50mm (equivalent) portrait lens for the GFX?

crashwins · Nov 22, 2022

I have been patiently waiting for years for the GFX to dip into the sub-$2000 range and I finally picked up a 50R. Very excited! I know it's not the latest, but I do still portraits, and have my Z for anything fast-moving.

In my D850 days I loved my ART 50. I'm happiest doing environmental portraits shots, sometimes wide-open without OCF (Octa) or stopped-down with flash. That said, what would people recommend, adapted or native for a 45-50mm-ish FoV for portraits? The Fuji 63? The body I got will come with the Mitakon 65, but it made be hard for me to do MF -- we shall see.

micromundus · Nov 22, 2022

I prefer native. The GF 63 is really excellent. However, I prefer the GF 110 which is a fantastic lens for portraits.

A127943 · Nov 22, 2022

crashwins said:
I have been patiently waiting for years for the GFX to dip into the sub-$2000 range and I finally picked up a 50R. Very excited! I know it's not the latest, but I do still portraits, and have my Z for anything fast-moving.

In my D850 days I loved my ART 50. I'm happiest doing environmental portraits shots, sometimes wide-open without OCF (Octa) or stopped-down with flash. That said, what would people recommend, adapted or native for a 45-50mm-ish FoV for portraits? The Fuji 63? The body I got will come with the Mitakon 65, but it made be hard for me to do MF -- we shall see.

Welcome to the Fuji club. I'm just a noob, but from what I was recently told, an 80mm on MF is equal to about a 50mm on 35mm. Not sure if that's what you're asking, so sorry if it's not helpful.

I've only got the 35-70mm, but working with with Hassleblad h2, that 100mm+ is kinda idea feeling for portraits. I don't think 63mm will give you what you're looking for. Rent before you buy and give it a spin?

Coming from the Fuji 50sii, I think you're gonna wanna manual focus more often than not. I don't think this older system is any better than the II's af and the II does have very poor AF performance in a lot of circumstances.

JimKasson · Nov 22, 2022

A127943 said:
crashwins said:

I have been patiently waiting for years for the GFX to dip into the sub-$2000 range and I finally picked up a 50R. Very excited! I know it's not the latest, but I do still portraits, and have my Z for anything fast-moving.

In my D850 days I loved my ART 50. I'm happiest doing environmental portraits shots, sometimes wide-open without OCF (Octa) or stopped-down with flash. That said, what would people recommend, adapted or native for a 45-50mm-ish FoV for portraits? The Fuji 63? The body I got will come with the Mitakon 65, but it made be hard for me to do MF -- we shall see.

Click to expand...

Welcome to the Fuji club. I'm just a noob, but from what I was recently told, an 80mm on MF is equal to about a 50mm on 35mm.

That is not true for a 33x44mm MF sensor. 63 is closer. The actual equivalent fl depends on the desired aspect ratio.

A127943 said:
Not sure if that's what you're asking, so sorry if it's not helpful.
I've only got the 35-70mm, but working with with Hassleblad h2, that 100mm+ is kinda idea feeling for portraits. I don't think 63mm will give you what you're looking for. Rent before you buy and give it a spin?
Coming from the Fuji 50sii, I think you're gonna wanna manual focus more often than not. I don't think this older system is any better than the II's af and the II does have very poor AF performance in a lot of circumstances.

Chunidam · Nov 22, 2022

Congratulations! I did the same. I just Love this camera for what I do with it (travel, landscape and a few set photos of my kids). The way it handles. The sensor. The dials, buttons and aperture ring. It’s Autofocus is is perfectly fine for these subjects and if one takes time composing a photo. It’s really made me slow down and take my time and enjoy thinking about each shot before I take it. The out of camera results are so beautiful. I kept my D810 and 80mm for the very few occasions i shoot action shots of my kids. Sold all my other Nikon gear. Honestly use my iphone more for this now. Lens I can’t help as use wider Fuji ones.

