DSLR for Portrait photography?

I'm hoping to start a portrait photography studio, and am looking for

some advice on the best, and most versatile camera to use. Currently

considering the Nikon D200, but would really appreciate any input or

suggestions from others.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers,

J

If you're into digital, IMHO, the best would be a medium format with digital back...but that will set you back a real chunk of change, as I last looked the backs run around $10-15k. In "35mm" the Leica DMR would be next best, with a Canon and Nikon in 3rd place.

 

Honestly, though a good 4x5 film camera with tilt & shift is really hard to beat in portrait photography. If you need to ask, you need to spend some time with a skilled portrait photographer to see what is involved. (all opinions are humble, as I'm not a portrait photographer...merely an admirer).

Canon 5D + EF 85 1.2L is as good as you will get on a DSLR, above that is medium format with digital backs.

 

On the D200, here's an interesting link: http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00G4PU&tag=

 

I'm not trying to bash the D200, I'm saying that the strenghts of this camera probably shine in the field, while the 5D will work much better on a studio environment.

 

Ignore reviews on the 5D from Nikon sites like Ken Rockwell (same as you shouldn't go to reviews on Nikon stuff on The Luminous Landscape).

 

Ignacio

I have a D200 and a D2X. I love them to pieces, and that's good, because I own a great deal of Nikon glass (about 3 dozen lenses) and accessories (about 250 different Nikon specific doodads from flashes to cable releases to macro gear) and I don't want to change at this point in the game.

 

If I were starting over today from a clean slate, and my primary goal was portraits, I'd skip Nikon and go Canon.

 

The Nikon has a 1.5x crop factor, which means you've got a bit of trouble when shopping for portrait lenses. Nikon hasn't released a really good lineup of portrait lenses, yet, that take that 1.5x into consideration. A classic 105mm has the field of view of a 157mm, which means for portrait work you want to be 12-15 feet from your subject, a bit long for good contact, and you need a big studio. (8 feet from subject to backdrop, 15 feet from subject to camera, and about 6 feet behind the photographer, 29 feet is the minimum studio depth). The 135mm isn't an indoor lens on that camera, and even the 85mm feels a bit long sometimes. The 50mm f1.4 and 60mm f2.8 macro just doesn't have the "look" for portraits.

 

If I were out to equip a portrait studio, I would get a Canon 5D body (they're down to about $2800 with the outrageous discounts and rebates going on right now) and either a 30D or another 5D for a backup. 30D and 5D have the same control layout and menus, which means you're comfortable with the controls if you have to switch to a backup. 30D has a 1.6x crop, which means you'll want to invest in a good 28mm lens in addition to all the other lenses I'll recommended, but even so, you'll still save about $1000 over a 5D as a backup camera.

 

Lenses would be a 105mm f2.0 (that's the lens for 90% of your adult portraits), 85mm f1.8, a 50mm f1.4 (for family groups) and possibly a 135mm f2.8 soft focus or f2.0 L or 200mm f2.8 L for headshots. The 135mm Soft Focus is adjustable, you can set it to be razor sharp for "character" on a businessman, moderately soft for senior portraits, or a romantic gauzy blur for, well, romantics.

 

If my studio had a nice looking north window, I'd get an 85mm f1.2 (charming lens) for romantic window-light portraits. (Heck, I'd get it anyway, because one of my things is candlelight portraits, and the 85mm f1.2 is THE candlelight portrait lens).

 

Stephen is right, he's not a portrait photographer. Leica Modul-R is really really (thrown in 6 or 8 more "reallys") bad for that kind of work. It's got the crop factor problem of the Nikon D200, weighs a ton, is horrible to focus (the R9 body was designed for film, the 1.37x crop makes manual focus errors 1.37x worse on digital than they'd be on film), it's heavy, and it's near impossible to imagine worse control ergonomics. For image quality, it's far outclassed by the Nikon D2X, Canon 5D, or Canon 1Ds II, and I'm not sure it can keep up with the Nikon D200, a camera that costs 1/3 what a DMR does.

 

And yes, with years of experience and hard work, a 4x5 can occasionally produce some amazing portraits. I'd estimate that about 60% of people over 25 years old, and 100% of people under 25 years old do not have the patience to wait out a photographer setting up a 4x5 view camera. For that remaining 40% of adult subjects, they will always look serious, because they're a bit exasperated with the photographer. Look at the works of any view camera master to see what I mean.

The D200 is a high mid-range DSLR? at 10.2 megapixels. Canon 5D is 12 megapixels? And

the greatest capture short of a medium format back is the Canon 1Ds Mark II at 16.7

megapixels?

