Question about compatible lenses for the nikon D60

[maskedphoto]

hi guys iam a noob at photography, and iam learning....so i dont kno much.....i just bought the new nikon d60, and it comes with a really nice lense but i was looking to buy any 1 of these 3 lenses, specifically for portraits.

nikkor 50mm 1.8 or 1.4 AF
nikkor 60mm 2.8 micro

now that i have been doing more research learned that the d60 can not manually focus any AF lenses only AFS lenses, this feels like a bummer to me....i was told that there were many great lenses that wont work with my D60 because of its lack of an internal AF motor.....

so i kno that the 50mm lense can be manually focused, but iam a noob so that doesnt sound so appealling, esp because i want my portraits to be sharp.....

so i was wondering if anyone may give me advice to which PORTRAIT lense is best for my camera and if it will auto focus... perhaps any portrait AFS lenses, etc....
or mayb all together is it not so bad to manually focus a lense because on the 18-55 VR lense it seems hard even with the VR....

so any suggestions please help thanks

 

[Adrien Baker]

The 50 1.8 is a commonly recommended lens, and in my opinion not a great focal length. Portraits are a niche and honestly if you just want to do portraits with the lens, getting a grasp on MF for that purpose shouldn't be a problem and is your best solution. If you're dead set on AF-S you're limited in the "portraiture" category, as most of the legendary portrait lenses are AF. I would suggest maybe the new AF-s 60 MM Micro lens. Other then that, I'm bamboozled. Maybe a Sigma 30 1.4, which is a little short..but still a good lens and will AF with your D60.

Adrien

 

[Adrien Baker]

One more thing, if you're completely dead set on doing portrait type photography and don't want to learn MF, you might consider selling your D60 and getting a D80 or even a used OOP D50 so you can AF with AF lenses.

Adrien

 

[cube]

Used D70 or D70s is also good.

D70 might die with the BGLOD problem, but Nikon would fix it for free, even when out of warranty (maybe depending on country, and also probably they'll refuse if it's grey import).

 

[compuwar]

hi guys iam a noob at photography, and iam learning....so i dont kno much.....i just bought the new nikon d60, and it comes with a really nice lense but i was looking to buy any 1 of these 3 lenses, specifically for portraits.

nikkor 50mm 1.8 or 1.4 AF
nikkor 60mm 2.8 micro

Ultra-sharp lenses for portraits mean more PP work fixing skin. I generally shoot portraits in manual mode with studio lights which really don't afford a narrow depth of field- you don't say what sort of conditions you're shooting under, so it's difficult to make specific recommendations.

now that i have been doing more research learned that the d60 can not manually focus any AF lenses only AFS lenses, this feels like a bummer to me....i was told that there were many great lenses that wont work with my D60 because of its lack of an internal AF motor.....

The D40, D40x and D60 are targeted at new DSLR users who'll mostly use the included kit lenses or who'll eventually purchase new AF-S lenses. Part of meeting the price-point was removing the in-body focus motor, it's listed in the tech specs of these bodies, so it shouldn't be a surprise unless you didn't do any research or the camera was a gift. Nikon is adding AF-S to select lenses, but many of the older designs are superseded by newer zooms in the minds of Nikon's marketing. For what it's worth, there's now a 60mm AF-S lens that will AF with the D60.

so i kno that the 50mm lense can be manually focused, but iam a noob so that doesnt sound so appealling, esp because i want my portraits to be sharp.....

Funnily enough photographers used to buy defocusing lenses to do portraits or add nylons over the lenses to decrease sharpness. There are plenty of sharp choices though- mostly the choices are determined by what focal length you want to use and how much light you have available. If you're using controllable lighting, then the only thing that matters is focal length- telephotos give what most consider a flattering look to the images, but generally have larger minimum focusing distances, requiring more room to shoot.

so i was wondering if anyone may give me advice to which PORTRAIT lense is best for my camera and if it will auto focus... perhaps any portrait AFS lenses, etc....
or mayb all together is it not so bad to manually focus a lense because on the 18-55 VR lense it seems hard even with the VR....

so any suggestions please help thanks

Focus will be easier on a lens that's faster because there's more light, and some folks find that going back to a split-screen focusing prism makes manual focus significantly easier. It looks like the focusing screen on the D60 is the same type as on the D40, but I'd double-check with the 3rd party manufacturers prior to purchasing. If you're going to manual focus, then either a Katz Eye or Haoda screen is worth the ~$80.

I'd probably be looking at the 60mm or 105mm AF-S lenses, though with a bigger budget a used 80-200mm AF-S in good condition would probably be near the top of my list as well. What about the kit lens that came with the camera don't you like for portraits?

 

[maskedphoto]

the lens it comes with is great because of the VR on it, but not good for portrait because up close distorts the nose and farther back it doesnt blurr the backround enough, and ive tried switching the focus mode also and manually adjusting the focus, usually at the 35-55 mm portaits dont come out rite....i did hear that when it comes to portraits its a choice btw real sharp and a lil blurry, i want it sharp only bc i want the face and body to stand out from the blurred backround, but i guess how i can see manually focusing and comin out wit a less sharp pic can be quite interesting also, but i would still want to experiment with both styles

 

[taylorwilsdon]

the lens it comes with is great because of the VR on it, but not good for portrait because up close distorts the nose and farther back it doesnt blurr the backround enough, and ive tried switching the focus mode also and manually adjusting the focus, usually at the 35-55 mm portaits dont come out rite....i did hear that when it comes to portraits its a choice btw real sharp and a lil blurry, i want it sharp only bc i want the face and body to stand out from the blurred backround, but i guess how i can see manually focusing and comin out wit a less sharp pic can be quite interesting also, but i would still want to experiment with both styles

The depth of field/background sharpness is determined by the aperture (f/stop), not the focus...

If anything, a f/1.8 or f/1.4 lens wide open is going to jack the nose up even more so. The point is stop it down as far as you can if you want a full depth of field, and as high as you can if you want a strong bokeh (background blur)

Set your camera to aperture priority and get learnin'

 

[maskedphoto]

The depth of field/background sharpness is determined by the aperture (f/stop), not the focus...

If anything, a f/1.8 or f/1.4 lens wide open is going to jack the nose up even more so. The point is stop it down as far as you can if you want a full depth of field, and as high as you can if you want a strong bokeh (background blur)

Set your camera to aperture priority and get learnin'

wow man thanks, i actually already do use my camera in aperture priority mode....so iam guessing iam def. on there rite track....but cant u adjust the f-stops on the lense too?