Which lense would be the best for taking portraits?

I have the Nikon D5100 with a kit lense and am looking to buy a new lense that creates an extreme depth of field, i will use it mainly for portraits and would like to stay under $500

these are some i'm considering which would be the best for portraits and have the most shallow depth of field?

http://www.nikonusa.com/...ngsReviews

http://www.nikonusa.com/...F1.4G.html

http://www.nikonusa.com/...ngsReviews

Either 50mm lens will give you an effective focal length of 75mm on your APS-C sensor camera. Very slightly on the telephoto side of a normal lens… Which tends to flatten perspective, great for flattering portraits. If you can afford the f/1.4 it's a very good lens for shallow depth of field and build quality, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with f/1.8 which while really aimed at hobbyists is no slouch at creating that milky shallow depth of field effect. Take your pick.

Are you looking for a different answer then when you asked this yesterday? The f 1.4 will give the most shallow DOF, followed by the f/1.8 then the f/2.8.

The 2.8 is also a macro lens, which will give 1:1 reproduction with a crop camera, and let you focus on objects about 7 inches from the lens. The others will not focus as close, so they will not be of use as a stand alone macro lens. For the money, I would get the 1.8, unless you are getting a lot of paying gigs, then go for the 1.4.

For very long DOF, set your lens to largest f/number. No need to buy a new one. If you wanted very shallow depth of field, buy the lowest f/numbered lens you can find. For portraits, 35mm is very near, 40mm is just a bit further while 50mm will put you comfortably a few feet from your subject.