Picking a lens....

[Clawed]

I am not sure about the lenses others are suggesting, because I have no experience with them. I would certainly suggest the 50mm f/1.8. It is a good portrait lens for a crop body camera, it's great in low light, and is very sharp when stopped down 1-2 stops (sharper than any zoom lens you can buy on a budget). I would say this is definitely a must have prime lens, especially for anyone still learning / on a budget.

There are a few downsides to this lens. First, no matter what anyone else says here, it produces fairly harsh bokeh. Personally, I do not mind, and I like the pentagons the aperture produces. It's cheaply built, but that's to be expected for a ~100.00 lens. Autofocus not always too good in low light. It will produce some distortion if the subject fills the frame, and a longer zoom lens would work better in eliminating this problem.

Again, this is the lens I use currently, but that's because I'm too poor to afford a better portrait lens. I would say get it anyway, for me it's been worth every penny.

 

[NateS]

I am not sure about the lenses others are suggesting, because I have no experience with them. I would certainly suggest the 50mm f/1.8. It is a good portrait lens for a crop body camera, it's great in low light (in terms of speed, not autofocus), and is very sharp when stopped down 1-2 stops (sharper than any zoom lens you can buy on a budget). I would say this is definitely a must have prime lens, especially for anyone still learning / on a budget.

There are a few downsides to this lens. First, no matter what anyone else says here, is produces fairly harsh bokeh. Personally, I do not mind, and I like the pentagons the aperture produces. It's cheaply built, but that's to be expected for a ~100.00 lens. Autofocus not always too good in low light. It will produce some distortion if the subject fills the frame, and a longer zoom lens would work better in eliminating this problem.

Again, this is the lens I use currently, but that's because I'm too poor to afford a better portrait lens. I would say get it anyway, for me it's been worth every penny.

Take note that you are talking about the Canon 50mm f1.8. The Nikon 50mm f1.8 has very nice bokeh from my experiences.

 

[kundalini]

Yeah, I'm gonna chime in on the Nikkor 50mm also. Of cousre it will not produce bokeh as a 9 bladed, but it's still pretty damn not-so-bad..... and it was only a buck and a quarter to boot.

At f/4

100% crop at f/4

As far as macros go, I can vouch for the Nikkor 105mm f/2.8, Here's some pics with it.​

 

[Clawed]

^ fair enough, but I heard they produced bokeh of a similar quality. If you think that it looks good, then I would DEFINITELY suggest to the OP to buy that lens. Like I said, I am happy with it but check reviews to get a professional opinion (and check the helpful link below for more information).

http://www.planetneil.com/tangents/2009/01/10/bokeh-the-quality-of-blur/#more-314

 

[~myStical~]

Thank you veryyy much everyone !!

 

[~myStical~]

I still think the Sigma would be your best bet. I have used it and as an all around lens it is great. Macro/zoom/portrait. It is amazing for the money.
Sigma | 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro Autofocus Lens | 5A8306

The lens auto-focuses with the nikon D40 , right?

The newest version does. This is a very good lens for the budget and is astonishing for Macro's considering the price. I always like to showoff this lens because it's hugely underrated and overlooked. View the below galleries for photos that were all taken with the Sigma 70-300 APO DG Macro (make sure you get the APO version).

I found someone who is selling the Sigma AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DL DG Macro Zoom Lens ... Is this the same one ? Will this one auto focus with the Nikon D40 ?