Best portrait lens

gercam

gercam

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Gerry
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What in your opinion is the best and/or fastest Canon lens in your opinion? Why?
 
I'm certainly no pro and those that know better may disagree with me but I but I like to use my 50mm f1.4 for portraits. When it's wide open however the DoF may be a bit too shallow depending how close you are to the person and some of the face (nose vs ears) may be a tad OoF.
 
gercam said:
What in your opinion is the best and/or fastest Canon lens in your opinion? Why?
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If you're not a portrait photographer then I'd say the Canon 85mm 1.8. It's a brilliant lens and isn't going to cost you the earth unlike the 1.2 equivalent.
 
You need to define "best".
What is best for one may not be best for another.
My favourite portrait lens (Nikon) is a 135 f2 DC lens, but I can't say it's the "best" for each shoot, because if I'm indoors, or room is limited I will need to use my 85mm, or even a 50mm if it's a tight squeeze.
I love the look the 135 gives me, and use it whenever I can, but occasionally I'll go to 200mm if I'm outside.
It really is horses for courses.
So there is no point people recommending an 85mm if you are shooting in a tight spot.

As for fastest, well, that's a physical attribute of the lens, no opinion needed on that one.
 
I think it really depends on what you mean by 'best' and the sort of portraits you do. in terms of most versatile, I'd probably say the Canon 70-200 2.8. Its going to be a lens you are going to be able to use in many situations. But its big, heavy and expensive.

My personal favourite lens for portraits is the 135 f2, beautiful blur, really fast focussing, great colour and very sharp.
 
Fastest lens is easy, either the 50mm f1.0 (discontinued) or the 50mm/85mm f1.2 (in production)
 
Thanks for all your replies.

I have the 70-200 F4 which I really like and 24-70 F2.8 which I don't really like as I feel it is quite clunky - is that even a word??

Was just wanting to see what your preference was :)
 
"Best"? 85mm f/1.2 L II, all the way.

Last weekend we were at an exhibition and we had an 85/1.2 on a 5D III for passers-by to play with. It's an awesome combination. Just take a quick snapshot of somebody at f/1.2 and show it to them on the rear screen, and they love it because of the way the background just melts and gives the image a sort of three-dimensional quality. It's a hugely effective way of demonstrating the difference between pro-spec lenses and consumer ones. (Plus of course it looks so sensational.)
 
StewartR said:
"Best"? 85mm f/1.2 L II, all the way.
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Not if you're in a small space and can't use it.
As I said, without knowing what the OP wants to do with it, these recomendations could be futile.

Although I agree, the 1.2 is a stunning lens.
 
GHP said:
Not if you're in a small space and can't use it.
As I said, without knowing what the OP wants to do with it, these recomendations could be futile.

Although I agree, the 1.2 is a stunning lens.
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I would be looking to use it for natural light portrait shots
 
gercam said:
I would be looking to use it for natural light portrait shots
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Unless you are planning to use it indoors, then the 85 is a good length, and gives good compression of facial features for a nice looking portrait.
As I said previously, the longer the better for me, and I use my 135 whenever I can.
In the Canon line-up the 85 mm 2.2 is a stunning lens, unless you want to go longer.
As you have the 70-200, try a set of shots with it set to 85mm, repeat for 135mm, then 200mm.
This will give you a good feel for the length you will be happy with.
then get the fastest lens for whichever length you decide.
 
GHP said:
Unless you are planning to use it indoors, then the 85 is a good length, and gives good compression of facial features for a nice looking portrait.
As I said previously, the longer the better for me, and I use my 135 whenever I can.
In the Canon line-up the 85 mm 2.2 is a stunning lens, unless you want to go longer.
As you have the 70-200, try a set of shots with it set to 85mm, repeat for 135mm, then 200mm.
This will give you a good feel for the length you will be happy with.
then get the fastest lens for whichever length you decide.
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I love using the 70-200 but sometimes I want something wider.

Not loving the 24-70 lens at all.

Is the 85mm no use indoors even using available light?
 
StewartR said:
It's f/1.2. What do you think?

But the issue is whether you have enough space to use an 85mm lens.
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Unless you are shooting an elephant in a small bathroom, I don't see an issue
 
There's probably no 'best' portrait lens, but the old rule of thumb was to use something with a focal length between about 80mm and 135mm for portraits to prevent distortion of features. It's then just up to the user to determine what focal length to use according to space, background and available light. If one were on a budget I would expect an old 'standard' 50mm f1.8 lens would give excellent portrait images on an APS-C camera with a focal length equivalent to about 80mm. The 85mm f1.2 lens Stewart mentioned would be superb, but you do need space to use it.
 
Depends on budget & format really. 85mm is a nice focal length on FF as is 135mm IMO.

Think you need to pick a focal length first & then go from there. There's plenty of choice if you don't mind third party lenses too. Canon 35/1.4, 35/2 IS, 50/1.2, 50/1.4, 85/1.8, 85/1.2, 100/2, 135/2... Sigma 35/1.4, 50/1.4, 85/1.4... etc etc
 
Thanks again for replies

Am wanting something along lines of 24-70 but I just can't get to grips with this lens as I feel it is quite slow and clunky
 
I wouldn't disagree with any of the above but just to throw something else in to the mix. On a crop sensor an efs 60 macro is a lovely portrait lens.

When I'm looking for a new lens I often pop over to flickr and search for a group using the lens I am considering
 
gercam said:
Am wanting something along lines of 24-70 but I just can't get to grips with this lens as I feel it is quite slow and clunky
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By "slow and clunky", do you just mean "big and heavy"?

I mean, at f/2.8 it's not slow aperture-wise, and with Canon's USM it's not slow to focus - so what do you mean by "slow"?
 
IW-Photography said:
I wouldn't disagree with any of the above but just to throw something else in to the mix. On a crop sensor an efs 60 macro is a lovely portrait lens.

When I'm looking for a new lens I often pop over to flickr and search for a group using the lens I am considering
Click to expand...

Great idea - will do that now
 
StewartR said:
By "slow and clunky", do you just mean "big and heavy"?

I mean, at f/2.8 it's not slow aperture-wise, and with Canon's USM it's not slow to focus - so what do you mean by "slow"?
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No not big and heavy. Just seems a bit hard to lock focus - could be me of course! Am using with 5d mk ii which should be a perfect combination but I'm not feeling it
 
Canon have frequently described their 85mm F1.2 as the ultimate portrait lens , and I don't think I can disagree with them , along with a 135mm F2, it's the lens I use most for people photography, can be a bit slow in focussing (so much glass to move around), but is incredibly fast, with a bokeh to die for.
 
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