What is Your Favorite Portrait Lens?

I am very happy using my Canon RF 24-105 f4 lens. I took a few hundred self portraits with it and I was extremely satisfied with the results. Great lens. 

I am not a pro like the photographers featured in this interesting article. I bought a Nikkormat FTn with a 105mm F2.5 in the mid-seventies because I loved taking portraits. Later, after the AI (which then meant auto-indexing) conversion for my F3, I continued to use this lens. It has held up pretty well. Fast forward to the D850 that I shoot with now, I get autofocus and sharper images with the 85mm 1.8, the Micro Nikkor 105mm 2.8, or the 70-200 F2.8 zoom, a lens that portrait photographers I follow seem to like. Sharpness, color accuracy, and lack of lens flaws of the new lenses contribute to a great result. But just as vinyl noise of LP's played through an analog audio chain, the pops and hum of my small tube guitar amp, a ride on my 35-year-old twelve speed bike along the west side, the slight imperfections of the Nikkor 105 mm mounted on my Df or 850 produce a portrait, often printed in B&W, that people seem to enjoy.

Being an amateur, and still shooting DSLR, I love my Canon 85mm 1.8 the most, I will also use my Canon 100mm macro 2.8 L occasional for portraits. 

During the time I photographed events, I used a variety of lens to take family photos to head shots. I used 24-70 F 2.8 for outdoor family photos when there was a good deal of movement and children were involved, 35,50 and 85mm F 1.4 Sigma Art glass when I had more control of the shoot, lastly one I used a lot during wedding receptions to get head shots and isolate subjects, Pentax Limited 77mm F1.8 on a K3, I used all three models. 

135mm Sigma ART on my Nikon D850.

This is THE sharpest lens I have ever used.



For decades I used the Nikkor AiS 105/2.5 as it was ideal for most portraiture.

The 135 offers a wee bit more pleasing perspective for tight head shots.

Bought My first Nikon (an F3) in 1982, in Saudi Arabia of all places. Prior to that I had a Konica Autoreflex T3n with Hexanon AR 1.7/50mm (which was quite nice camera and sharp lens). My favorite portrait lens in the 80s & early 90s was my Nikkor 105mm F1.8 AIs.  The shallow DOF from f2.8 to f1.8 was fantastic as were the blurred backgrounds (I don't think we called that bokeh at that time and we certainly didn't pixel peep). I used that lens on my F3 & FA until the early 2000s, when I bought a beautiful F5 (used).  I still used the 105 Ais until I obtained a pair of Nikkors in the early 2010s with "Defocus Image Control"(DIC), the 105mm f2 D & the 135mm f2 D. Both of these lenses were/are incredibly sharp with the Defocus at neutral but the subtle effect of blurring the background or the foreground was great to use.  Of course, with film, it was subtle enough to need fairly large prints to notice.  I still use both of these lenses today on a D850, and it is much easier now to see the effect immediately, although still subtle, on the magnified view screen.

I now also use my AFs Micro Nikkor 105mm F 2.8, although without the same extent of background blurring and of course no foreground blurring. The AFs is easier to use due to the fast and accurate autofocus compared to the turning screw D lenses.

I was missing my old 105mm f1.8 AIs and mounted it up (as often do with my wide angle 24mm f2 & 28mm f2), only to find that the focus ring on the 105mm was very hard to turn. The optics are still crystal clear and the aperture still clicks easily but decidedly and no oil visible on diaphragm leaves.  Does anyone have experience with and can recommend a good camera lens repair shop in the Manhattan or North Jersey area, or even can be mailed to, that might properly address this issue?  It's my bad that this lens sat for a couple of decades before I noticed this but it's simply too beautiful a jewel to just let it go.

Back when I shot a lot of portraits with my Nikon F2, I usually chose my Nikkor 135. Wide open at f/3.5, it blurred out the background nicely and gave me a working distance of about 9'/3m from my subject. My "normal" lens, a 55mm micro-Nikkor was too wide for the portrait framing I preferred.

I am in agreement with Livesey, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS II USM Lens is my favorite portrait lens. In fact favorite for everything, except for those cases where space is limited and I cannot back away from the subject to fill the frame.

Ah, the Nikon 105mm 2.5 of yesteryear.   The best portrait lens ever.   I think the physics of the elements was always best suited to a become a 105.   The Olympus 100 mm was quite good too.

