.

You won't want a speedlight on the camera, you'll want to do "Off Camera Flash", or OCF. You can use the built-in flash (in manual mode) for some fill light when you need it.

Instead, get a couple of Vivitar 485HV speedlights (about $90 ea.) or equivelent, and an eBay radio trigger set like this kit that has a transmitter and 2 receivers. That will be about as much $$$'s as an SB-600.

You can get a couple of light stands, a couple of umbrella brackets and a couple of 45" or so convertable umbrellas for another $130 or so.

You'll be much closer to having a useable portraiture set-up.

 

[Big]

full frame tbh
a 50mm is 75mm equiv. on a 1.5x crop sensor (nikon)
or an 80mm equiv on a canon (1.6x)

Isn't the ratio the other way around? A 300mm lens on a crop would be more like a 480mm on a full frame. Just throwing those numbers out there. So a 50mm on a FF would be more like a 31mm (approximately... 50mm/1.6=31.25mm) on a crop sensor. A FF camera always takes more mm's to equal a crop sensor. That's why I got a crop because I like telephotos and you get more out of your lens (focal length wise) for cheaper than having a FF body.
These numbers are based on Canon crop bodies of 1.6...

 

[Chuck]

Keep in mind that while the field of view on a crop sensor is smaller thereby giving you the "effective focal length" figure, the distortion to the image caused by shorter focal length lenses is still there. 50mm is 50mm no matter how you slice it.

For proper portraits you want to shoot with a longer lens to reduce the distortion. This page will give you examples of what I'm talking about:

Untitled Document

Sometimes you don't have the space to use a 85mm lens on a crop body so you have to use something shorter like a 50mm. But for portraits, I like to shoot 85mm or better. My outdoor portrait lens of choice is my 70-200mm.

As for the D90 vs. the D300, I see no reason for you to spend the extra money on a D300. Spend it on glass and get the D90. The D300 will give you better weather sealing, sports worthy AF and a few other amenities but nothing that will improve your portraits. The D90 is a stellar crop body camera.

Very helpful, thanks.

But one thing I'm trying to understand: if you took the same picture using different focal length lenses from the same place wouldn't the distortion be the same?? That is, isn't the distortion caused by trying to fill up the frame with the shorter focal length which necessitates moving closer to the subject - - and therefore causing distortion?

Bottom line: It's not the focal length of the lens itself that causes distortion, but rather the distance from the front of the lens to the subject??

 

[UUilliam]

full frame tbh
a 50mm is 75mm equiv. on a 1.5x crop sensor (nikon)
or an 80mm equiv on a canon (1.6x)

Isn't the ratio the other way around? A 300mm lens on a crop would be more like a 480mm on a full frame. Just throwing those numbers out there. So a 50mm on a FF would be more like a 31mm (approximately... 50mm/1.6=31.25mm) on a crop sensor. A FF camera always takes more mm's to equal a crop sensor. That's why I got a crop because I like telephotos and you get more out of your lens (focal length wise) for cheaper than having a FF body.
These numbers are based on Canon crop bodies of 1.6...

You contradicted yourself here...

You got a crop sensor as you like the larger range from telepohtos on crop sensors than when on a full frame

yet you thought the full frame multiplied the focal length? :S

And nope, Crop sensors multiply the focal length thats why people say x1.6 / x1.5
x refers to multiplied by 1.6/1.5

 

[creisinger]

I'm looking to get into photography (much) more seriously, after years of point-and-shoot.

I would like to focus on studio/portraiture work - - and in addition to the basics really learn: artificial lighting, capturing skin tones, posing, etc., etc.

For equipment, here's what I'm thinking:

Nikon D90
Nikon 50mm f/1.8D
Nikon SB-600

Plus, of course, lot's of reading, classes, and practice, practice, practice .

Any thoughts on this as a good starting kit?

Any other recommendations for starting down this path??

thanks,

Chuck

That's exactly my outfit!

You can do a lot with those 3 things but you will miss a zoom lens - that's for sure.

The 50mm is ok but probably not the best portrait lens. As mentioned before the 85mm would be a better choice... and more pricey too.

I don't regret buying the 50mm f1.8 - it's sharp, however other photographers curse about the chromatic aberration when shooting subjects in front of a blown out white background. In those cases you should really consider the 85mm.

About the SB-600 and being "off-camera". Compare prices but I got a transmitter/receiver combo from ebay for $12 and now I can have my SB-600 over 30 feet away from the camera shooting away wirelessly.
It's a really cheap piece of cr@p but it works and even if it breaks I can get another one and still be way cheaper than the SB-800.

It's not going to be TTL for you either then - be aware.

All in all it will get you started and the 50mm IS a good lens - however if you're coming from P&S (and those clickerboxes have a zoom) you may want to check out a zoom lens as well unless you're only going to do portraits.

Let me know if you have more questions about those items.