Can you advice me on a portrait lens?

GlasgowGunner

GlasgowGunner

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Kevin
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Hi there i am after a fair/budget portrait lens.

I say fair/budget as it's not my thing to be honest but i am looking to take some family shots and would like something that will return some decent shots.

I have a Canon 30d with a kit lens, 28-80 and a 70-200 at the moment, now one of these might well be what i need but im unsure. I have read the 70-200(Sigma) is said to be a portrait lens but you have to stand miles away to get a shot.

I also have a Canon 380ex flash is this any good as i was thinking of maybe upgrading this too

:thankyou:
 
unless you want to spend a lot of money what you have will do just fine!!
 
The Canon 50mm f1.8 aka nifty fifty should be awesome for portraits on a crop sensor camera :thumbs:
 
what about the 85mm f1.8? certainly a hell of a lot lighter than the 7-200mm but thats a perfectly good lens to use itself.
 
Ah mixed answers, so what one should i use?
The 70-200 might be perfect but as i said i am standing miles away for the shot i want.

Thing is my Daughter got some(dare i say)Pro shots taken a few weeks ago and they came out real nice. I did watch the guy doing them but i thought it would be nasty to ask what he was using kit wise for the session(Nikon Anyway).

I am in no way saying i have the skill/knowhow to copy this guy's work but i would like to try and do some half decent family portraits.
 
the only problem with a wider length is that it makes the face look wider which isnt very complimentary!

why not try the 50mm f1.8 or 50mm f1.4 if you find the 70-200mm too long?
 
onefunkypenguin said:
the only problem with a wider length is that it makes the face look wider which isnt very complimentary!

why not try the 50mm f1.8 or 50mm f1.4 if you find the 70-200mm too long?
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Well is this a good option for what i want? Sorry to sound like a dumbass but i know and have read very little about portrait work.
 
what do you want is the question? i use anything from my 17-40mm to my 50mm to m 70-200mm lenses depending on what im shooting.

if doing a portrait shoot with just head and shoulders in a room with space then 70-200mm is perfectly fine, if not why not use your 28-80?

as for your flash, well i dont know much about it tbh, best thing to do is use natural light with reflector or modify the flash eg bounce light off wall/ceiling, a softbox, diffuser etc to soften the light
 
Well i have a large decent i think reflector and i would say maybe head and shoulders, but i want to try and get a few body's in the shot,,,,oh oh which leads me to another question what or where should focus?

Say there is three people in the shot and i would like them all to be in focus is this possible?
 
well if they are all standing shoulder to shoulder then i would focus on the one who is slightly in fronts eyes and use an aperture which mill make the others in focus too, prob around f5.6 but poss f8 to be safe.

always focus on the eyes, esp if shooting at f1.8!

a reflector and window light can be lovely if done right.
 
onefunkypenguin said:
well if they are all standing shoulder to shoulder then i would focus on the one who is slightly in fronts eyes and use an aperture which mill make the others in focus too, prob around f5.6 but poss f8 to be safe.

always focus on the eyes, esp if shooting at f1.8!

a reflector and window light can be lovely if done right.
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Thanks, Is this your subject? if so do you have anything i can look at with the lens choice you mentioned you might use?
 
it is indeed, i love portraits but dabble elsewhere.

if you check my flickr you will see loads of portraits using different lenses mentioned, none with the 85mm f1.8 as iv just borrowed it from college for a few shoots over the holidays.

the back pages of my flickr are all when i started using natural light or onboard flash and the 50mm f1.8

i have a shoot tomorrow so will try get a few from it then.
 
GlasgowGunner said:
Love the Grumps one, the ones of Sam are cracking too looked like fun.
Click to expand...

yeah, i get my friends to do some weird stuff!

the grumps one i love but too shallow dof, that was at f1.8 and as you can see the ears are soft which im annoyed about cause he never lets me take his picture.

expect a few uploads tomorrow night, got shoot all day in glasgow tomorrow with model, thats if im not lifted and out in the cells for a night :razz: :lol:
 
onefunkypenguin said:
yeah, i get my friends to do some weird stuff!

the grumps one i love but too shallow dof, that was at f1.8 and as you can see the ears are soft which im annoyed about cause he never lets me take his picture.

expect a few uploads tomorrow night, got shoot all day in glasgow tomorrow with model, thats if im not lifted and out in the cells for a night :razz: :lol:
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Ok thanks i will have a look then...
Have added you as a contact in flickr so i'll check them out.
 
no probs, always good having contacts near me in case i want to go adventuring! again they will be of partially clothed model so be warned :D
 
If you do not need AF you could get some lovely sharp M42 lenses.

