Camera Lense Advice Please
So, I'm a high schooler who is in love with photography. I shoot a Nikon D5000. And mostly, I shoot people (heatshots in particular) and nature. But I think its time to get a new lense, and I'm in need of some help. I'm looking for a more reasonably priced lense that would work for portraits. So far, I have an 18-55mm and a 35mm. Any suggestions on my next step?
First off, lens is singular, lenses is plural, and lense is not a word.
For portraits with that camera consider the following:
I use a pretty general purpose lens, a Canon 28-200. I know Nikon has a lens just like it.
Yes it's general purpose but I get this kind of result.
I have a few camera's but also own a Nikon D5000 I use as a back up in case my D3s or D300s have problems. If you want a great lens at a good price you could use for, well everything including portraits. Get Sigma's DC 18-200mm 1:3.5-6.3 HSM. It's a lens that not only has telephoto zoom, but is also a wide angle lens, has macro capabilities, auto focus, image stabilization and shoots very high quality pictures with little noise when attached to the D5000. I've shot portraits with it along with everything else. It's a great lens for travel or to take to school with you without having to carry other lens with you or changing lens a lot. The zooms great for sports, the macro for flowers and the wide angle is perfect for group shots of your friends. Hope this helps!
On a 35mm film camera or a full-frame DSLR a focal length of between 85mm to 105mm would be considered an ideal portrait focal length. On your D5000 with its "1.5 crop factor" the Nikon AF-S 50mm f1.4 would be equivalent in angle of view to a 75mm lens on a 35mm film camera or full-frame DSLR - close enough to do what you want. The 50mm f1.4 lens is also great in low-light situations where you don't want to use the flash.
Unless you're into manually focusing, ignore any suggestions for the AF 50mm f1.8 lens since it will not auto focus on your D5000.
Well, you have to ask yourself what you want to shoot that your current lenses can't, otherwise you'll be searching blindly for lenses that you probably don't really even need.
If all you have is the 18-55mm and a 35mm lens, then you'll probably want a telephoto lens. The AFS 55-200mm VR fits the bill perfectly.
If all you want to do is headshots and you're willing to sacrifice the flexibility of autofocus and zooming, then consider the AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D. It's a great lens, though probably not very versatile.
A 50mm f1.4 af-s or a 60mm f2.8 af-s macro