Favourite portrait lenses.

tony lockerbie · May 31, 2006

Now I KNOW that you all love talking about your gear so here we go again. Great portrait optics for 35mm- and before we get into a raging argument about focal lengths for potraits I'm going to name the 80 to 135 range to keep it simple.

I have 3, a Canon 100mm F2, Nikon 85mm F1.4 and an old East German 135mm F4 Sonnar.

Lachlan Young · May 31, 2006

Tokina ATX 90mm f2.5 - I believe this has the same optics as the famous Vivitar Series 1 lens of the same focal length and is very uncommon.
Also, Zuiko 135mm f2.8 - extraordinary from wide open down and it cost only £25!

Hope this helps,

Lachlan

benjiboy · May 31, 2006

Canon FDn 85mm f1.8 I have two, this is my all time favorite, in case I wear one out
Canon FDn 100mm f2.8
Canon FDn 70-150 f4 Zoom

Nige · May 31, 2006

Bentley Boyd said:
Canon FDn 85mm f1.8 I have two, this is my all time favorite, in case I wear one out

I must use that excuse... I have two 'ledgendary' Nikkor 105/2.5's, and although it gets a bad rap, I like my 85/2 as well.

eddym · May 31, 2006

Nikkor 105mm f1.8; incredibly sharp lens... too sharp for ladies (or men) who don't want to know they have pores.

df cardwell · May 31, 2006

tony lockerbie said:
....Great portrait optics for 35mm..... 80 to 135....

If I have to !

For the Nikon
85 mm f/1.8 Nikkor-H·C ... c 1971
105 mm f/2.5 Nikkor-P (Sonnar Type) ... c 1971
AF Nikkor 105 mm f/2 DC ... New !

For the Leica
85 mm f/1.5 Summarex ... c 1954
85 mm f/2.0 Zeiss Sonnar ... c 1945
90 mm f/2.0 Apo Summicron ... New !
90 mm f/4.0 Elmar ... c 1955
105 mm f/2.5 Nikkor-P (Sonnar Type)... c 1955

There are SO many great lenses in this category !

Here's the Summarex at work:

Trond · May 31, 2006

I have a Fujinon-T 100mm f2.8, which I quite like.

Trond

David A. Goldfarb · May 31, 2006

Medalist Ektar 100/3.5 adapted for 35mm--

Dead Link Removed

Uncle Bill · May 31, 2006

I have two portrait lenses I really love, the 90 f4 Collapsable Elmar for my Leica M3 and a pre AI Nikkor 105 f2.5. They are not the only ones I own but the ones I have used on a semi regular basis.

Bill

tony lockerbie · May 31, 2006

That Summarex is very very nice!

gnashings · May 31, 2006

I usually have a 50 stuck to the front of the camera... but to stay within the realm of this conversation, some of my favourite portrait work that didn't come from one of those came courtesy of (gasp! should I dare even name a zoom here?!) my very lamented, now stolen Canon FD 80-200mm f4L (which was usually used for this purpose closer to its short end - so within the realm of this discussion ). I really like unusual takes on portraiture, so I did a lot of shots were the face would fill the entire frame, or I would like to concentrate on the eyes alone - and the faux-macro ability of this lens really made that a snap. I also found that it was quite sharp, and not just for a zoom. Perhaps it was just a case of it being better than I am used to - but I thought it really sparkled, performance -wise.

Peter.

naturephoto1 · May 31, 2006

My Leica R series 90mm f2.0 Summicron is my favorite. But, even wide open, many, particularly women may complain that it is too sharp.

Rich

jd callow · May 31, 2006

I have grown to love the 150mm on the mamiya 6
TXP, Blue Filter @ f/5,6, Souped in Xtol by DF Cardwell

The lens would need to be either a 180mm or allow for closer focusing to be a 'true' portrait lens, but I use it as such none the less.

Also shot with the 150mm @ f/5,6. The film was e100s souped in c41...

tbm · May 31, 2006

Myfavorite portrait lens is my 80mm f/1.4 Summilux mounted on my Leica R8. Wide open, the effect is out of this world and cheeks glow brilliantly!

Terry

TheFlyingCamera · May 31, 2006

for 35mm, I really like the Contax 85mm f1.4 . Beautiful and smooth wide open, but still sharp with details.

df cardwell · May 31, 2006

These lenses are just great. Designers have to make so many compromises with short SLR lens ( even the common 50 is tough to make: to get past the mirror requires a retro-focus design ! ). A plain old 35 mm lens is hard for an SLR or a RFDR. But the relative freedom of an 80 to 100 lens makes optical wonders possible.

Seemingly modest lenses ( 90/4 Elmar, for example ) are beautiful.

David's recycled Ektar is one of the most sublime examples of a good idea I've seen in a while.

And, having gone through the Book of Rare and Esoteric lenses in my chequered career ( Thambars and Beyond ) the prettiest, most useful, and wonderful portrait lenses are really pretty common.

The 105/2.5 Nikkor ( in either version ) has no shortcomings, and is about as common as dirt on Ebay. For a Leica, the 90 Summicron, Elmarit, and Elmar (made from the '50s through the '80s) are easy to find and easy to pay for.

