Recommendations for Portrait Lens for the D5500

ZOOM LENS OPTIONS

Nikon 16-85mm f3.5-5.6 VR (Around $697)

This is a versatile lens that covers a focal length range equivalent of 24-127.5mm on a 35mm camera, hitting everything from wide-angle to medium telephoto portraits. It’s sharp, has fast and accurate autofocus, less distortion than most other comparable zoom lenses, and vibration reduction for hand held photos when natural light is low. All things considered, it’s a quality walk-around lens for portraits and travel. 



Another lens to consider in the same price range would be the Nikon 18-200mm VR f3.5. The advantage of the 16-85mm VR over the similarly priced 18-200mm VR is that this 16-85mm VR has a slightly wider wide end, has less distortion, has somewhat more effective VR and can be sharper at the wide end. The 16-85mm is also smaller and lighter, but only slightly. The advantage of the 18-200mm is longer focal length, so it’s more versatile as an all in one lens. Between the two for portraits specifically, I’d still probably chose the 16-85mm.

Nikon 16-85mm f3.5-5.6 VR at B and H Photo

PRIME LENS OPTIONS

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G (Around $216)

This is a high quality prime lens and is a go-to lens for many pro photographers. This lens replaces the old, but best selling 50mm f/1.8D that couldn’t auto focus on bodies like the D5500 that have no AF motor. This new version however, works perfectly and will also auto focus on it without any issues. Because this is a full frame lens that would be used on a DX camera, the effective focal length would be around 75mm (a little more zoom), which is not a bad thing in terms of portraits. This lens could also be used on most any full frame camera you may purchase in the future if you ever decide to upgrade to a full frame system.

This is a sharp, prosumer quality lens. It’s bokeh (background blur) is pleasing to the eye and is appropriate for portraits with a pleasing shallow depth of field on your images. It takes 58mm filters but is still extremely compact. Technically, the 50mm f1.4 lens is superior to the 50mm 1.8 lens, but the 1.4 is $180 more. The 1.8 is better bang for your buck. The advantage of a prime lens over a zoom lens here for portraits is a better aperture size for low lighting situations, and slightly superior glass/sharpness. This disadvantage compared to a zoom lens is convenience for framing shots. A prime lens can take beginners a little bit of getting used to. All that considered, the 50mm is considered a “normal” lens - it’s focal length is very close to what the human eye perceives in terms of focal length. This helps when getting used to the fixed focal length.

Nikon 50mm f1.8 at B and H Photo
 

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G (Around $427)

Like the Nikon 50mm above, the Nikon 85mm f1.8 also offers a great aperature size, with the added benefit of a greater focal length. It offers superb optical and mechanical capability. Like the 50mm above, it also can be used with a full frame camera if you ever decide to upgrade. Because it is an FX lens being used on the D5500 (a DX camera), the focal length will be closer to 125mm. The advantages and disadvantages of this fixed lens compared to the 50mm above are very similar. The zoom lens will offer more ease when framing shots quickly. The prime (or fixed lens) will offer better aperature level for low lighting and sharper, faster glass. This is a pricier fixed lens, but is great for portrait photography. It offers a beautiful bokeh (background blur) and razor sharp images.

Nikon 85mm f1.8 on B and H Photo

There are advatages and disadvatages to all the lenses above. You can shop for a zoom lens with even better aperature than the 16-85mm above like Nikon’s new 16-80mm f/2.8-4, but then you are getting into lenses that are over the $1,000 mark. For beginners or prosumers, I think the money would be better spent pairing the Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED Vibration Reduction Zoom Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras and the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras. You get more bang for your buck in my opinion with this pairing, still save over $100 over the pricier zoom lens, and give beginners the opportunity to practice with and improve their skills with a prime (fixed) lens.

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