Nikon F5 lens?

tnewell · Dec 17, 2023

hi folks,
I recently got a Nikon f5 - I'm going on a trip for 3 weeks and wanted to rent a lens. Obviously renting multiple lenses for weeks at a time can get a pricy so i was hoping for a recommendation . I shoot full length portraits , usually medium format so this is my first time putting this type of thought into 35mm options. Is there a lens that would allow me to take nice full length portraits aswell as closer up versions without distortion? another option could be a zoom lens , but are they good on this camera? I'm assuming so, but wanted to ask the forum their thoughts on a good singular option.

cheers

Paul Howell · Dec 17, 2023

35mm F2, D or G the apature may have changed from the D to the G, maybe 1.8. The best overall will be the 24 to 70 2.8 D or G.

Pieter12 · Dec 17, 2023

My all-time favorite Nikon portrait lens is the 135mm f2 DC--razor sharp with unique defocus control. I think there is a 105mm version too. Pricey but amazing lenses.

AF DC-NIKKOR 135mm f/2D | Nikon

www.nikonusa.com

Chuck1 · Dec 17, 2023

50mm +- few steps

xkaes · Dec 17, 2023

If I were in your shoes I'd opt for a 50-135mm f3.5 zoom (or a 70-150mm f4). Small and light, but maybe too slow for your needs.

chuckroast · Dec 17, 2023

tnewell said:
hi folks,
I recently got a Nikon f5 - I'm going on a trip for 3 weeks and wanted to rent a lens. Obviously renting multiple lenses for weeks at a time can get a pricy so i was hoping for a recommendation . I shoot full length portraits , usually medium format so this is my first time putting this type of thought into 35mm options. Is there a lens that would allow me to take nice full length portraits aswell as closer up versions without distortion? another option could be a zoom lens , but are they good on this camera? I'm assuming so, but wanted to ask the forum their thoughts on a good singular option.

cheers

The 85mm f/1.4 and 105mm f/2.5 are superb portrait lenses.

The 28-85mm zoom is another option but it is not as fast.

ic-racer · Dec 17, 2023

Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR would be what I would rent.

chuckroast · Dec 17, 2023

ic-racer said:
Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR would be what I would rent.

I own this lens and it is quite good but it is rather heavy, particularly for in the moment portraiture.

Paul Howell · Dec 17, 2023

For full length porturites a 105, 50, and 85 will be just too tight in close quartets.

Sirius Glass · Dec 17, 2023

ic-racer said:
Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR would be what I would rent.

I use a 28mm to 300mm AF zoom lens and the Nikon 20mm to 35mm AF zoom lens. I also have a camera body for color and a camera body for black & white.

Pieter12 · Dec 17, 2023

Paul Howell said:
For full length porturites a 105, 50, and 85 will be just too tight in close quartets.

Nobody mentioned close quarters. Those lenses would be fine.

Paul Howell · Dec 17, 2023

Full length at 105, need about 20 feet to get full length, 50 to 105 gives little room for shooting indoors, 35 will just work, 28 a bit more, 24 to 70 is best bet.

xkaes · Dec 17, 2023

If you use a wide lens, especially in close quarters, you will have distortion up the YING-YANG -- something the OP is worried about:

"Is there a lens that would allow me to take nice full length portraits aswell as closer up versions without distortion?"

chuckroast · Dec 17, 2023

xkaes said:
If you use a wide lens, especially in close quarters, you will have distortion up the YING-YANG -- something the OP is worried about:

"Is there a lens that would allow me to take nice full length portraits aswell as closer up versions without distortion?"

This. The 20mm, 24mm, and 35mm all show considerable distortion close up ... which is one of their strengths as creative tools. Both the 85mm and 105mm will produce gorgeous portraits with wonderful bokeh wide open, although the 85mm has almost no depth of field wide open - an eye can be in focus, but not an ear or nose, so one has to take care when shooting it.

If I had to pick one and only one, it would be the 85mm f/1.4. I have it in its Ai-S incarnation and shoot it both on film and digibodies and it's a wondrous piece of glass. You do have to learn to use it and respect its DOF demands, but it's well worth it. If you step back, you can get full length portraits. But it will also let you get in much closer for waistlevel and head & shoulders shots. Here is something I shot with that lens from around 6 feet away, if memory serves.

Scan of sliver print:

https://www.tundraware.com/Photography/Gallery/Silver/media/large/20220524-1-25-Teed_Off.jpg

P.S. For many years, the gold standard for portraiture with Nikons was the 105mm f/2.5 and for good reason. It's also an amazing performer and available in Ai-S drag for considerably less than the 85mm f/1.4. You would have to move back a bit to get a full length portrait with it, which is why I recommended the 85mm.

Pieter12 · Dec 17, 2023

Paul Howell said:
Full length at 105, need about 20 feet to get full length, 50 to 105 gives little room for shooting indoors, 35 will just work, 28 a bit more, 24 to 70 is best bet.

