What portrait lens for my D60?

<p>Hi!<br>

I have a Nikon D60 and only have the lenses the kit came with originally. I'm ready to branch out a little and want a portrait lens I can use with this camera. I don't really want to spend $400 for the AF-S lenses :( Keep in mind I'm very new to photography, but I do want to get the most bang for my buck...vs starting small and having to upgrade again in the near future. Any suggestions?<br>

Thanks! </p>

<p>Hi Juretta. What are the lenses your D60 kit came with? How much do you realistically see yourself spending? Do you envision a 'portrait' as full-body? Upper body? Head & shoulders? Will your portraits be taken mainly indoors or out? If indoors, do you see yourself using flash regularly? Also, especially if indoors, how much space between you and your subject? Do you object to buying used?</p>

<p>This seems like a lot of questions, but your answering as many of them as possible will help to zero in on as good an answer to your question as possible. i.e., if you were to ask simply what is the best portrait lens for my D60 (?), many might answer the <a href="http://www.adorama.com/NK8514AFDU.html">Nikon 85mm f/1.4 IF AF</a>, at well over $1000.00. To come up with a proper lens for your budget, as much info as possible will be helpful.</p>

<p>A good portrait lens on a DX format camera like your D60 would be a 50mm lens. If you don't get an AF-S lens, it won't autofocus on your camera. If that's not a problem for you, then the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF-D would work. It costs new around $125. The 50mm f/1.4 AF-S "G" lens would be another one to look at as it will autofocus on your D60, but it costs around $450.</p>

<p>Thanks for the quick responses so far - let's see how I do<br>

What are the lenses your D60 kit came with? 18mm-55mm and 55mm-200mm<br>

How much do you realistically see yourself spending? I would prefer to spend under $200<br>

Do you envision a 'portrait' as full-body? Upper body? Head & shoulders? I will use it for pictures of my children mostly, I would imagine full body for the majority of the shots<br>

Will your portraits be taken mainly indoors or out? I take the lion share of my photos outdoors and tend to gravitate toward bright sunny days<br>

If indoors, do you see yourself using flash regularly? I always use the flash indoor now<br>

Also, especially if indoors, how much space between you and your subject? I tend to get w/in a 4-5 feet of the kids when I'm shooting them. <br>

Do you object to buying used? Not at all opposed as long as I knew it was great shape.<br>

I really want to be able to shoot photos where the subject is very sharp and the background is really blurry. I guess I need to start reading up on how to start that process because I would imagine it has something to do with your settings.<br>

I understand a regular AF lens won't auto focus on my D60...can it be used if I learn to focus manually...is it difficult to learn and worth the effort? <br>

Thanks so much for the insight! I guess I probably need to pick-up some photography books to, to start me on the right track.</p>

<p>Full body shots, either 35/1.8 DX or 50/1.8 would do well, but the latter doesn't autofocus on the D60. The 60mm AF-S Micro does, and it's an excellent lens, but it's more than your budget.</p>

<p>I think getting the 35 DX would be a good idea to start with, and then save for the 60mm or an 85mm.</p>

<p>if your budget is $200 then it's the 50mm f/1.8 but it will not autofocus on your D60. it will actually be perfect for your kids. you can also use the 55-200mm for portrait, especially outdoors. actually even the 18-55 will work! you won't get the typical background blur with your lenses but you can always go with the home brew studio backdrop if you can make your kids pose -------- hang a blanket as backdrop.</p>

<p>what kind of flash do you have? the onboard flash on the D60 won't cut it. you shoud at least have the sb-600 for your portraits.</p>

<p>I think you should consider getting the 35mm f/1.8 DX which will autofocus on the D60. It's very, very sharp and has a nice bokeh. It costs a bit more than the 50mm, but the the extra cash is well spendt.</p>

<p>i'd get the 35/1.8 as it a) will AF, b) be more useful indoors than a 50mm and c) will give you a wider angle of view for getting more than one kid in the picture.</p>

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<p>"What are the lenses your D60 kit came with? 18mm-55mm and 55mm-200mm"</p>

</blockquote>

<p>You've got the entire practical range of portrait lenses covered. What is it that your current lenses aren't delivering that has you thinking you need a 'portrait lens'?</p>

<p>If your budget really is just $200, then there's pretty much no other alternatives than the 50 mm 1.8 AF (no autofocus on D60) or maybe a used lens.</p>

<p>I got the Sigma 30 mm f1.4 AF-S before Nikon made the 35 mm f1.8 AF-S. The Nikon one is smaller, lighter, better optically and somewhat cheaper, if marginally less bright.<br>

<em><br /> </em><br>

<em>I really want to be able to shoot photos where the subject is very sharp and the background is really blurry. I guess I need to start reading up on how to start that process because I would imagine it has something to do with your settings.</em></p>

<p>The out-of-focus backgrounds are produced by limiting the depth of field (the area in focus in the depth dimension) by opening the aperture and by using longer focal lengths. The larger the aperture, the longer the focal length and the closer you focus, the smaller the depth of field is. The trouble with DX sensor cameras (D60) is that the focal lengths used are shorter than on full-frame 35 mm film or sensor, making the depth of field larger than at the equivalent focal length on full-frame. The effect is even stronger on point-and-shoot cameras, whose sensors are tiny and focal lengths very short. That said, the depth of field at 35 mm or 50 mm at f1.8 is very small and will get you blurry backgrounds (and make it difficult to focus correctly).</p>

<p><em>I understand a regular AF lens won't auto focus on my D60...can it be used if I learn to focus manually...is it difficult to learn and worth the effort?</em></p>

<p>Yes, only AF-S lenses will autofocus on D60. You can practice manual focus with your current zooms to get a feel for it. The focus ring on the 50 mm 1.8 and other prime lenses is probably a lot nicer to handle than the ones on the inexpensive AF-S zooms, which are not designed with manual focus in mind, but there's nothing to stop you from trying it now. It's not a black art (everybody did it in the bad old days), just slower than autofocus. Focusing manually on kids that are running around can be very tricky, depending on how hyperactive the kids are.</p>

<p>The 55-200 you currently have makes for a very good portrait lens in good light. While it does not give the DOF control e.g. 200/5.6 on your zoom vs 200/2.8 on a 70-200VR, it is a very capable lens. In addition, portraiture can be done with a multitude of lenses from fisheyes to super telephotos, both the lenses you have are capable of getting excellent portraits done - all you need to figure out is the kind of shots you want to take, posing your subject(s), as well as getting good light on them. And of course, post processing.</p>

<p>Suggestion: Use what you have till you find limitations, then get a new lens to fix that :)</p>

<p>Regards,<br>

Alvin</p>

<p>I'd look at the Voigtlander 58/1.4. About the right focal length (87mm) and fast enough for easy focusing on the eyes and shallow DOF. I love my 60/2.8 AFS micro, but I don't find it particularly good for portraits.</p>

<p>Nikon 35mm F/1.8 AF-S. May be hard to get blur background unless you're very close to the object and the background is far behind the object but it's a great lens.</p>

<p>Get the 35mm 1.8 and a book, like Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure." With those and your 55-200, you should have the most bang you're going to get for 200 bucks.</p>