90/2.0 handheld?

MacroAnnie wrote:

Good question here! I have owned the Nikon D850 and the 85mm f1.4, so I know how gorgeous that combo is for portraiture. However, I gave both to my photographer son, as the full frame gear became too heavy for my hands. I now shoot with the Fuji X-T4 with IBIS, and have the 90 f/2, as well as the 50-140 f/2.8. Both are beautiful lenses, but as you say the 50-140mm is heavy for handheld portraiture. It can be handheld, but you ought to consider faster shutter speeds than 1/60 sec and higher ISOs than 160 or 200. Recently I did use the 50-140 handheld to photograph moving trains, and the shots came out tack sharp. Those were locomotive portraits- hardly the human kind. I did celebrate the fact that I didn't need a tripod! The 90mm f/2 on the other hand is quite lightweight, and with the IBIS of the X-T4 it is easy to hand hold. I haven't really done people portraits with this lens, but I've used it interchangeably with my XF 80mm macro. If you consider flower photos "portraits" I can tell you the bokeh is positively beautiful with the 90 f/2, even at f/8. With human subjects, you'll undoubtedly be shooting at wider apertures to achieve that background softness. Another lens you might consider is the XF 50mm f/2. That is 75mm equivalent, and seems comparable to the Nikon 85mm f/1.4 in image quality. It is small, lightweight, and the shots I have taken of my dog are every extremely pleasing. Her head is in sharp focus, and the rest of her body just melts into the background. Hope this helps your decision making process!

MacroAnnie

Thanks Annie! Glad you like your setup.  I'll try the 90mm focal length to see if it works for me. Then I'll decide what to do!