have fun with Your new lens

Alright--I've made up my mind.

85 1.8 seems to be the best bank for the buck for my needs. I'm going to give it a shot. I'd love to try a macro as well--we'll see how soon the "funds" are allocated.

Thanks everyone...

:-) Hmm.. have OK that one may be an exception ... :-)

hearty - I don't find my 105vr macro slow :)

Get the AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D. It's the closest thing to what you wanted at an affordable price. Macros aren't always as sharp wide-open, which is how you want to shoot for your "backgrounds to disappear."

Macros are all "slow" focusing and "slow" in aperture speed. What you get in return is
1) Super sharp edge to edge.
2) Flat plane of focus - ie the region in focus is flat instead of spherical/bulging (sorry some one may be able to explain this better.)
3) Bokeh is usually very good.

I dont know anything about the tokina 100. I would suggest that the 60mm micro nikkor would be a good choice for DX portrait. Look into the DX Tamron 60mm F2 macro. Some great reviews on that lens. I was thinking of getting one of those myself.

Thanks everyone.

If I go the Macro route what would you suggest.

New Nikon 85 3.5, or 105? 60?. I've tried the 85 and it seems to focus somewhat slowly. Are the 60 or 105 any faster focusing?

Will the Tokina 100 macro focus as slowly as the nikons and would it work on full frame?

This may sound like a broken record to some, but try the Tamron 17-50 2.8 VC. You won't completely cream your backgrounds but you can still really make your subject stand out-- you can get a very substantial blur to your background for subject isolation and that puppy is tack sharp wide open. At least my copy is.

Indeed, get either 50mm 1.8 or 1.4. I would suggest 1.8, but that's because I shot my 1.4 at 2.8 due to the small depth of field. So I just waisted money on buying a 1.4 lens and using it at 2.8 aperture.

I've been selling Nikon for 25 years, and the 85mm f/1.8 is a great lens. It's a perfect portrait lens, and dollar for dollar, it may be Nikon's best value. But, I've also seen many DX sensor camera owners return the 85mm f1.8D, and purchase the 50mm f/1.4 instead. For portraits, it seems that the 85mm is a bit tto long for many photographers, since it is basically a 127.5mm equivalent. The 50mm lens is equivalent to a 75mm - which seems to be more workable for many photographers.

I can often obliterate a background with my 50 1.4 set at 1.4.

The 85 1.8 is a nice lens.. a tiny bit long for portraits on DX but great if you have the space to step a bit further. The tokina 50-135 is also a good choice but I have heard that it may be discontinued. The sigma 50-150 F2.8 is on my to buy list for a portrait/event/stage lense, look it up. At the moment, for portrait, I make do with a Nikkor 35-70 F2.8 AFD and a 150 F2.8 Sigma Macro. Both are great for portrait but the bokeh of the 85 1.8 should be better. I have a "forum friend" that uses macro lenses for his portraits. The Micro 60 and 105. He is just one of the top 5 Australian portrait photographers!! He does many of the album covers,etc.. of our local bands and artists.

I miss my 85mm f/1.8... Sold it for some x-tra change. The 85mm was super nice, but with my 24-70mm f/2.8 Sigma, it was a little redundant. If I had the money, I would not hesitate on buying it again.

(my avatar icon shows my old D50 with my 85mm that I sold)

The 85mm is 128mm (or 127.5mm if you're PB PM) on the D90 so yes it'll work great for getting rid of backgrounds. You could also use the 18-200 though at 70mm and up and at f4 or whatever your smallest aperture is at that range. You'll get nice out of focus backgrounds that way too if you focus on something up close. Just remember that at f1.8 your depth of field (what is and isn't in focus) is going to be very thin. So for example if you focus on a person's nose then their eyes might not be in focus or vice versa.

Welcome to the forum.

I have a d90 and am looking for a lens to make my backgrounds "disappear"........

I'm currently using a 35 1.8 and an 18-200 and would like something that really creams the backgrounds when taking portraits.

Is the 85 1.8 the right lens? Should I be looking at a 2.8 zoom???

I've looked at the new 50 1.4 and have thought that it's just too close to my 35. The 85 1.4 is out of my price range. I've also considered an 80-200 zoom but find them too big to lug around. I am interested in the update to the Tokina 50-135 2.8. Would that lens compliment the 85 1.8?? Would you carry both?

Should I look at a macro for my needs? possible the Tokina 100 2.8?

Thanks!