What is a great portrait lens for Nikon (under $1000)?

Question

I am currently shooting with a Nikon D90 and use the kit 18-105 lens and a 50mm f/1.8. Mostly I shoot as a hobby but lately I've been asked to do some family and engagement shoots. The 50mm is lovely, great depth of field, great sharpness, great price! The 18-105 is not nearly as good. I'm thinking of upgrading. I know the Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 is great and I've also read a bit about the Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8. Both lenses are quite expensive though (I'm in Canada so add a couple hundred dollars to any american prices).

Any suggestions on other lenses that might do the job? I'm open to Sigma/Tamron if they have great lenses, but so far I've stuck with Nikon gear only. I'd like to have some zoom range (so prime and fixed lenses probably won't do the trick - although a nice macro lens does seem to be good for portraiture...). I'm open to buying used, but I'm located in Newfoundland Canada so the available used lens market here is pretty small and I'm not sure about buying from eBay for a lens... But I could be. Any and all suggestions welcome.

Answer

Two suggestions:

• If you want to stay Nikon, 85mm f/1.8. I shoot with this thing at f/2.0 regularly, and it produces fantastic portraits for your price range. The f/1.4 is call the 'cream machine' by the guys over at dpreview, but I hesitate to even look at it-- it's so expensive for 2/3 of a stop better light. I own this lens, and love it. It's also useful for shooting stage productions in low light on a d300 (which is where I find myself using it a lot these days).
• If you don't care so much, check out the Tamron f/2.8 90mm macro is reputed to be a very good lens, both for portraiture and for macro work. I don't have one, but the results I see on pbase make me think that it's quite capable.

I know what you mean about moving past the 50mm f/1.8. I have a 50mm f/1.4 that I got used for a very reasonable price, but I find myself using that focal length very rarely for whatever reason. I have the 17-55 f/2.8, and it's a very capable lens (my workhorse for events and traveling), but the 85mm is something else when you know you're going to use it.

If you're buying used, I don't know if KEH ships to Canada, but it might, and if so, it's definitely worth a look.

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