Stan Disbrow · Nov 22, 2022

Hi,

80mm was for film, which has a larger area than the GFX digitals do. Fuji made the 63mm for their Normal lens.

Here's a Funny: I originally lost an 'm' there. So it read 63m not 63mm. Hmmm. I now have a mental picture of a 63 meter focal length lens. Observatory, anyone??

Stan

Lumpia · Nov 22, 2022

Since the 50r doesn't have in-body stabilization, I'd recommend the 45-100 since it has image stabilization. It's a great lens for portraits.

crashwins · Nov 22, 2022

One of my favorite photogs is Joey L and he used the schneider 55 on his IQ250...same sensor size as the GFX. Works great for him! I'd guess I could achieve something similar (could being the operative word here) with the 63

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MattPointZero · Nov 22, 2022

crashwins said:
I have been patiently waiting for years for the GFX to dip into the sub-$2000 range and I finally picked up a 50R. Very excited! I know it's not the latest, but I do still portraits, and have my Z for anything fast-moving.

In my D850 days I loved my ART 50. I'm happiest doing environmental portraits shots, sometimes wide-open without OCF (Octa) or stopped-down with flash. That said, what would people recommend, adapted or native for a 45-50mm-ish FoV for portraits? The Fuji 63? The body I got will come with the Mitakon 65, but it made be hard for me to do MF -- we shall see.

Aspect ratio issues aside, the 63 is closest to what you are used to - however, I'd suggest trying not to think in old money and just evaluate the options for what they are. The 'best' portrait lens is probably the 110mm, it's extraordinary. But it is quite tight and depending on your usage may not be versatile enough.

For environmental portraits I use the 45mm which is a really beautiful lens, and small and light, relatively speaking. In the studio for half length shots with the ability to shoot both head and shoulder shots and full length, I would highly recommend the GF80mm 1,7. It is a surprisingly versatile focal length, and although you will read all sorts of comparisons about focus speed and chromatic aberration compared to the superb 110mm, in real world use I don't honestly notice the difference shooting portraits, and the focal length will enable you to capture a good variety of situations. And 1.7 on MF is of course about as fast as it natively gets.

highdesertmesa · Nov 22, 2022

crashwins said:
I have been patiently waiting for years for the GFX to dip into the sub-$2000 range and I finally picked up a 50R. Very excited! I know it's not the latest, but I do still portraits, and have my Z for anything fast-moving.

In my D850 days I loved my ART 50. I'm happiest doing environmental portraits shots, sometimes wide-open without OCF (Octa) or stopped-down with flash. That said, what would people recommend, adapted or native for a 45-50mm-ish FoV for portraits? The Fuji 63? The body I got will come with the Mitakon 65, but it made be hard for me to do MF -- we shall see.

I might be the outlier here, but I think the 32-64 is the most versatile portrait lens in the lineup. At 64mm and f/4, the lens has a wonderful quality to the falloff and bokeh. And since the CDAF of the 50R isn't the best AF for things in motion, f/4 gives more keepers.

For primes, if you prefer the 50mm FOV on full frame, I recommend the GF 50. The GF 50 has much faster AF than the GF 63, and this is especially important when using the 50R (CDAF) versus the 100S (PDAF). Think of the GF 50 as the same 50mm lens you've been using on full frame, but your subject extended their arms and pushed out the borders of the image a bit on the sides and more on the top and bottom – and that is the image you get with the GF 50 on our 50R. I know the GF 63 is the technical equivalent to 50mm on full frame, but focal length is focal length, and I've found that if I like a given focal length, I prefer to stick with it even on a larger sensor. YMMV of course, just something to consider.

Also re: your Mitakon 65 – the look of that wide open on your 50R will be unreal, and you might become addicted to that look. You can go with the GF 80 or 110, but there is something unique about a very wide aperture with a wider FOV that I find unique. Fujfilm has a GF 55 1.7 in the works, so if you like the Mitakon, that might be the lens to save up for when it eventually is released.

crashwins · Nov 22, 2022

highdesertmesa said:
crashwins said:

I have been patiently waiting for years for the GFX to dip into the sub-$2000 range and I finally picked up a 50R. Very excited! I know it's not the latest, but I do still portraits, and have my Z for anything fast-moving.

