Best cheap Portrait Lens for Nikon D850

[MEPER]

I tried my Nikkor-Q-C 135/3.5 (non-AI) for a quick test at full aperture for sharpness and bokeh on my D5200 body.
D5200 has no aperture ring so non-AI lenses can be mounted. It is a shame that the higher level DSLRs has a plastic aperture ring and not a metal ring like on a F3, F4 with the possibility to lock-up the small tap so non-AI lenses can be mounted.

I think the lens is quite good a full aperture showing a small amount of purple fringe which disappears when lens is stopped down and also sharpness improves. I think lens at full aperture is sharp enough for portraits.
Bokeh is as expected very nice and soft at full aperture.

This may be the cheapest Nikon prime portraits lens (single coated version is probably a bit cheaper). This lens has "personality". I also like the blue color of the coating on the single coated version.....may be reason enough to get one…...some day :-)

There is a 100% crop of the brick building so sharpness and CA can be evaluated.

[the solitaire]

Yes, the 135mm f3,5 Nikkor-Q is amazing

DSC_5328-Edit-Edit by b j, on Flickr

[the solitaire]

There is also the older AF 85/1.8 D which is also a fine lens....many available at ebay:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/Nikon-AF-Nikkor-85-mm-f-1-8-D/202929972111?hash=item2f3f91a38f:g:fvIAAOSw5jleZ22q
It should work with AF with D850 body.....and is a physical small lens compared to the AFS 85/1.8 G.

330 Euro for a new AFS 85/1.8 G sounds cheap.......seems to be a "no brainer" at this price level.

I owned the 85 f1,8 AF-D for a short while (about 3 years) and sold it because it rendered backgrounds with double lines in many situations where the 85 f1,4 AF-D did not. AF on the f1,8 lens is very fast, and somewhat accurate. AF on the f1,4 lens is significantly slower. About as quick as the current AF-S 85 f1,8 lens.

[the solitaire]

Last question:

Has anyone experiences with the 3


- Samyang 85mm f/1.4 Aspherique IF Nikon
- Samyang 85mm T1.5 VDSLR AS IF UMC II
- Zenitar-1N MC 85mm f1.4

I handled the Samyang 85mm f1,4 on a Nikon D800.
-The lens did not feel as solid as the 85 f1,4 Ai-S which I kind of find very important in a manual focus lens
-The lens did render very much like the 85 f1,4 AF-D suggesting it is slightly less sharp then the Ai-S version
-If you really feel certain manual focus is exactly your thing, go for it. If not, buy the 85 f1,8 AF-S as many before me suggested, or..

... wait until you can afford the 105 f1,4 and buy that. I never used that one, so I can not say whether it rocks your boat

You can also always buy a Canon and the 85 f1,2. That way you are exactly at the spot where you place your benchmark.

Personally I think looking for a cheap portrait lens involves one thing more then anything else. Pick up your camera, use what you have and take pictures. Good photographers were never limited by their equipment. If they were limited by anything, it was by not being in the right spot at the right time.

[Jack Dahlgren]

I tried my Nikkor-Q-C 135/3.5 (non-AI) for a quick test at full aperture for sharpness and bokeh on my D5200 body.
D5200 has no aperture ring so non-AI lenses can be mounted. It is a shame that the higher level DSLRs has a plastic aperture ring and not a metal ring like on a F3, F4 with the possibility to lock-up the small tap so non-AI lenses can be mounted.

If you are interested in using old lenses, the Df has an aperture flip tab so you can use pre-AI lenses. However, the Z series is even better as you have better ways to focus (viewfinder magnification, focus peaking) and in body stabilization which makes it possible to shoot in very poor lighting conditions. Because the FTZ adapter does not have an aperture tab, you won’t get f/stop information in your EXIF files, but I never look at that after the fact anyway.

[MEPER]

I will probably jump on a Z-body......maybe a Z-60 with IBIS when it comes to the market :-)
Nice picture of the dog......what it shot at 3.5 .....probably a bit stopped down?   
 

[MEPER]

Shot at 3.5.........I can see know......blur circles are also quite circular......

[f4-fan]

I tried my Nikkor-Q-C 135/3.5 (non-AI) for a quick test at full aperture for sharpness and bokeh on my D5200 body.
D5200 has no aperture ring so non-AI lenses can be mounted. It is a shame that the higher level DSLRs has a plastic aperture ring and not a metal ring like on a F3, F4 with the possibility to lock-up the small tap so non-AI lenses can be mounted.

I think the lens is quite good a full aperture showing a small amount of purple fringe which disappears when lens is stopped down and also sharpness improves. I think lens at full aperture is sharp enough for portraits.
Bokeh is as expected very nice and soft at full aperture.