I have a Super Takumar f1.4 and a Helios f2 and they are both much sharper than the Nifty Fifty at any given aperture.

Pair one with an AF confirm M42 to EOS mount and you are set.
 
I use a my Nikon nifty fifty on my D90, works very well
 
awp said:
unless you want to spend a lot of money what you have will do just fine!!
Click to expand...

pretty much that.

Other wise.....


Doing it on the cheap

50/1.8 - £80


Doing it with some moola !

50/1.4 - £250
85/1.8 - £300

Doing it with a MASSIVE moola

50/1.2
135/2.0 £800
100/2.8 Macro IS - £800
85/1.2 - £1500
Canon 70-200/2.8 IS - £1200

Then there are the 24-70 variants from everyone too.


But note the crop factor....


Traditionally...protrait lens are from 80mm to 200mm. This is due to the perspectives, and this element STILL applies, the crop factor might have made it into a 80mm field of vision but the focal length stays the same, hence...(this will cause some people to get angry no doubt), 50mm is not your classic portrait lens. Sure, you can take portraits at 50mm, hell, you can take nice portraits at 35mm too (even on FF), but classically, you need longer focal length for portraits.

85mm, 100mm, 135mm

Those are your portrait lenses.

Best bang for buck.....85mm/1.8
 
micloi said:
If you do not need AF you could get some lovely sharp M42 lenses.

I have a Super Takumar f1.4 and a Helios f2 and they are both much sharper than the Nifty Fifty at any given aperture.

Pair one with an AF confirm M42 to EOS mount and you are set.
Click to expand...

I'd second this motion! I got me a Helios 58mm f2 for £3 and a non af confirm adaptor for £2.49, I've recently managed to find a 135mm f3.5 Carl Zeiss too and while the Helios is sharp the Carl Zeiss just blows me away every time I use it, it's simply superb.

The manual focussing and aperture selection isn't bothering me one bit, in fact I'm prefering it as it means I have to spend a little bit longer with every shot and this makes me think more before I press the shutter.

Going the M42 route isn't everyones cup of tea I suppose, but for the money involved it's surely worth trying. Weigh it up - Canon nifty fifty (itself not a bad lens) £60-120 depending where you shop, reasonably sharp and a large aperture vs Helios 58mm £5.49 incredibly sharp and beautiful Bokeh (much nicer than the nifty).

And, on a silly note :D the M42 lenses just look so much nicer mounted on a Canon body, at least compared to the nifty!
 
Ste Manns,i like the sound of that,so you are using this setup on your canon 50D?:):thumbs:
 
Raymond Lin said:
pretty much that.

Other wise.....


Doing it on the cheap

50/1.8 - £80


Doing it with some moola !

50/1.4 - £250
85/1.8 - £300

Doing it with a MASSIVE moola

50/1.2
135/2.0 £800
100/2.8 Macro IS - £800
85/1.2 - £1500
Canon 70-200/2.8 IS - £1200

Then there are the 24-70 variants from everyone too.


But note the crop factor....


Traditionally...protrait lens are from 80mm to 200mm. This is due to the perspectives, and this element STILL applies, the crop factor might have made it into a 80mm field of vision but the focal length stays the same, hence...(this will cause some people to get angry no doubt), 50mm is not your classic portrait lens. Sure, you can take portraits at 50mm, hell, you can take nice portraits at 35mm too (even on FF), but classically, you need longer focal length for portraits.

85mm, 100mm, 135mm

Those are your portrait lenses.

Best bang for buck.....85mm/1.8
Click to expand...


don't disagree but given the lack of experience the OP has I'd suggest using what he has and save his money until he knows the difference they make, he has the bases covered to just try it and see what happens
 
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