In my D850 days I loved my ART 50. I'm happiest doing environmental portraits shots, sometimes wide-open without OCF (Octa) or stopped-down with flash. That said, what would people recommend, adapted or native for a 45-50mm-ish FoV for portraits? The Fuji 63? The body I got will come with the Mitakon 65, but it made be hard for me to do MF -- we shall see.

Click to expand...

I might be the outlier here, but I think the 32-64 is the most versatile portrait lens in the lineup. At 64mm and f/4, the lens has a wonderful quality to the falloff and bokeh. And since the CDAF of the 50R isn't the best AF for things in motion, f/4 gives more keepers.

For primes, if you prefer the 50mm FOV on full frame, I recommend the GF 50. The GF 50 has much faster AF than the GF 63, and this is especially important when using the 50R (CDAF) versus the 100S (PDAF). Think of the GF 50 as the same 50mm lens you've been using on full frame, but your subject extended their arms and pushed out the borders of the image a bit on the sides and more on the top and bottom – and that is the image you get with the GF 50 on our 50R. I know the GF 63 is the technical equivalent to 50mm on full frame, but focal length is focal length, and I've found that if I like a given focal length, I prefer to stick with it even on a larger sensor. YMMV of course, just something to consider.

Also re: your Mitakon 65 – the look of that wide open on your 50R will be unreal, and you might become addicted to that look. You can go with the GF 80 or 110, but there is something unique about a very wide aperture with a wider FOV that I find unique. Fujfilm has a GF 55 1.7 in the works, so if you like the Mitakon, that might be the lens to save up for when it eventually is released.

Well this is funny...because I bought a 50R package with the 50 3.5 and the Mitakon...my intention was to keep probably one...but sounds like it may be worth holding onto both of these and time will tell. I don't need background-melting bokeh, but I felt like the 50 might be a tad slow for portraits..I've never used dMF before, though, so maybe I'll be happily wrong..

The 55 1.7 would be a dream lens. I love the 42mm-ish FoV...it's the perfect sweet spot between 35 and 50. I had the Sigma 40 for a bit and really liked it, but it was a battleaxe.

Speaking of manual lenses, are there any recommended lenses like the 55mm? Maybe from Contax or Mamiya? I don't need 1.4 speed at all!

Rob de Loe · Nov 22, 2022

crashwins said:
Speaking of manual lenses, are there any recommended lenses like the 55mm? Maybe from Contax or Mamiya? I don't need 1.4 speed at all!

The 50R is a terrific camera if you play to its strengths. It's my workhorse.

Are you asking if there are any fast 55mm manual medium format lenses that you can adapt to to the 50R?

Contax 645 isn't on that list, unfortunately, because you need an electronic adapter.

Mamiya and Pentax both made 645 55mm f/2.8 lenses. I've used the Pentax. It's nice in the centre but the edges and corners are not great, and it's not modern lens sharp wide open. I believe the Mamiya 645 is the same story. Oddly, the 45mm f/2.8 645 lenses from Mamiya and Pentax are also not considered excellent by most people.

If you want a small, really good 75mm lens, I can recommend the Pentax 645 75/2.8. Like most of these older lenses, wide open is soft. But close it down a bit and it's excellent. The Pentax 35/3.5 is also a star; it's one of my most used lenses.

One of the nice things about mirrorless is you get a lot of new lens options for very reasonable money.

highdesertmesa · Nov 22, 2022

crashwins said:
highdesertmesa said:

crashwins said:

I have been patiently waiting for years for the GFX to dip into the sub-$2000 range and I finally picked up a 50R. Very excited! I know it's not the latest, but I do still portraits, and have my Z for anything fast-moving.

