What kind of lens do i need?

[Danceislife]

I have a nikon d40x camera with the 18-55mm lens and the 55-200mm lens but i want something to produce sharper pictures. I want to get into portrait photography and also artistic photography with lots of shadows... I need a lens that will allow for very detailed and non distorted images.. but that will also be a reasonable price.. say under 200 dollars..

 

[farmerj]

either the 50mm f/1.8D or the 35mm f/1.8 AF-S

You won't have Auto-focus with the 50mm, but it is an inexpensive lens.

The 35MMf/1.8 is auto-focus.

Good luck on the quest. You will most likely be looking at a fix focal lens.

 

[kundalini]

I have both of those lenses that I got with my D80. Have you run them through the mill yet? I ask because they both can produce some pretty sharp images, given enough light.

 

[bigtwinky]

for that budget, other than the 50mm, you won't be getting much

 

[KmH]

either the 50mm f/1.8D or the 35mm f/1.8 AF-S

You won't have Auto-focus with the 50mm, but it is an inexpensive lens.

The 35MMf/1.8 is auto-focus.

Good luck on the quest. You will most likely be looking at a fix focal lens.

The AF 50 mm f/1.8D is $130 and the AF-S 35 mm f/1.8G is $200. From their the costs goes up rapidly. The 35mm is a bit to short for portraits but would be usable for artistic.

As mentioned with a budget of $200 there's not a whole lot you can do about glas(lenses) but you can sure work on camera handleing technique and being sure you maximize the sharpness level of what you currently have.

The AF-S 50mm f/1.4G is $470 and the AF 85 mm f/1.8D (manual focus on your D40X) is $450. These 2 would work well for portraiture. Portrait photographers also love the AF VR 70-200 mm f/2.8 ($2000)