Which Nikon Lens

Steve · Aug 14, 2003

I am about to purchase a Nikon F100, and will be doing a lot of portrait photography. The problem is, I can't decide between the 105mm F/2 DC or the 85mm 1.4 lens. Can anyone suggest the better lens for portrait work with the F100?

oriecat · Aug 14, 2003

Take this all with a grain of salt, as I often don't know what I'm talking about... but I've often read that about 80mm is the ideal length for portraiture. And it would be faster as well. 8)

Chase · Aug 14, 2003

I would tend to agree. The difference between 85 and 105mm isn't huge, so I think I would lean heavily towards the faster lense.

james m · Aug 29, 2003

Steve said:
Can anyone suggest the better lens for portrait work with the F100?

you could also look at a Nikkor zoom like the AF-S 80-200/2.8 or the new AF-S VR 70-200/2.8

KBOC · Aug 29, 2003

Back when I was doing photography, the lower limit for portrait lenses was considered 90mm (the upper limit was considerd to be 105mm, with 100mm being ideal). Anything below that and common wisdom was that it was getting to "fish-eye" to create a flattering picture.

A 100mm F2 is pretty fast for a 100mm, but that 85mm is extraordinarily fast.

KBOC · Aug 29, 2003

It appears, on doing a search, that the wisdom has changed.

I'm now looking at a pentax 85mm F1.4 Lens being touted as a portrait lens...

I'd be interested in seeing a comparrison between 100mm and 85mm lenses for portraits...

voodoocat · Aug 29, 2003

Both of those lenses would probably be equally as sharp. That extra stop would be nice. I may splurge and spend $60 on a 135mm 2.8 lens. I have a macro lens that is 3.5 but would rather have a seperate lens to use for portrait work.

KBOC · Aug 29, 2003

voodoocat, it's the perspective that is the question...

teeny tiny changes can make a person look better.

The question I would ask is this: which focal length creates the most pleasing portraits...

The difference wouldn't be huge, but it would be significant I think.

If the current prevailing wisdom is that 85mm is better, Pentax and Nikon seem to agree on this, I think there's some weight to that... especially when 20 years ago people thought otherwise.

doxx · Sep 3, 2003

the 85mm is a half f-stop faster. Might be important for low light/indoor portraiture...
Look for reviews (photo.net) and pics if you like the bokeh (the blurry part in portraits)