There are simply too many fine options available to say any one is better than another. line all up together and no one could tell which one was used. All the examples below are terrific. I use Nikon and love the results. I still have my 105mmAI  purchased in the year 1969 and get great results. I also get wonderful photos with the Z mount lens I recently purchased for my Z8 camera. 

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Nikon AF-S 105mm f1.4E lens... which is a portrait lens I can spend all day shooting with. This lens is designed for F-mount lenses but when I'm working at f1.4 I've found I get the best performance using this lens with an FTZ adaptor on an Z-series camera... the eye-detection really nails the focus every time to deliver stunning results. I have never really been a fan of the 85mm focal length, and 135mm is just a pinch too long for me, so 105 is the magic sweet spot.... now I think I will just be waiting for Nikon to create a 105mm f1.4 lens in the Z-mount. 

Canon 85mm 1.2

My personal favorite is the Canon 100 2.8 macro (non-IS version) and the 70-200 f2.8 mark 2.  I've used the 85mm 1.2 but I feel it don't have enough foreshortening that I like.  I've tried a 200mm but it's the other end of the spectrum - too long for correct perspective IMHO. 100-135 is the "sweet spot" for me.

VINTAGE ZEISS CONTAX  85MM F1.4 PLANER use with Sony A7Rll + Novoflex Zeiss yc to Sony E very precision adapter.

The reason I like this lens is due to it's speed, very flexible for background bokeh. 

Also, it's overall general performance.  

Ron K

i like any 85mm or 135mm lens wide open

i use a nikkor 135 f2.8. it gives a bit more stand off for out in the world shooting, and the 2.8 has a bit of softness due to more glass than the 3.5 which is razor sharp and i use for more technical stuff.

Nothing beats the Nikon 105mm f/2.0 DC for portraits with a DSLR camera. With a mirrorless camera the best lens available is the revolutionary Sony 100mm f/2.8 STF GM OSS lens. The Sony lens is a digital version of the mechanical defocus control found in the Nikon DC lenses. It is in a league of its own for portrait work.

Using the RF 85 mm F/2.0 macro lately for most portraits on a R5.  It's more than sharp enough at f 2.0 or 2.8, beautiful bokeh and 20% of the cost of the RF 85 mm F/1.2 and 40% of the weight!  Also having great results for candid monochrome street portraits with the Viltrox 75 mm F/1.2 on a Sony a6700, an amazing lens.

Old Nikon 105mm f2.5 (non ai) 

Best portrait lens I've used. 

I've had it for almost 40 years now (along with the classic Micro 55mm f2.8) on a Nikon FM2.

There is simply no comparison to the Nikon 105 f2 DC.  I don’t know how it does what it does, and it does require a bit of manual setting, but there is nothing like its ability to produce creamy backgrounds on portraits.  Alas, I think you can only get them used now.

First I am surprised no one mentioned Medium Format. For film photography medium format allows for easier retouching. I was a big fan of the 150MM lens on my Pentax 645 bodies for portraits on film. For DSLR small format I like the 50mm f1:1.4 Pentax or the 85mm f1:1.4 Pentax both FA lenses. On my full frame Pentax K-1ii I am loving an older 100mm f1:2.8 M series Pentax lens right now. I also use the 85mm with good results and am experimenting with an older 200mm f1:2.5 Pentax k lens. TBH on the K-1ii I mostly leave the 28mm - 105mm 'kit lens' on it for most of my event work including the impromptu portraits which happen in those situations. 

The Zeiss Sonnar 50mm 1.5 (current version of a classic design) is one of my favorites on the Leica M10.  Another is the Voigtlander 75mm Color Skopar 2.5 (no longer in production).

I have two favorites. I have a Nikon 50mm f/1.2 D and a Nikon 180mm f/2.8 ED AF(72) both I use with a Nikon Df.  I always wanted a nikon 85mm f/1.4 D but haven't got one yet. I use the 50 for tight quarters shooting and the 180 for more space.   

Second favorite choice for portraits is the Canon 400 mm f/2.8, which is especially valuable for candid portraits:  subjects rarely notice the photographer, despite the bulk of this lens, and (as with the 85 mm f/1.2) the subject's facial features alone are razor-sharp; all else is a soft blur that keeps attention on the subject's face. 

The lens also provides a whole-body workout to haul around.

Hands down choice for portraits of human subjects is the Canon 85 mm f/1.2.  Advantages are razor sharpness exactly where I want it, beautiful transition to smoothness elsewhere, and a depth that I cannot find in images where I used other lenses.

Of course, the subject had better not be moving, because the autofocus is glacially slow; but is it ever worth the wait!  And the weight.