Best Nikon Lenses for Weddings in 2023
Here are the best Nikon lenses for Weddings. Looking for best lenses for wedding photography with your Nikon DSLR camera, check out the best options within your budget.
Technically speaking you could photograph a wedding with just about any lens, but with our picks you’ve got a lot of different lenses to choose from for wedding photography. It’s not important whether you are an APS-C or full frame user, the list of best Nikon lenses for Weddings includes a couple of Sigma and Tamron lenses, that’ll fit your needs.
NIKKOR lenses for photographing portraits, weddings and events excel at capturing the richness and intimacy of every human emotion. With great speed and amazing depth, Nikon lenses are ideal for isolating subjects and softening backgrounds.
Choosing the right lens is not always an easy task. Here we list the top best Nikon lenses for Weddings based on usefulness and high image quality, including leading prime and zoom options from wide-angle to telephoto.
Best Nikon Zoom Lenses for Weddings:
Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S
Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2
Best Nikon Prime Lenses for Weddings:
Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art DG HSM
Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S
Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art DG HSM
Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art DG ,HSM
Nikon 85mm f/1.8G AF-S
Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Macro
Best Nikon Zoom Wedding Lenses 2023
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1. Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD
Wide zooms from third-party companies that would challenge more expensive Nikon zooms are hard to find, but the Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD does just that.
Sitting at less than $1,200, it gives you an extremely wide view with f/2.8 aperture and Vibration Compensation (VR on Nikon). The Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8, main competitor of this lens, doesn’t have VC and costs a lot more.
Image quality at f/2.8 is excellent although in the corners you might find it too soft so you’ll have to stop down to f/4-f/5.6 in situations where you absolutely need the sharpest corners. Vignetting is also very well controlled for such a wide zoom, which means you will have less to fix (if you decide to) when shooting on a bright day.
Why would one go with the Tamron? If you absolutely need f/2.8 and VC. Thanks to USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive) it focuses quietly and accurately, but the more expensive 14-24mm tends to be more accurate, at least when shooting in more difficult conditions. So if you absolutely require having the fastest and most accurate AF, the Tamron does not win here (it’s not slow though, just not as fast). Everything else is pretty much the same.
The 15-30mm length is best for capturing the crowd, group shots, environments, interiors and such.
You can buy it at Amazon.
2. Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S
Zoom lenses are also an excellent portrait choice, but they can get quite expensive, especially if you want an f/2.8 zoom. With that in mind, the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED is our top pick for both DX and FX shooters that want an all-around, high quality zoom that can be used in low light and outdoors, for all different types of photography.
The 24-70mm is a type of lens you can take anywhere and forget about the rest. For portraits, the 24mm is wide enough to capture group shots, or just your subject with some other elements included (interiors etc.). When you feel the need to get closer, simply twist the zoom and you’re at 70mm which is good for isolation your subject. Best of all, the lens stays at f/2.8 throughout its entire zoom range, and that’s one of the biggest reasons for its hefty price.
There’s a cheaper Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 with Vibration Reduction and similar image quality. However, what ultimately led us to go with Nikon was more solid build quality and construction, and a faster, more reliable AF system even in low light.
You can buy it at Amazon.
3. Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2
The Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 was released a few months ago and is our favorite 70-200mm lens out there.
Here’s why. It’s cheaper than the rest, delivers nearly identical image quality and sharpness, has great Vibration Reduction with 5 stops of help and great auto focus. On top of that, you get 6 years US warranty! Talk about customer support.
Compared to Nikon’s most expensive 70-200mm f/2.8 FL, you could get two Tamron’s for that price. The image quality is nearly indistinguishable between the two, however the Nikon is slightly more accurate when it comes to auto focus. The Tamron is good, don’t get us wrong, and it’s precise and quiet, but there’s only a few people that would be willing to spend twice as much to get even better AF than what you get with this lens.
For portraits, having the absolute fastest AF is not such a priority, which is why it’s better to save the money.
The lens is perfect even for high megapixel cameras such as the D810 with its 36MP sensor. The VC works wonderfully up to 5 stops so you can expect sharp results with 1/15 where you’d need ~1/500 normally. The lens has weather sealing so if you’re shooting outdoors in difficult weather, or happen to be near water, you’ve got much less to worry about.
You can buy it at Amazon.
Best Nikon Prime Wedding Lenses 2023
They’re not as versatile as zooms, but have better looking bokeh and are better for shooting in extreme low light and blurring the background. Smaller and lighter too!
1. Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX
The Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX is cheap, small and delivers high quality, sharp images, so it’s no surprise that it’s first on our list. Aperture f/1.8 aperture is brilliant for low light situations, and it will also blur the background, making your subject really stand out. Colors, sharpness, contrast, these are all superb for such a cheap lens.
Aperture f/1.8 will make your portrait shots look more professional due to the shallow depth of field and lovely bokeh. Colors and sharpness are also really good for a lens this price. It’s a perfect choice for a whole lot of different styles, from night time, portraits, kids and pets running, nature to traveling and wedding photography.
Since it’s for DX cameras (all up to D500), the field of view once mounted will be equivalent to a 50mm lens due to the 1.5x crop factor. This makes it a great choice for casual portrait photography, but also anything that involves other parts surrounding your subject (trees in the nature, indoor objects).
