In today’s article, we will be going over what we feel is the best portrait lens for Nikon d90 cameras on the market right now. Although some people prefer variable zoom lenses for their portraits we feel that fixed focal length prime lenses offer a superior image quality.
We would like to quickly point out that we have chosen lenses that we feel will offer our readers the best overall mix of functionality, performance, build quality, and price. You can click here if you would like to see a more complete list of portrait camera lenses that will fit your Nikon d90.
After spending some time going over our shortlist we have settled on two Nikon lenses that will both natively fit your d90 camera body without needing any converters or adaptors. Additionally, either of the lenses can greatly improve your portrait photography as they offer some great performance for a relatively budget-friendly price tag.
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Table of Contents
The Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G Lens
As we mentioned earlier, the lens has a fixed focal length that in our opinion at least provides superior image quality for portrait photography in a number of situations. The fast f/1.8 aperture of the lens also offers you some great performance in both low light and variable light situations. If you usually take portraits on location rather than in a studio this can be a godsend due to light conditions randomly changing throughout the day.
The aperture of the lens also makes it very easy for you to toy with the depth of field of your portrait. This can allow you to isolate the subject of the portrait from the background quickly with minimal effort making your job much easier.
Although the Nikon 50mm does have autofocus technology that is very good, quick, sharp, and quiet, it may not work with all of the cameras in your collection but this does not tend to be such a big issue for portrait photography anyway.
The manual focus ring on the lens has been designed to be as easy as possible to locate with your hand even when looking through the viewfinder and using only your fingertips to find it. Additionally, the focus ring is very smooth and responsive allowing you to easily rotate it as required to tweak the portrait before capturing it.
The Nikon 50mm lens comes with a 58mm filter thread size. We would highly recommend that you consider picking up a budget-friendly 58mm UV filter (Click here to check for product prices and availability) if you choose to invest in this lens. A UV filter is a fraction of the price of your lens and prevents the type of damage as displayed in the image below.

All in all, we feel that the Nikon 50mm is without a doubt one of, if not the best portrait lens out there. It is a great lens that will provide you with high-quality portraits without the need to break the bank and serve your Nikon D90 well.
Click Here To Read Independent Third Party Reviews Of This Product!
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The video below offers an additional third-party, independent review for the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm to offer our readers an independent opinion of the product.
The Nikon AF-S DX 35mm F/1.8G Lens
Being the 35mm variant of the 50mm lens covered above it has the exact same build quality. This means that the manual focus ring is just as smooth and responsive on the 35mm lens and the aperture offers great low light performance as well as the ability to isolate your portrait subject and toy with your depth of field.
The Nikon 35mm comes with a 52mm filter thread size and although many filters are not very popular for portrait photography, we would highly recommend that you consider picking up a high-quality, budget-friendly 52mm UV filter (Click here to check for product prices and availability) as a way to protect the front element of the lens.
As we touched on earlier, we feel that the Nikon 35mm lens is one of the better portrait lenses on the market for the Nikon D90 but we would always recommend the 50mm variant covered first in the article over the 35mm one for use with the d90. Still, if you have multiple cameras in your collection then you may choose the 35mm due to it offering better performance with your other cameras and it really is a great lens. Its popularity and reputation are testaments to that and it will allow you to capture some high-quality portraits for your clients.
Click Here To Read Independent Third Party Reviews Of This Product!
Click Here To Check For Prices On This Product!
The video below offers an additional third-party, independent review for the Nikon AF-S DX 35mm F/1.8G Lens to offer our readers an independent opinion of the product.
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