In my D850 days I loved my ART 50. I'm happiest doing environmental portraits shots, sometimes wide-open without OCF (Octa) or stopped-down with flash. That said, what would people recommend, adapted or native for a 45-50mm-ish FoV for portraits? The Fuji 63? The body I got will come with the Mitakon 65, but it made be hard for me to do MF -- we shall see.

Click to expand...

I might be the outlier here, but I think the 32-64 is the most versatile portrait lens in the lineup. At 64mm and f/4, the lens has a wonderful quality to the falloff and bokeh. And since the CDAF of the 50R isn't the best AF for things in motion, f/4 gives more keepers.

For primes, if you prefer the 50mm FOV on full frame, I recommend the GF 50. The GF 50 has much faster AF than the GF 63, and this is especially important when using the 50R (CDAF) versus the 100S (PDAF). Think of the GF 50 as the same 50mm lens you've been using on full frame, but your subject extended their arms and pushed out the borders of the image a bit on the sides and more on the top and bottom – and that is the image you get with the GF 50 on our 50R. I know the GF 63 is the technical equivalent to 50mm on full frame, but focal length is focal length, and I've found that if I like a given focal length, I prefer to stick with it even on a larger sensor. YMMV of course, just something to consider.

Also re: your Mitakon 65 – the look of that wide open on your 50R will be unreal, and you might become addicted to that look. You can go with the GF 80 or 110, but there is something unique about a very wide aperture with a wider FOV that I find unique. Fujfilm has a GF 55 1.7 in the works, so if you like the Mitakon, that might be the lens to save up for when it eventually is released.

Click to expand...

Well this is funny...because I bought a 50R package with the 50 3.5 and the Mitakon...my intention was to keep probably one...but sounds like it may be worth holding onto both of these and time will tell. I don't need background-melting bokeh, but I felt like the 50 might be a tad slow for portraits..I've never used dMF before, though, so maybe I'll be happily wrong..

The 55 1.7 would be a dream lens. I love the 42mm-ish FoV...it's the perfect sweet spot between 35 and 50. I had the Sigma 40 for a bit and really liked it, but it was a battleaxe.

Speaking of manual lenses, are there any recommended lenses like the 55mm? Maybe from Contax or Mamiya? I don't need 1.4 speed at all!

f1.4 on the Mitakon is for more than obliterating the background at close distance – I prefer to use it to isolate a subject at full body distance.

The GF 50 3.5 bokeh works well for me for portraits. I think it's a flattering FOV, and the bokeh and transition areas are nice. I prefer f/4 for portraits with it – can't explain why, but the context just looks nicer to my eye. If I want to lose the context of the background, I'd use the GF 63/80/110 wide open.

GF 50 @ f/4

GF 50 @ f/3.5

dbateman · Nov 22, 2022

Well I will be an outlier here and say it seems cost is an issue. Lenses that you can adapt and are excellent around the 50mm mark would be the Sigma 70mm f2.8 macro lens. New its currently $569, a good adapter (Finger pro) will cost you $400-$500. But you can be lucky and get a cheap $50- $80 Andoer adapter. But they can totally fail or be great, like mine. I lucked out.

There is also the new Fringer Nikon F-mount to gf autofocus adapter. But its brand new and all the bugs may not have been worked out likethe EF-mount adapters.

The Sigma 70mm is very sharp and covers fully the sensor. I like the Tamron 85mm f1.8 lens as it has image stabilisation, but more like a 67mm equivalent.

bobby350z · Nov 23, 2022

crashwins said:
I have been patiently waiting for years for the GFX to dip into the sub-$2000 range and I finally picked up a 50R. Very excited! I know it's not the latest, but I do still portraits, and have my Z for anything fast-moving.

In my D850 days I loved my ART 50. I'm happiest doing environmental portraits shots, sometimes wide-open without OCF (Octa) or stopped-down with flash. That said, what would people recommend, adapted or native for a 45-50mm-ish FoV for portraits? The Fuji 63? The body I got will come with the Mitakon 65, but it made be hard for me to do MF -- we shall see.

