What lens for portrait photography

Hello!

I've recently bought a Pentax 645n (it's due to arrive tomorrow, I can't wait!) with a standard lens because I often mess up the focus in my shots and I really really wanted an autofocus medium format camera.

So far my main camera has been a Bronica Sq-Ai and I shot mainly portraits with the standard lens (80mm)

[IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7101/7157171481_dd3269d4dc_o.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8163/7217989190_80e68cbd88_o.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7211/7061814061_95db48e051_o.jpg[/IMG]

I often also take extreme close up frames of the models faces with adding a teleconverterx2 (making the lens a 160mm one) and close up filters.

[IMG]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8458/8002025278_bba19dc627_o.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5236/7382556620_56251c5cb9_o.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7224/7355910464_ef481edb7d_o.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8025/7113962219_30d5568413_o.jpg[/IMG]

What lenses do you think would be best for what I do?

Since I already got the standard lens, I was thinking about a tele lens and my options (all autofocus) would be:

120mm f4 macro (is it too short for close up portraits without distortions?)

150mm f2.8 (is it too short for close up portraits without distortions?)

200mm f4 (is it too long and heavy for close up portraits?)

What would you recommend?

Also, I know it's a bit of a silly question, but does the autofocus work ok when you put close up filters on the lens?

If you could post some photos as exaples with the different lenses, it'd be awesome

Thanks

You already shoot brilliant portraits, your website has some excellent shots. I would go for the 150mm for the 645N - it's an ideal portrait lens.

Just to expand on that AF will work just fine with close up lenses.

With 645 it's better if lenses are kept quite modest because they can become very bulky and heavy. In the studio it may not matter too much, but on location it could become quite a burden.

The 150mm is fairly compact. The 120mm Macro would do, but you'd probably have to soften every shot as it might reveal a bit too much texture for comfort in skin.

In the past I tried the A 200mm f4, A 150mm f3.5, the FA 150mm f2.8 and the FA 120mm f4 - for me the FA 150mm f2.8 stood out as having the right "look" for portraits and the faster Maximum Aperture helps with achieving the right focus.

I don't have any scanned photos to post - sorry, but I suspect a couple of others on here will

I'm a fan of the 150mm (I've the A version) for portraits too. However I've found that the minimum focussing distance is slightly too long for nice tight crops, so I got a set of extension tubes to help there (you only need the shortest one in the Pentax set to do portrait work).

Thanks everyone for the advice, now I'm dead set on getting a 150mm FA

Does the autofocus work with the extension tubes?

So far I've been using close up filters (also called diopters or close up lenses) focusing manually, does anyone use them with autofocus lenses and could tell me how they behave?

I'm based in the UK and I was wondering if you knew any place where I could get the 150mm FA lens other than Ebay.

Thanks again

I love the pictures you've posted here.

I have the A version of the 150mm and I like it a lot, it's a good focal length for portraits, though it might not give you the extra space around the subject that you have in the environmental shots above. I have been on the look-out for extension tubes for it (for closer portraits) but they're rare and very expensive.

I think I recall the FA version has closer focus though, so it may not be a problem.

Can I ask what close-up filters you've used in the images above?

Thanks, I'm glad you like them

I already have the 75mm lens, so it should be good to use that for environmental portraits, while I could use the 150mm one for close ups/headshots (at least that is the plan so far)

I always use a set of cheap close up filters, I got them on Ebay and they come in a set of four (+1,+2,+4,+10).
So many people I know think is stupid to use cheap filters in front of good lenses, but I never had any problems, since I shoot portraits and the image quality is good enough for me.
For portraits you don't really need the +4 and +10 one, they're too close up

Excellent portraits, all of them. I am new to medium format and still have a lot to learn but will throw in my two pence worth. I have the FA 120 macro and the FA 200 but am not able to comment on the FA 150. The FA 120 is sharp, big and heavy but if you want to be able to shoot close up and get the detail, this lens is excellent. For portraits maybe it needs a soft filter or a breath of hot air on the outer glass . It's my favorite in most situations where I don't require wide angle. Worth looking at performance of this lens with the 645n on PPG FA120 Macro. There are users reviews of this lens on link where it is described as also a fine short tele/portrait lens, with a field of view on a film 645 camera corresponding to a 77mm lens in the 24x36 format. If you take close up/macro photographs, perhaps the FA 120 is an interesting option.

You can also see the FA 150 performance on PPG FA150

The FA 200 will tend to create a more restful image than the FA 120 or FA 150 by reducing the effect of perspective. I think this is frequently sought after in portraiture, however often the slightly more three dimensional effect is what the photographer looks for. Anyway, judging by the photographs you posted, you will know exactly what you are after.

Hope you find the lens you are looking for. Would like to know the outcome and your own findings. Good luck!