This may be the cheapest Nikon prime portraits lens (single coated version is probably a bit cheaper). This lens has "personality". I also like the blue color of the coating on the single coated version.....may be reason enough to get one%u2026...some day :-)

There is a 100% crop of the brick building so sharpness and CA can be evaluated.

For me personally the Nikon F4 F4s etc. was the best camera of all times... extremly robust and with a lot of robust manual features... and very good looking like the classical  Jaguar E
When I compare the rather delicate and sensitive D850 with the extremely stable and robust Nikon F4s - with its sturdy rubberized knurled wheels and controls... oh my god what a descent... 

Therefore I have a problem with converted non Ai lenses like the Nikkor-Q-C 135/3.5 (non-AI) (Bokeh seems to be great)
If the conversion is not perfekt, it can destroy the very sensitive F-FO base plate ceramic unit of the D850

[f4-fan]

I handled the Samyang 85mm f1,4 on a Nikon D800.
-The lens did not feel as solid as the 85 f1,4 Ai-S which I kind of find very important in a manual focus lens
-The lens did render very much like the 85 f1,4 AF-D suggesting it is slightly less sharp then the Ai-S version
-If you really feel certain manual focus is exactly your thing, go for it. If not, buy the 85 f1,8 AF-S as many before me suggested, or..

... wait until you can afford the 105 f1,4 and buy that. I never used that one, so I can not say whether it rocks your boat

You can also always buy a Canon and the 85 f1,2. That way you are exactly at the spot where you place your benchmark.

Personally I think looking for a cheap portrait lens involves one thing more then anything else. Pick up your camera, use what you have and take pictures. Good photographers were never limited by their equipment. If they were limited by anything, it was by not being in the right spot at the right time.

In this thread I got more than enough useful technical hints and now I wait until there is a good chance to buy one of the mentioned lenses...

Changing back to Canon is no option. (By the way: The Nikon 105mm 1.4 ED is better than the Canon 85mm 1.2 II )

In the meantime I use - as you wisely remarked - my existing equipment - especially my wonderful Zeiss Milvus 35mm 1.4 or my Nikon 50mm 1.8G for portraits... 

The Zeiss 35mm Milvus 1.4 is ideal and ultimative lens for environmental portraits;
the Nikkor 105mm 1.4 ED would be the ideal lens for headshots etc.

I have some photo-project-ideas, where I need both to characterize the person (environmental study and face study)

Some photos (also portraits) are in THIS thread...

https://nikongear.net/revival/index.php?topic=9163.0

[MEPER]

Very nice images. The D850 is good in "available light" situations......

My F4 was also my main film camera for many years......it has been sitting on the shelf....with 85/1.4 attached.
I used the 85/1.4 AFD on F4.....but never used it on my D5200......but it looks good on a F4.....so in moment only for display.

[the solitaire]

Shot at 3.5.........I can see know......blur circles are also quite circular......

Yes, shot at f3,5. I use most of my lenses wide open only because of the ugly shape the aperture takes when stopping down Ai, Ai-S and older manual Nikkor lenses.

There are just a few exceptions there. The 13,5cm f4 I recently bought has a round aperture at nearly every setting. The 85mm f2,8 PC Nikkor does a good job at keeping the aperture circular when changing settings. There are a few others too. But I do not own many of those

[MEPER]

Yes, it is easier to use many aperture blades when aperture does not have to stop down during exposure.....so lenses with pre-set aperture often has this "rounded" feature.
Some lenses with 9 rounded blades can do it quite well.....but not perfect.   

[f4-fan]

Very nice images. The D850 is good in "available light" situations......

My F4 was also my main film camera for many years......it has been sitting on the shelf....with 85/1.4 attached.
I used the 85/1.4 AFD on F4.....but never used it on my D5200......but it looks good on a F4.....so in moment only for display.

Great but past analogue times...

I officially said goodbye HERE to the analog times (in my own photoblog)

https://www.fotogemeinschaft.de/the-long-good-bye-abgesang-auf-die-analogfotografie/358/

[the solitaire]

Yes, it is easier to use many aperture blades when aperture does not have to stop down during exposure.....so lenses with pre-set aperture often has this "rounded" feature.
Some lenses with 9 rounded blades can do it quite well.....but not perfect.

Actually, my girlfriends Sigma Art 135 f1,8 has 9 rounded blades and that aperture closes almost as neatly as the one on the 13,5cm f4. At least up to f5,6. From there on the 15 blades iris has an advantage again

[MEPER]

Nice to have such a girlfriend......

The Nikkor 85/1.4 AFD is not that bad either.......picture is aperture set to 2.0.