Get an AF GF lens. Either 63mm f2.8 or if you like a bit longer then 80mm f1.7.

crashwins · Nov 23, 2022

bobby350z said:
crashwins said:

I have been patiently waiting for years for the GFX to dip into the sub-$2000 range and I finally picked up a 50R. Very excited! I know it's not the latest, but I do still portraits, and have my Z for anything fast-moving.

In my D850 days I loved my ART 50. I'm happiest doing environmental portraits shots, sometimes wide-open without OCF (Octa) or stopped-down with flash. That said, what would people recommend, adapted or native for a 45-50mm-ish FoV for portraits? The Fuji 63? The body I got will come with the Mitakon 65, but it made be hard for me to do MF -- we shall see.

Click to expand...

Get an AF GF lens. Either 63mm f2.8 or if you like a bit longer then 80mm f1.7.

these are great...I'll assume the 80mm, in this case?

bobby350z · Nov 23, 2022

crashwins said:
bobby350z said:

crashwins said:

I have been patiently waiting for years for the GFX to dip into the sub-$2000 range and I finally picked up a 50R. Very excited! I know it's not the latest, but I do still portraits, and have my Z for anything fast-moving.

In my D850 days I loved my ART 50. I'm happiest doing environmental portraits shots, sometimes wide-open without OCF (Octa) or stopped-down with flash. That said, what would people recommend, adapted or native for a 45-50mm-ish FoV for portraits? The Fuji 63? The body I got will come with the Mitakon 65, but it made be hard for me to do MF -- we shall see.

Click to expand...

Get an AF GF lens. Either 63mm f2.8 or if you like a bit longer then 80mm f1.7.

Click to expand...

these are great...I'll assume the 80mm, in this case?

Yes both with 80mm f1.7 at f2. I don't have 63mm f2.8 as I heard the AF is noisy and not that great but I am now interested in it, if I can get it for a reasonable price.

crashwins · Nov 23, 2022

bobby350z said:
crashwins said:

bobby350z said:

crashwins said:

I have been patiently waiting for years for the GFX to dip into the sub-$2000 range and I finally picked up a 50R. Very excited! I know it's not the latest, but I do still portraits, and have my Z for anything fast-moving.

In my D850 days I loved my ART 50. I'm happiest doing environmental portraits shots, sometimes wide-open without OCF (Octa) or stopped-down with flash. That said, what would people recommend, adapted or native for a 45-50mm-ish FoV for portraits? The Fuji 63? The body I got will come with the Mitakon 65, but it made be hard for me to do MF -- we shall see.

Click to expand...

Get an AF GF lens. Either 63mm f2.8 or if you like a bit longer then 80mm f1.7.

Click to expand...

these are great...I'll assume the 80mm, in this case?

Click to expand...

Yes both with 80mm f1.7 at f2. I don't have 63mm f2.8 as I heard the AF is noisy and not that great but I am now interested in it, if I can get it for a reasonable price.

Gothca...I feel like F2 is plenty at that focal length, and I'd have no need for wide open on that Mitakon....that said, I think I might try that lens awhile before buying more lenses

crashwins · Nov 23, 2022

Thanks a ton for all the help here!

One lens that might work for me is the Mamiya 55 2.8 N lens...appears to be AF. Wondering if anyone has experience with these...how are they corner-to-corner? How's the AF; usable?

bobby350z · Nov 23, 2022

crashwins said:
Thanks a ton for all the help here!

One lens that might work for me is the Mamiya 55 2.8 N lens...appears to be AF. Wondering if anyone has experience with these...how are they corner-to-corner? How's the AF; usable?

There is no Mamiya to GF AF adapter as far as I know. I have their dumb adapter for use with 120mm f4 macro.

50mm (equivalent) portrait lens for the GFX?

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