The M42 lenses are wonderful, starting with the 135 Sonnar. The Takumar 85 and 105 are harder to find today, but not rare-collectable-unobtainable. And the all-time value for money champion ? The Jupiter 9 ( 85/2 ) is a sweet, sweet lens. Another classic Sonnar design.

Olympus/Minolta/Konica, everybody made a masterpiece in this length. The Cosina 'voigtlander' lenses seem to be quite fine, and why not ?

The Canon 85/1.8 is worthy of a book all its own.

So shoot up and be happy. This is a great topic because there IS no bad news here ! Well, I've found a few stinkers, but you'd have to go out of your way to find them, and I'll just let them go unmentioned.

.

narsuitus · May 31, 2006

Nikon 85mm f/1.8 for half-length and head and shoulder portraits

Nikon 105mm f/2.8 macro with a soft focus lens for head shots, face shots, and head and shoulder portraits

I also own the 105mm f/2.5 but my personal preference is for the 105 macro.

Schlapp · May 31, 2006

Excuse my ignorance but aren't we putting a bit too much emphasis on the lens rather than some indeterminate something that's makes a great look for a portrait. What i'm trying to say is that I have seen some lovely portraits made with holgaesque 'lens' on Plastic cameras as well as very old brass lens' on LF. Whilst I'm sure many len's are exquisite in their sharpness, surely it doesn't mean to say that that it will make/take a good portrait. It may have the capacity to take a good snap - but then most lens are like that in the right hands!

jd callow · May 31, 2006

Schlapp said:
Excuse my ignorance but aren't we putting a bit too much emphasis on the lens rather than some indeterminate something that's makes a great look for a portrait. What i'm trying to say is that I have seen some lovely portraits made with holgaesque 'lens' on Plastic cameras as well as very old brass lens' on LF. Whilst I'm sure many len's are exquisite in their sharpness, surely it doesn't mean to say that that it will make/take a good portrait. It may have the capacity to take a good snap - but then most lens are like that in the right hands!

I agree that it is not the lens but the photographer that makes a great portrait. Given the lenses available to you , as a great photographer, what is your favorite portrait lens?

What makes a great portrait is a wonderful seed for a different thread. What is your favorite portrait lens is the seed for this thread and I suspect that no one is confusing the two.

One of my favorite LF portraits was taken w/ a nikkor 75 f/4,5 and I have taken a ton of portraits with a cheap vivatar 70-210 zoom attached to a minolta. I would prefer to have the Heliar or ektar on the LF, the 85 or 105 on the nikon or the 150 on my MF, then the lenses I mentioned or the Holga you mentioned.

narsuitus · May 31, 2006

Schlapp said:
Excuse my ignorance but aren't we putting a bit too much emphasis on the lens rather than some indeterminate something that's makes a great look for a portrait. What i'm trying to say is that I have seen some lovely portraits made with holgaesque 'lens' on Plastic cameras as well as very old brass lens' on LF. Whilst I'm sure many len's are exquisite in their sharpness, surely it doesn't mean to say that that it will make/take a good portrait. It may have the capacity to take a good snap - but then most lens are like that in the right hands!

While it is true that there are many factors (such as the model, pose, lighting, props, composition, wardrobe, location) that contribute to a successful portrait, lens selection is just as important as the other factors.

Sure, in the right hands, any lens can be used to take a decent portrait. However, all this thread is asking is for us to identify our favorite 35mm portrait lenses.

roteague · May 31, 2006

eddym said:
Nikkor 105mm f1.8; incredibly sharp lens... too sharp for ladies (or men) who don't want to know they have pores.

And there is a new Nikkor 105mm coming out in the fall. The first fixed focal length Macro lens with built in image stabilizer.

JohnArs · May 31, 2006

My favorits are: 120mm Imagon, 90mm Dreamagon, 135 DC f2 Nikkor lens, 1.8 85mm Nikkor lens!
Favorit cameras F5 and F100!

Ara Ghajanian · May 31, 2006

I also vote in favor of the Nikkor 105mm f2.5 for portraits, but I must admit I have taken a lot of portraits with a Nikkor 50mm f1.4 with great results. I personally love the bokeh.

What would you experienced Nikkor fans recommend for an 85mm? There are so many to choose from.

Another question: I have never used a soft focus filter before. Sounds like something I'd like to experiment with. Can anyone recommend a good one for a reasonable price?
Ara

Claire Senft · May 31, 2006

Mr Cardwell, if I may interject a thought. The very nice photo with the Summarex points up the value of experience. This lens has had enough practice to get it right. Maybe it is just my advanced years that causes me to wish the comment be true.

100 Planar 2.0 in contax MM mount..does not yet have all of the experience of o a Summarex but it is getting there.

tony lockerbie · Jun 1, 2006

Hi Ara, the 85mm F1.4 Nikkor is of extremely good quality, perhaps too sharp. The wide aperture is good however for isolating the subject.

The best soft focus filter IMHO is the Zeiss softar, it's made for the Hassleblad but can be used on anything.

Tony

Favourite portrait lenses.

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