Ideal lense?

[ashley884]

I have a Nikon D80 and I am doing portrait photography. What is the ideal starter lense and flash for this?

[Daniel Bates]

Nikon has an 85mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor lens that, while inexpensive, is sharp and fast. I would recommend that you save up for a SB-800 flash, as it has many advantages over the SB-600.

The Nikon shooters on this board will have more hands-on advice for you... I shoot a different brand, so I'm not directly familiar with the Nikon system.

[Joe_Lorenzini]

Scott Watters is truly the man to ask as he can provide painfully accurate detail.

Jist is:
28-70mm f/2.8 for full length
70-200mm f/2.8 for head shots

Scott's got a lot of primes such as the 85/1.4, 180/2.8, etc... that he can give you opinions on but if you're just getting started, those two lenses will provide the most flexibility and the highest (and I do mean incredibly high) quality.

_/oe

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

I third the 85mm 1.4 which on that body is really more like a 125mm which is the prime size for portrait work (head and shoulders shots). You can pick up a used lens for less than the price of the new and if you go with the 1.8 vs the 1.4 it will drop the price considerably on a new lens.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation
1.8 is $380 range while the 1.4 is in the $1,030 range so if you don't need that extra bit of light grab you can save close to $700!