Best Nikon FX lens for street portrait/scene photography
May 3, 2017 15:03:25 #
I live in Asia and am particularly fond of taking portraits/photos of older people while I'm walking around in town. I have the Nikon 85mm/1.4 which is awesome for portraits. But I like to take shots of people in the street while they're going about what they're doing.... and with the 85mm I need to get so close that it is usually intrusive and the natural setting is lost. So I'm thinking of the 70-300mm 4.5-5.6 lens as it is light for carrying around. I'm concerned about performance though, especially whether I can still get a good bokeh..... Any advice or recommendations?
May 3, 2017 15:14:24 #
Moonbeach wrote:
I live in Asia and am particularly fond of taking ... (show quote)
For street photography being unobtrusive is generally a good idea. A big lens like the 70-300mm lens you mentioned would draw attention to yourself. I would suggest a 50mm f/1.8. Not only would it be less noticeable, being a faster lens it would be better in low light situations. If you decide to go this route, consider the Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8D lens.
May 3, 2017 15:20:30 #
I'm with Mac. I've used a 50mm f/1.4 for over 45 years for street, and even landscape with a 35mm camera. The choice of an f/1.8 will give you a fast enough lens and save you a bit of money. With digitals one doesn't need that extra .4 of an f-stop, as you can change your ISO setting if needed. An 85mm f/2.8 would also be a good choice, though quite a bit more expensive. The lens is compact enough that you won't look like you're spying on unsuspecting pedestrians. These suggestions are aimed at those using full frame cameras.
If using a crop sensor, a 35mm and 50mm would be good choices.
--Bob
If using a crop sensor, a 35mm and 50mm would be good choices.
--Bob
Mac wrote:
For street photography being unobtrusive is generally a good idea. A big lens like the 70-300mm lens you mentioned would draw attention to yourself. I would suggest a 50mm f/1.8. Not only would it be less noticeable, being a faster lens it would be better in low light situations. If you decide to go this route, consider the Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8D lens.
May 3, 2017 15:28:57 #
I like my Nikkor AF 28-105 1:3.5-4.5 D for street photography, small, light and unobtrusive. Wide enough for location scenes and long enough for portraits, it also close focuses to half life size, 1:2. Perhaps worth a look for you.............chase
www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/28105af.htm
www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/28105af.htm
May 3, 2017 15:52:02 #
Moonbeach wrote:
I live in Asia and am particularly fond of taking ... (show quote)
Yes, but not on lenses. Go to the Street Photography section of UHH. look at the captures posted there and see if they are to your liking and if they are then look at their focal lengths ... you might be surprised. Right now I'm using a 35mm (on a DX camera) and liking it. I do and have used an 18-300mm lens but found I don't need those long focal lengths so I have on occasion gone back to my 18-55.
May 3, 2017 16:11:57 #
Thanks all for the feedback so far. I do like the 50mm on a full frame (I have the D700). But if I want to get closer portraits unobstrusively I think I need a longer lens.... but maybe zoom to 300mm is overkill?
May 3, 2017 16:16:29 #
Moonbeach wrote:
I live in Asia and am particularly fond of taking ... (show quote)
If the 85mm is already causing you to get closer to your subjects than you really want, changing to a 50mm will only make matters worse.
You realize you will be losing 3 1/2 - 4 stops of light catching ability by changing to the 70-300. It does have VR so that may help a bit using lower shutter speeds, but you are pretty much guaranteed to be using higher iso settings.
I have the 70-300, and it is also not nearly as sharp as the 85mm at any focal length or f/stop. But, it will let you stand off from your subject, and it is relatively light. You can get bokeh with the 70-300, but I doubt it will be as pleasing as any that you get with your 85mm 1.4.
If you want similar light catching ability and just a bit more reach you might look at the Nikon 105 1.4 or Sigma 135 1.8. (if cost is no object). But, then there's the weight issue.
May 3, 2017 16:24:28 #
Moonbeach wrote:
I live in Asia and am particularly fond of taking ... (show quote)
Replace the 85mm with a 24-120mm f/4 for more flexibility in Street Photography, but a 70-200mm f/2.8 , or perhaps f/4, lens is likely best for the Street Portraiture work you describe! The distinction is very significant.
Street Photography is about the character of the environment rather than the character of the people. When you describe having to get so close as to be intrusive with an 85mm lens it is clear that you want a portrait, where the subject is the character of a person!
Another potential lens is an 80-400mm. The older AF-D model might be less expensive, and I doubt its detractions (slow AF for example) would be significant for your work. It would be a higher quality lens than a 70-300mm, but also heavier.
One of the 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses (Nikkor or Tamron) along with a good 1.4x TC is another option.
May 3, 2017 16:34:55 #
The 50mm 1.4 af-d is fast enough and used on the D700 you can get good crops from the full frame sensor under most conditions. Excellent combo.
May 3, 2017 16:40:39 #
BlackRipleyDog wrote:
The 50mm 1.4 af-d is fast enough and used on the D700 you can get good crops from the full frame sensor under most conditions. Excellent combo.
A total waste of money for the OP, given the stated need. Read what the OP said, pay attention to the details required by the OP rather than your own interests! The most significant detail is that he does not shoot Street Photography
May 3, 2017 16:49:56 #
Apaflo wrote:
A total waste of money for the OP, given the stated need. Read what the OP said, pay attention to the details required by the OP rather than your own interests! The most significant detail is that he does not shoot Street Photography
"....and am particularly fond of taking portraits/photos of older people while I'm walking around in town." Am I missing something here? Sounds like street photography to me. The title says it all. My own interests? You have no clue what my interests are? As far as a total waste of money, the lens can be had for $300 or less. He wants to be unobtrusive and I think that combo does the trick. The 70-300mm 4.5-5.6 is a fine lens but it is 3 to 4 stops slower than the 50 I recommended and fours times larger.
If you want shoot the the long lenses, get a duck blind and concentrate on birds. Street photography is about intimacy and the nitty-gritty.
May 3, 2017 17:05:42 #
BlackRipleyDog wrote:
"....and am particularly fond of taking portr... (show quote)
Portraits of people on the street are not Street Photography. If the subject of a photograph is strictly the character of the person it is a portrait. If it is Street Photography the subject is life, the intangible relationships between objects such as people and their surroundings!
Spending $300 on a lens that is worse than the one he has is indeed a waste of money.
The OP explicitly said an 85mm focal length requires getting too close to the subject, and asked about longer focal lengths to cure that one specific problem.
The title very explicitly said portraits, not Street Photography and the OP appears to know the difference too.
May 3, 2017 17:11:00 #
Apaflo wrote:
Portraits of people on the street are b not /b S... (show quote)
And I said he could still get usable crops from the D700's full frame sensor. I still think the 50 and 85 with the 700 are a great combo. You want more bokeh, add the 135 dc.
This works regardless if he is doing "Portraits" or "Street". There is not much difference in the subject matter. And all three of these are much faster than any zoom that has been mentioned.
May 3, 2017 17:22:59 #
Apaflo wrote:
Portraits of people on the street are b not /b S... (show quote)
If he doesn't want his subjects to know he is taking their photos, advise him to buy the 200-500 5.6 and stand a couple blocks away. But that really isn't "portrait" now is it?
May 3, 2017 17:38:26 #
Moonbeach wrote:
Thanks all for the feedback so far. I do like the 50mm on a full frame (I have the D700). But if I want to get closer portraits unobstrusively I think I need a longer lens.... but maybe zoom to 300mm is overkill?
Look at the Nikkor 135mm f2.0 DC lens. One of the best portrait lens ever made. Fast and will give you a little more stand-off distance.
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