Best portrait lens

[avahill1]

Good morning all,

I recently became interested in doing portraits and purchased at Canon 50mm 1.8 lens. I actually bought this lens thinking that it would be great to use indoors where the lighting is a little low and also being in a more confined space, but most of the portraits I have agreed to do will be outdoors. My question is....will this lens also be great for outdoor use. My concern is mainly with full body pictures or candids taken from a little more distance. I don't always want to be up in their face.

Other lenses I also have are:
18-55
35-80
70-300

Would these lenses be any good for portraits of any kind? Mainly the 70-300. I know that is a pretty long lens but for full body shots maybe?

Any help would be appreciated.

Ava Hill

[kenw]

at the longer end, either of the 2 shorter zooms would do pretty well altho the 18-55 isn't going to give you much of a difference over the 50/1.8. the 70-300 would be fine at the shorter to middle range.

however, none of these will get you the low light capabilities you need, so you might look at the 100/2.8 or 135.

[toverman]

I'd also recommend the 85 f/1.8 for portraits. It is one of my favorite lenses and can be found used for less than $300. It would give you a little more reach.

For portraits, typically you want a lens that has a large maximum f/stop (at least f/2.8) so you can isolate the subjects from the background.

[wburychka]

Originally Posted by toverman

I'd also recommend the 85 f/1.8 for portraits. It is one of my favorite lenses and can be found used for less than $300. It would give you a little more reach.

For portraits, typically you want a lens that has a large maximum f/stop (at least f/2.8) so you can isolate the subjects from the background.

Second that 85 1.8 suggestion. Reasonably priced, very nice bokeh, and extraordinarily good at isolating your subject from the background. Only catch with a crop sensor camera is that its field of view--comparable to a 135mm lens on a ff camera--can be a problem in close spaces. Still, everything about the image quality is tops. Check the test report at Photozone:
http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/16...report--review

[110240]

depends what body you have as to what the crop factor is

[Corrie]

I have the 85 f/1.8 too and love it.

[wburychka]

Originally Posted by 110240

depends what body you have as to what the crop factor is

Hey, 110240, didn't I meet you at that hair splitter's convention last year?

OK. If you have a digital rebel (including xt, xti, xts or xt anything), D30, D60, 10d, 20d, 30d, 40d, or 50d, the AOV is comparable to 136mm on a full frame camera. If you have a 1D, 1DMk2, or 1DMk3, it is comparable to a 106mm lens on a ff camera. If you have a 5D, 5DMk2, 1DS, 1DSMk2, or 1DSMk3, there is no crop factor, and the 85mm acts like an 85mm.

Did I leave anyone out?

[avahill1]

Thank you all so much for your responses! I am considering the 85 f/1.8.

I have a digital rebel xti. Is the 85 f/1.8 still a good choice with this camera body?

[toverman]

Originally Posted by avahill1

Thank you all so much for your responses! I am considering the 85 f/1.8.

I have a digital rebel xti. Is the 85 f/1.8 still a good choice with this camera body?

Yes. As far as balance and weight with the smaller XTi, it's great.

If you think in terms of 35mm cameras, the focal length on your Rebel will become about 135 mm rather than 85. But 135 is and used to be a standard portrait lens for film cameras, too! If in doubt, you might try renting one from a camera shop.

[avahill1]

Thanks to all of you! This is such a great forum! I know that if I have a question, someone will give me an answer. Ya'll are the best!

Ava

[12stones]

Ava, the 50mm will work fine on your camera for portraits, but be careful not to get too close to the subject, as you will get distortion which will cause facial features, like noses, to grow. If you're in the market for a portrait lens, then I, too, suggest the 85 1.8. I've only had mine for two weeks and I'm loving it!

[toverman]

Originally Posted by avahill1

Thanks to all of you! This is such a great forum! I know that if I have a question, someone will give me an answer. Ya'll are the best!

Ava

The question is whether it will be the right answer. We'll give one anyway.

[wburychka]

Originally Posted by avahill1

Thank you all so much for your responses! I am considering the 85 f/1.8.

I have a digital rebel xti. Is the 85 f/1.8 still a good choice with this camera body?

Yeah, it works just fine, except... One caution. I read this quite a while back, and it went something like this, as translated from a German publication. Supposedly, the Rebel XT_ autofocus is optimized for slower lenses. That is, it works best with F3.5, F4 and slower. With F2.8 or faster, the autofocus may miss as often as it hits the right AF distance.

This is contrary to the 10D, 20D, etc. where the center AF point becomes 3 times as accurate with a lens of F2.8 or faster (that is right from the manual). The XT_ manuals are silent on this point, and I've not read anything since then. HOWEVER, my experience with the Canon 35mm F2, and to a lesser extent the 50mm F1.8, suggest it may be true--at least that was my experience with the Rebel XT.

Extensive testing with a tripod, cable release, and fixed subject showed the Rebel with the 35mm F2 refocused each time I half pressed the shutter release, and the result was that about one in three were focussed properly. The same test with a 20D, and the camera focussed one time and didn't change. I sent the camera and lens to Canon. They came back with the usual form letter ("cleaned, adjusted, lubricated..."), but there was no difference. I finally just quit using fast lenses with the Rebel.

On the 20D and 40D, the 35/F2, 50/F1.8, and 85/F1.8 all focus quickly and perfectly. Since those are my only fast lenses, I can't speak to any other.

Anyone else have this experience?

[toverman]

Bill, I haven't had that experience with my XTi but don't doubt that it happens.

I haven't looked into it, but do the Rebels allow a custom function to change the focus button like the other bodies do? This way if you were taking successive shots the camera wouldn't try to focus with every shot.

[wburychka]

Originally Posted by toverman

Bill, I haven't had that experience with my XTi but don't doubt that it happens.

I haven't looked into it, but do the Rebels allow a custom function to change the focus button like the other bodies do? This way if you were taking successive shots the camera wouldn't try to focus with every shot.

All the Rebels except the original (aka 300D), and all the nnD cameras, have that custom function to move AF to the * button. The 40D, and I guess the 50D, has a separate button to which AF can be assigned. Indeed, that is my normal focus setting, as it allows the advantages of autofocus along with the advantage of manual focus. I only set it back to the shutter release when I was investigating the "fast lens" AF problem, using a static setup and cable release.

I first became suspicious when I pointed the 35/F2 at a fence, during initial testing when I first bought it. I noticed that even though the subject and distance didn't change, I could hear the AF motor each time I pressed the * button. [The Canon 35/F2 is kindof famous for the noise of its AF motor sounding a little like a wasp inside a matchbox!] After my test shots showed that the focus had in fact changed with each press of the * button, I decided to do some more scientific testing.

Again, I have to point out that I have not seen a reference to the Rebel autofocus anomaly since that original German article translation. Clearly, though, the AF systems are different, as the nnD camera manuals have the "F2.8 or faster" reference, while the Rebel manuals do not.