Once again, who says indoors? I would suggest the OP give us an idea of what focal length and widest aperture they use for MF work in order to give a recommendation for 35. The wider-angle suggestions that have been made are sure to be wrong for the OP's stated need to make close-up shots without distortion. We have no idea if this is outdoor, indoor, artificial or natural light, or all of the above. An aperture of 3.5 would make it difficult to focus (unless it is AF) in low-light conditions.

Since we're talking about and F5, I assume size and weight are less of a consideration. For me, the AF-S 24-70mm f2.8G ED would be what I'd carry and just not use the wide angle end of the zoom for close work. https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/product/camera-lenses/af-s-nikkor-24-70mm-f2.8g-ed.html

chuckroast · Dec 17, 2023

tnewell said:
hi folks,
I recently got a Nikon f5 - I'm going on a trip for 3 weeks and wanted to rent a lens. Obviously renting multiple lenses for weeks at a time can get a pricy so i was hoping for a recommendation . I shoot full length portraits , usually medium format so this is my first time putting this type of thought into 35mm options. Is there a lens that would allow me to take nice full length portraits aswell as closer up versions without distortion? another option could be a zoom lens , but are they good on this camera? I'm assuming so, but wanted to ask the forum their thoughts on a good singular option.

cheers

One other thing: I would not limit yourself to auto-hocus-focus lenses. The old Ai and Ai-S lenses will work just swell on that camera. This can be a real advantage when buying your own because they are so much more affordable than newer AFs. In most circumstances, I prefer manual focus anyway.

Outside of a couple of AF zooms (because all the older manual zooms were garbage), I own nothing but Ai and Ai-S lenses and use them happily across multiple film bodies as well as Nikon digital.

Pieter12 · Dec 17, 2023

chuckroast said:
This. The 20mm, 24mm, and 35mm all show considerable distortion close up ... which is one of their strengths as creative tools. Both the 85mm and 105mm will produce gorgeous portraits with wonderful bokeh wide open, although the 85mm has almost no depth of field wide open - an eye can be in focus, but not an ear or nose, so one has to take care when shooting it.

If I had to pick one and only one, it would be the 85mm f/1.4. I have it in its Ai-S incarnation and shoot it both on film and digibodies and it's a wondrous piece of glass. You do have to learn to use it and respect its DOF demands, but it's well worth it. If you step back, you can get full length portraits. But it will also let you get in much closer for waistlevel and head & shoulders shots. Here is something I shot with that lens from around 6 feet away, if memory serves.

Scan of sliver print:

https://www.tundraware.com/Photography/Gallery/Silver/media/large/20220524-1-25-Teed_Off.jpg

The 85 1.4 is a fabulous lens, but pricey. The 1.8 is nice, but not as good as the 1.4.

chuckroast · Dec 17, 2023

Pieter12 said:
The 85 1.4 is a fabulous lens, but pricey. The 1.8 is nice, but not as good as the 1.4.

Keep in mind, the OP intends to rent. If he later is willing to forego AF, Ai-S versions of the 85 f/1.4 can be had at reasonable prices ... for some definition of the word "reasonable".

mshchem · Dec 17, 2023

Rental, that's a twist. I would think that these folks would have a 28 - 70 in stock

mshchem · Dec 17, 2023

A 50 1.4 is still a darn good lens. 18 inches to infinity

dokko · Dec 18, 2023

quite tricky to recommend something without knowing more about what kind of pictures the OP is looking for...

the 24-70mm F2.8 zoom is probably the most flexible one, and nice and sharp. however, also a bit large, limited to F2.8 and not doesn't have a lot of character.

personally I'd go for a prime lens around 50mm.
- the Nikon 50mm F1.4 AF-D is small and cheap, but rather soft wide open. nice if you want a classic look though.
- the Tamron 45mm F1.8 SP is one of my favourite lenses. Has VR and a modern clean look.
and the Zeiss 50mm are very interesting too if you can do with manual focus:
- the ZF 50mm F1.4 has a special look which I like
- the ZF 50mm F2 Macro is very sharp and clean
- the Milvus 50mm F1.4 also
- the Otus 55mm F1.4 even more so.

there's also the Voigtländer 40mm F2 that I always wanted to try.

pentaxpete · Dec 18, 2023

I got an F5 outfit from a Camera Club / FLICKR Mate for £400 ( not a WORD to the WIFE ! ) and it came with the AF NIKKOR 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 D series and it is sharp -- that would do you -- it also have a 'Macro' setting which I have tried --

Chan Tran · Dec 18, 2023

When I bought my F5 back in 2002 I also bought the 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 G AF-S with it. The lens is sharp but has distortion at wide angle.

DNH · Dec 24, 2023

Second the suggestion for the 28-105 AF D. For years that was the main lens that I used with my F5 & I thought it was pretty good.

Pieter12 · Dec 24, 2023

chuckroast said:
Keep in mind, the OP intends to rent. If he later is willing to forego AF, Ai-S versions of the 85 f/1.4 can be had at reasonable prices ... for some definition of the word "reasonable".

mshchem said:
Rental, that's a twist. I would think that these folks would have a 28 - 70 in stock

Around here 3 weeks rental will run $75-135, depending on the lens. Not sure about any international contingencies. And rental vs new stock is usually different domains.

Nikon F5 lens?

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