Simply put, if you want to shoot everything including portraits, but don’t want to spend too much yet, you’ll love the 35mm f/1.8G.
You can buy it at Amazon.
2. Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art DG HSM
The Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art DG HSM is one of the sharpest lenses on this list. On a full frame DSLR, it’s great for group shots and environmental portraits. This makes it an excellent choice for weddings, streets, and concerts, and is ideal for when you want to have more than strictly your subject in the shot.
Quality wise, the lens is spectacular. Sigma’s Art line features lenses that have excellent sharpness, contrast and colors even at f/1.4. It’s quick at auto focusing thanks to the Hyper Sonic Motor, although it’s not unusual for it to hunt in low light. Mounted on a FF camera, you’ll see some vignetting at f/1.4 as with all other 35mm lenses, but it’s nothing drastic.
For a 35mm lens, bokeh looks surprisingly good, and it also features full time manual focus (FTM) and has a closest focusing distance of 11.8″ (0.30m). On DX cameras like the Nikon D500, the field of view will be equivalent to a ~50mm lens on full frame, which is a common focal length for all different sorts of portraits.
There is a Nikon 35mm f/1.4G available, but it costs twice as much. Does it beat the Sigma anywhere? It shows a little bit less flare and has a different bokeh look (which is subjective), but the Sigma is noticeably sharper, especially in corners. One thing to note, the Nikon lens has weather sealing. It’s up to you to decide which one fits your work style, but for the money, nothing beats the Sigma.
You can buy it at Amazon.
3. Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S
The Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S FX is designed to work perfectly on all Nikon’s DSLR cameras (the 35mm isn’t designed for full frame cameras). They’re actually quite similar; same good image quality and sharpness, but the 50mm f/1.8 is a little bit bigger, heavier, costs more and takes 58mm filters instead of 52mm. Nonetheless, this is another excellent choice for portraits, indoor and day to day use.
On DX cameras, it’s equivalent to a 85mm lens which is an ideal length for closer, more personal portrait shots. If you’re looking to spend little and don’t own any lenses yet, the 50mm f/1.8G will become your best friend!
It’s still recommended for the same types of photography as the 35mm above though.
You can buy it at Amazon.
4. Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art DG HSM
There’s a ton of 50mm f/1.4 lenses out there so we know we had to include one due to their popularity, and we decided to give our spot to the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art DG HSM. It costs more than Nikon’s version but is better when completely wide open, which is where you’ll want to use it anyways.
It’s bigger and heavier (28.7oz/815g) too, but feels more sturdy in hand. It takes 77mm filters instead of 58mm, so if size is very important to you, you might want to skip the Sigma. It’s not huge by any means, just bigger than both Nikon’s 50mm lenses. Just like the 35mm above, it has a 9 blade diaphragm so bokeh looks soft and pleasing to the eye. Bokeh looks good thanks to a 9 blade aperture and you will hardly see any haze, chromatic aberration or ghosting.
The Sigma 50mm f/1.4 has an AF motor built-in which means it will auto focus normally on bodies like the D3400 and D5600. Speaking about focus, the accuracy and speed are very good thanks to the Hyper Sonic Motor, but you can always expect some hunting from time to time with all third-party lenses. It’s great for both stills and action photography though, including low light.
If you can’t decide which 50mm to go with, here’s a tip: if you absolutely need f/1.4 with great sharpness and plan on using the lens at this aperture most of the time, get the Sigma. For low light or just beautiful bokeh, that extra third-stop of light can make a big difference and for weddings this is important.
You can buy it at Amazon.
5. Nikon 85mm f/1.8G AF-S
For wedding, concert, portrait, night time or close sports photography, we recommend the Nikon 85mm f/1.8G AF-S because the quality and sharpness are top notch. It’s also relatively affordable and gives you more bang for the buck than the f/1.4 version.
There’s just something about 85mm length on both DX and FX cameras that makes it magical for portrait photography. It’s one of the sharpest prime lenses available, it’s got a Silent Wave Motor for accurate auto focusing, SIC (Super Integrated Coating for more vibrant colors) and outstanding bokeh. The depth of field looks shallow even when stopped down a bit because your focal length is quite long.
Compared to the lenses above it’s not as good for street, tight indoor and walk-around purposes, but is ideal if you can’t always be close to your subject. A perfect example would be weddings, outdoor nature shots or simply situations where you have a lot of space between you and your subject. Its closest focusing distance is 80cm/31 inches. It focuses quickly and accurately, and is faster than its f/1.4 brother.
You can buy it at Amazon
6. Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Macro
No wedding lens list is complete without a macro lens. The Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 Macro gives you the most bang for your buck.
It’s got everything you’d want in a macro lens. Quick and precise auto focusing, great image quality, Vibration Reduction and little to no quality issues. Chromatic aberration is very well controlled, same goes for flare and distortion which you’ll rarely have on pictures.
The Tamron 90mm has a focus limiter to make it easier when focusing on subjects close to you, and while AF performance is quick and precise, you might get hunting from time to time. It’s also compatible with the Tamron Tap-in Console so you can manually calibrate the lens and get even better performance if you experience any issues, as well as update the lens’ firmware. It’s a simple dock that can be attached to your computer.
Because of its Vibration Reduction, it’s perfect for shooting details at weddings since you won’t need to use a tripod!
You can buy it at Amazon