<p>

I bring this up only to observe you asked for the best most versatile camera to use and

then said you were considering the D200. As the previous poster observed, for versatility

a 4x5 monorail studio camera is very versatile and scans of the 4x5 can be used to

produce very large gorgeous prints (or used to produce traditional enlargements).

<p>

I think this is probably all not helpful. Can you expand a bit more on what your budget is,

how much you have for a camera vs. lights, backdrops or whatever (unless you have a

large studio with generous natural light, strobes would be in your future?)

More info?

<p>

I shoot both a Canon 1Ds Mark II and a couple 4x5 film cameras (for later scanning). The

1Ds Mark II does not approach the information capture of the 4x5 scan for larger print

production. When you say portrait studio - what are you envisioning as final product -

sizes, etc.

<p>

Do you have some investment in Nikon lenses now such that you want to go with D200?

Having switched from Nikon DSLR's to Canon (for full frame and sheer pixels) I lean to

investing in Canon DSLRs.

Mamiya 645, cost about $300 used, plus $4 a roll for film. This will produce better pictures than any digital camera on the market at present. And you won't have to go insane sitting at a computer.

Steve - hm, perhaps I should have you write the advertising for the complete 645 setup that I'm about to sell...

Steve - "And you won't have to go insane sitting at a computer."

 

Ha! What do you think you're doing, right now?

 

You're posting to an on-line forum, which proves you're at a computer (probably sitting, but you could be standing, or lying down).

 

And the particular forum is photo.net, which proves you're as insane as the rest of us here.

 

Sorry, could not resist.

OK, it seems that I've got some more investigating to do. I'm definitely going to stay digital and as far as my budget is concerned, it's a somewhat flexible, however I was hoping to avoid getting up to 10 to 15K on a digital medium format camera.

 

I do appreciate all the input so far. Nikon certainly took a little beating here.

 

Any more comments are welcome and appreciated.

 

Thanks again,

J

Jay: You are using a D70s right now. Yes? Why donﾒt you push that as far as you can before seeking another body? I doubt that the D200 will dramatically change your end result. Portrait photography (especially in a studio setting) will not tax your camera significantly, at least not to the point of needing the added features of the D200. I question the need to jump to a new camera immediately unless there's something wrong with what you have now.

 

I would concentrate on getting the other elements for the studio: lenses, lights, backdrops, stands, better PC/software for post processing, marketing. Draft a solid business plan and try to stay the course. (Perhaps this isn't what you wanted to hear.) Best of luck.

Refreshing comments, Tito. Especially here on "Equipment dot Net..don't forget that good lights, stands, and light modifiers don't come cheap,keep a few dollars for them in your overall budget plan,Jay.

Thanks Tito and Gerry - good advice.

Cheers,

J

Can't beat the Fuji S2 and S3 for skin tones, right out of the camera, although I hope the D200 I'll be getting will just be close to the great stuff I get from my two old S2's (wish they'd make a S4 that sync'd at 1/500th like a D70 and focused in the dark like a D2x)... t<div></div>

I try to keep everything as simple as possible.

 

The photo below was a photo session I photographed at the home of the family. I used a simple background stand, a muslin background, my Olympus DSLR, Flash, and the Gary Fong Lightsphere II. One flash and the LSII diffusor. That all.<div></div>

Jay, I'm a little concerned that you say "I'm hoping to start a portrait photography studio" and the first question you ask is what kind of camera to buy. If you're an experienced portrait photographer then you already have one or more cameras and should continue using what you're already using. If you're not an experienced portrait photographer then you're not ready to start a studio.

Jay,

 

I use a D200 for my portrait and fashion work. To qualify this I am not a Nikon die-hard - I only own 2 lenses! I just found the controls on the Nikon to be more natural comapred to the Canon.

 

That said feel I have to 'correct' a couple of comments here:

 

Tito said:

"...I doubt that the D200 will dramatically change your end result. Portrait photography (especially in a studio setting) will not tax your camera significantly, at least not to the point of needing the added features of the D200. I question the need to jump to a new camera immediately unless there's something wrong with what you have now."

 

I have to say that a MAJOR downfall with the D70 is its performance in the studio.. no PC Sync socket and more importantly no ISO100, which makes working with strobes very difficult - your strobes will be twice as powerful as they should be!!!

 

Secondly Ignacio pointed you to a thread comparing the D200 to the 5D - this is pretty irrelevant. I would agree that the noise in the ISO800+ range is better in the 5D, however you will never use these high ISO's in a studio!!

 

Anyway, IMHO the BEST option is a Medium Format with a Leaf or PhaseOne digital back, however expect to pay $30k++.

 

A D200, D2X, 5D or 30D or S3 Pro will be more than adequate for almost every occasion.

 

James