[wmf2012]

Hi,

Any one use other brand such as canon or nikon as well?

any idea which lens from Pentax equal to Nikon 85mm 1.4G.

This Nikon lens is arguable world best lens for portrait.

[LennyBloke]

Get ready for an avalanche of posts about the legendary A* and FA* 85mm f1.4's

[Sandy Hancock]

85/1.4 is a crazy shallow depth of field. For the vast majority of portrait work this is not what you are after; getting just one eye in focus gets tired pretty quickly. It is also quite a narrow field of view for portraits on an APS-C camera.

On APS-C, the FA77 is excellent, as is the DA*55.

[robjmitchell]

The quick answer would be the DA*55/1.4 is the pentax equivalent for an aps-c sensor camera vs the 85/1.4 nikon using a 35mm format.
However portraiture ain't portraiture, each lens renders an image differently which may or may not be to your liking. All the fa ltd lenses (31, 43, 77) are great for portraiture yet none sit at the classic portrait length. I have a sigma 70 macro and pentax 100 macro wr and their both great for portraits if your subjects are not to worried about wrinkles

[wmf2012]

The quick answer would be the DA*55/1.4 is the pentax equivalent for an aps-c sensor camera vs the 85/1.4 nikon using a 35mm format.
However portraiture ain't portraiture, each lens renders an image differently which may or may not be to your liking. All the fa ltd lenses (31, 43, 77) are great for portraiture yet none sit at the classic portrait length. I have a sigma 70 macro and pentax 100 macro wr and their both great for portraits if your subjects are not to worried about wrinkles

I own DA*55 1.4 yes it is equal in term of focal length.... however i "feel" i have a bad copy because the lens is not perform well on my K5. My old 50mm M 1.4 outperform this * lens. even my cheap kit lens 18-55 WR somehow produce better IQ, wide open obviously not an apple to apple. The conclusion "become complicated" when this DA* lens produce outstanding IQ when i sold it to my friend using the same K5 like me.... my K5 is a bad copy?? i don't think so.

I never try A* or FA* 85 1.4 or limited lens but i think for the limited i will as i can test it on camera shop.

[wmf2012]

Get ready for an avalanche of posts about the legendary A* and FA* 85mm f1.4's

FA* is tempting.

for A*... i just couriuos if compared to Samyang as both are manual focus

[twitch]

The Sigma 85/1.4 is also good. I love my fa77 though, but it is a bit tight on APSC

[Apapukas]

It depends what do you call a portrait lens. For whatever reason a lot of people call a portrait and a headshot the same thing. I believe that headshot is only one way of making a portrait. So, pretty much any focal length can be used to create awesome looking portraits (not headshots!).

And I'm not the first, nor the the last to say that, Pentax makes some really nice lenses!

[wmf2012]

It depends what do you call a portrait lens. For whatever reason a lot of people call a portrait and a headshot the same thing. I believe that headshot is only one way of making a portrait. So, pretty much any focal length can be used to create awesome looking portraits (not headshots!).

And I'm not the first, nor the the last to say that, Pentax makes some really nice lenses!

for me portrait lens is lens that produce desirable characteristics when used for shooting portraiture. it is not only shooting head. i agree with you, headshot is part of portrait.

[Adam]

Hi,

Any one use other brand such as canon or nikon as well?

any idea which lens from Pentax equal to Nikon 85mm 1.4G.

This Nikon lens is arguable world best lens for portrait.

If you're talking about using the 85mm F1.4 G on FX, then the DA* 55mm F1.4 from Pentax would be comparable. You could also look at the Sigma 85mm F1.4 HSM if you want to stick to the same focal length.

[Giklab]

@wmf2012 Did you try AF microadjustment? It can make a *huge* difference.

[thornburg]

It depends what do you call a portrait lens. For whatever reason a lot of people call a portrait and a headshot the same thing. I believe that headshot is only one way of making a portrait. So, pretty much any focal length can be used to create awesome looking portraits (not headshots!).

portrait |ˈpôrtrət, -ˌtrāt|
noun
1 a painting, drawing, photograph, or engraving of a person, esp. one depicting only the face or head and shoulders.

The most common meaning of portrait IS a headshot.

This why you may sometimes hear "full body portrait" or "full length portrait"--if the word is used by itself, the general assumption is that we're talking about headshots.


To add something to the discussion itself:

If you're looking at a Nikon 85/1.4, then presumably you can afford whatever you want. You could get a Zeiss 85/1.4, or a Pentax 85/x (they were made in several apertures, especially if you count manual focus).

As others have said, if you were comparing the Nikon 85mm on Full Frame to an APS-C usage, you will want to go with a 50 or 55mm instead.

[normhead]

SInce I've never heard that the 85mm 1.4G is the world's best portrait lens, I'm looking for a reference. IF you like the 85mm 1.4 I guess it's the world's best portrait lens. If you like something else better, then it's not. Of the lenses I own I like the Sigma 70 macro, and I've heard the 77 ltd is the world's best portrait lens. But hey, every one has an opinion. Back when I was really into portraits, a good portrait lens was a nice acceptably soft lens that didn't require a lot of retouching to obtain a nice image. Are you saying the 85mm 1.4 is a nice soft lens with creamy out of focus areas? Interesting.

[Rondec]

If you want 85mm focal length and don't mind manual focus, I would go with the Samyang/Bower/Polar 85mm f1.4. I've seen some amazing results with it. Otherwise, the FA 77 is probably the closest lens currently sold.

If you want 85mm equivalent, then the two option in my mind would be the DA *55 (trying for a different and better copy) or, getting a used Voigtlander 58mm f1.4 (which again is manual focus).

[normhead]

Here's what Adorama says... the Pentax 70 2.4
5 Best Lenses for Portrait Photography from Adorama Learning Center

But still, there's no guarantee you'll like any lens. What you like in a portrait lens is completely subjective. There's no substitute for just trying them out.