ProfJoe Loc: Westchester County, New York

Full frame cameras are recommended for shooting portraits but does anyone use a crop frame (APS-C) for portraits and can you recommend a lens. I use Nikon equipment.

bigtex2000 Loc: Arlington, TX

An 85mm prime is often considered a standard among portrait lenses, so with that in mind, a 50mm prime would be the choice for a crop sensor camera. That is what I use with my Canon T5i....50mm, 1.8 prime. Hope this helps.....of course this is just MHO.

Reinaldokool Loc: San Rafael, CA

I recommend a Hasselblad. But if you are going to use an aps-c sensor camera, an 85-105mm lens would be good. There is no Full-Frame camera. That's just marketing. Instead get a 4x5 view camera for real full-frame.

BebuLamar

The 4x5 is a cropped camera! Most of the lenses used on the 4x5 would work for 8x10.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

An 85mm prime lens on a full frame is one of the best. The 105mm on full frame is excellent. When I had my 35mm film camera, my 135mm was a gem for portraits. The 50mm will give you 75mm on a crop sensor. An 85mm will give you 127mm. While both are good, you would be best served with the 85mm. IMO.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

I have no clue as to why one would recommend a FF over anything else.

It is true that you need a 'better resolution' but it is false that it is what you 'need' to take portraits. APS-C is a good choice (unless you are a pro then everything is different).

The sensor size choice is tied to two important factors $$$ and size of the print. Le 'smaller' APS-C sensor not being able to print much higher then 8*10 (opinion).

The lens choice is a different story. It comes down to two simple variants: how close do you need to be to your 'model' and if do you 'do 'group (family) portraits.

Japanese photographers routinely use 35mm when US photographers prefer longer lens 85~135mm. I am partial to the 135 f2 sold by Nikon as I prefer the distance to closeness. When a group I would select a 50mm over a 35 mm due to the distortion on the edges. If push comes to shove you may have no choice if you are in a cramped situation.

Note that there is one aspect you have not mentioned at all... Lighting. This is more important in portraiture than the camera/lens combination. That would be another thread altogether.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Why not a cropped sensor for portraits?
Do you want or need a good bouquet, then you need the 70-200 f2.8 or 85mm f1.4 (I prefer the 85mm f1.8)

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

ProfJoe are your sessions in a studio or on location?
Yes it can make a considerable difference...

That said yes I've used a D7000 on location for portraiture owing to it's light weight...
And I've shot weddings with a D300...

For weddings I use a 24mm f/2.8 Nikkor (35mm full frame equivalent) and a 85mm f/1.8G Nikkor (135mm equivalent)
The 85mm f/1.8G Nikkor is razor sharp and my portraiture go to for a crop body... it's bokeh is superb... and it affords a rather comfortable working distance...

That said, if resources are limited then the cost effective 50mm f/1.8D Nikkor can be used effectively for portraiture although that focal length is better suited for 3/4 to full length fashion...

If you wish to venture into the third party world owing to limited resources then you'll be hard pressed to find a better and more cost effective investment than the Tokina 100mm f/2.8 AT-X M100 AF Pro D Macro Autofocus Lens for Nikon AF-D. I'm amazed at it's acuity which blows away the pricy Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED Lens (nearly triple the cost) at every aperture above f2.8. And while the Tokina 100mm macro doesn't have VR at that focal length it really isn't a major issue concern with current sensor technologies... besides it weights in at less than half the weight of the 105mm Nikkor.

However in all honesty I currently use the 135mm f/2.0 DC Nikkor for nearly all my portraiture... it pretty much stays on my D3x for studio work... The 135mm f/2.0 DC is legendary for portraiture (in a league of it's own). Pretty much no other vendor offers a lens that allows for such granularity for bokeh control and this lens along with it's little sister (the 105 f/2.0 DC) are unrivaled for acuity in the portraiture category... only when one migrates to manual focus glass such as the Zeiss Otus 85mm f/1.4 Apo Planar T Z F.2 Lens for Nikon will their features be equaled and/or exceeded... Albeit the Otus still doesn't allow the vast spectrum of bokeh control as the DC Nikkors...

btw, for portraiture possibly far more important is lighting and a full team of craft services i.e. makeup, hair and wardrobe (at least at the commercial level) nearly all current DSLR's can handle the task... Excellence in portraiture isn't a commodity that can be purchased, it is an art and science that is best learned from assisting other commercial shooters in your market... this has been my route into the genre...

Hope this helps or is at least food for thought...
All the best on your journey ProfJoe

Rongnongno Loc: FL

FF = 24*36 EVERYONE understand that but you apparently.
Medium cameras = a mix of not so well defined sensor sizes are are still far in size from the 'ancient' medium sized camera (5*5, 6*6, 6*7 ~ cm). The 645 was a poor man's medium format, an hybrid.

So, please take your marketing comment and place a tissue over it.

machia Loc: NJ

Anything between 85-105mm is best in my opinion . 135mm compresses a bit to much for my eye . So divide 85 or 105mm by your crop factor for Nikon and you'll find your lens . My Canon 50mm f 1.8 on my APS-C camera becomes an 80mm which works out fine . If you like more compression , consider the 135mm , but I'd recommend not exceeding that as portraits will become flat .
Good luck !

Pablo8 Loc: Nottingham UK.

****************************************************************************************
My 5 x 4 lenses for the Sinar, are ....Schneider 75mm Super-Angulon....Schneider 90mm Super -Angulon... Schneider150mm Apo-Symmar...
Schneider 180mm Tele-Xenar ...Schneider 240mm Symmar -S . The only lens that will cover the 10 x 8 format, is the 240mm. Symmar-S. What 5 x 4 lenses do you have that will cover the 10 x 8 format? Must be a better outfit than mine.

Leitz Loc: Solms

That is correct, so long as you have a 4x5 back on it!

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

I use a cropped sensor Nikon to do portraits, and I use an 85mm lens. Back in the 35mm film days I used a 105, and that is close to the 85 on a cropped sensor. I feel a 50mm, which would give a field of view like a 75mm, is too short for tight head shots for may taste.

tramsey Loc: Texas

The op wants to know what APS-C is good for portraits and what lens; so why are we talking medium format?

I am just getting into portrait work and have been having good luck with my D7100 and use my 18 300 lens. It's the only one I have and I have always had pretty decent pictures with it. I've noticed that when I'm shooting portraits the lens is usually at 100 sometimes a little less. You certainly don't need a medium format camera to take portrait shots, unless you are pro.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Crop sensor cameras are fine as an entry point to portraiture. You will get great results. For lenses, anything longer than 50 mm will result in flattering images unless your subject has a big round face, in which case a wider lens may be more flattering than a longer one. I no longer shoot portraiture, but when I did my go to lens was a 135 DC F2.0, and a 180 F2.8. The 85 is pretty specialized, can provide some very dramatic bokeh and shallow DOF, but takes some work to nail the focus on some cameras. Also, I prefer the 85 AF-D F1.4 to the new one. The images just looks nicer to my eye - personal preference. It probably would work well, even if it is a little long, with a crop camera.