Photography Thailand Forum

[Gus]

I am looking to upgrade into the more Pro Spec type of Lenses with my first priority being to get one that can be used mainly for portraiture, but also also as a general lense.

First I must add that I am using the Nikon D300 which as the crop factor to consider, but my primary considerations at the moment are;

17-55 mm/2.8

24-70mm/2.8 (new Nikon lens designed for D3 and with Nikons venture in the realm of full frame camera's will not become reduntant in the near future; or

70-200mm/2.8 VR lens which has outstanding reviews.

For those of you who do a lot of portrait work (Marc) your views would be appreciated.

Gus

[epixx]

I tend to use a fixed focal length for portraits, mainly the 85mm f/1.8. I like the mobility the light lens gives me, as well as the possibility of using a larger aperture. I've also used the 80-200mm f/2.8, but find it too heavy for this kind of work.

Of the ones you mention, I would have chosen the 24-70. There's also a cheaper alternative: the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 is available for less than THB 15,000, and is highly regarded, and 5mm longer than the Nikkor, which can be useful for portrait work. Build quality is not as good though, but it won't fall apart if it's treated properly.

[olibkk]

For shooting portrait but also for more general purpose, I'm using the Nikkor AF 85 mm f/1.4D... superb performance, that's definitely my favorite lens. If you can afford, I highly recommend it. I've got the VR 70-200mm and it's also a fantastic lens. It does everything right and cover almost all photographic purposes. Like Epixx said, you may consider the weight comparing to the compact size of the 85. It's manageable, but it's quit a big lens to carrying around. Well, I won't compare the 85 and the zoom lens 70/200, it doesn't make sense. It's really depending on what you like to shoot.  Get both of them...

[Markus]

Just from my experience:

- prime lenses limit in my opinion the movement with regards to the scene and model. Being a semi-pro I find it often better to compensate with a zoom lens then having to move all that friggin lights around again :)

- I love the 70-200mm and appreciate the weight of it together with the battery grip on the d300, it lies perfectly in the hand and I dont find it too heavy even after 14 hours of shooting conferences. Though on the D300 its forces you quite far away from the model and depending on your requirements you may appreciate to be closer.

- For this case I simply use the Nikkor 50mm 1.8 which is ultrasharp and very light and its not intrusive as those big lenses may be seen by the model.

- I wanted another zoom lens but not spit out the 1800 USD for the 24-70 so I got a mint pro Nikkor 35-70 2.8 used in Tokyo, its lovely and got very good reviews and it looks like new. Though I don't find myself using it at all For now the 50mm / 70 - 200mm set up seems to be my preferred set up. So if you want to buy it drop me a line.

Cheers,

Markus

[Gus]

Thanks to those that responded.

I ended up biting the bullet and going for the 24-70/2.8 simply because of the versatility it offered.  Spending that sort of money I wanted to make sure it had more than one use.

Thanks

Gus

[Marc Schultz]

A good choice Gus and an excellent lens. If I were going to buy any prime lenses it would either be the 85mm F/1.2, which seems to have gone down a bit in price since its release, or the 135mm F/2.0 which is about half the price. They are both different lenses and both beautifully sharp, though designed to do different things. One main advantage of the 85mm lens is its ability to throw the background out of focus at that focal length, which almost all other lenses are not capable of doing at even F/2.8 unless you are focused on a subject at a very close distance to the camera. The 85mm would allow you to focus on a wider angle and more distant subject and still blur the background. A unique feature of that lens and often useful for reportage and/or street photography at closer ranges.

[Gus]

Marc.  Thanks for your response. Yes the 85 mm  is still in contention, but I chose the 24-70 first as it provided the most versatility for a range of subjects inlcuding landscapes.  For something that expensive I wanted something that I can use pretty regularly

[Marc Schultz]

I agree and makes perfect sense. I would have chosen that lens for that same reason too.

[theoutdoorzone]

I am using the nikkor 50mm/1.4 as a portrait lense and it works great