What Do Studio Pros Use - Portraits

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gingerweasel

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Just curious really as to what lenses studio pros gravitate towards? i know a lot of people swear by the 85mm focal length but is this what you'd use in a studio?

I'm finding the 85mm is a bit too long for indoors.
 
I use the 24-70, I go to people's homes to set up so am sometimes limited for space and I find that this gives me an excellent range.
 
Crikey John ! Looks like you're gonna have to investigate the 24-70.....I don't have studio but use the Nikkor 'The Beast' 28-70 2.8. Find it used for £650 ish.

Oh No !! Not more gear....
 
The reason that some pros use a prime is that they can be chosen to fit in with thier studio. The additional sharpness of a prime along with wider apertures (allowing more precise and accurate focussing) are also reasons to consider a prime.

The choice of an 85mm (on FF), 50mm (on crop) is that this focal length give a nice proportion to the face whereas the use of a wider focal length can exagerate extremities if they are closer to the camera (nose, legs, hands), where use of a longer focal length gives forshortening and usually requires a lot more space to get the framing required.

If you have limited space and are shooting in varied locations then a zoom will be a good option as it is a lot more versatile.
 
24-70mm f/2.8; 50mm f/1.4; 85mm f/1.4 and 70-200mm f/2.8.

Depending on where I am and what effect I want.

Since buying my 85 I'm using it a lot more than the others, but that might be down to 'new-toy' syndrome...
I have the 'old' 85 and agree that it has a fairly long CFD - about 1.3m. The new Nikkor 85 f/1.4 focuses a lot closer: the test shots I did at Photokina yesterday were at 0.8m. Which is just about right, but not enough to make me part with another £1600 after I just bought an old one.
 
Arkady said:
24-70mm f/2.8; 50mm f/1.4; 85mm f/1.4 and 70-200mm f/2.8.

Depending on where I am and what effect I want.

Since buying my 85 I'm using it a lot more than the others, but that might be down to 'new-toy' syndrome...
I have the 'old' 85 and agree that it has a fairly long CFD - about 1.3m. The new Nikkor 85 f/1.4 focuses a lot closer: the test shots I did at Photokina yesterday were at 0.8m. Which is just about right, but not enough to make me part with another £1600 after I just bought an old one.
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Hmmm, I'm about to look into buying a 70-200 and an old 85 1.4, half a meter can sometimes make all the difference though. Wether it's £1k of difference is doubtful, but it would still be handy.
 
Dman said:
Hmmm, I'm about to look into buying a 70-200 and an old 85 1.4, half a meter can sometimes make all the difference though. Wether it's £1k of difference is doubtful, but it would still be handy.
Click to expand...

Wait a month - Sigma's new 85 f/1.4 could be a serious contender if what they said to me is true. RRP of £699 as well...
 
Arkady said:
Wait a month - Sigma's new 85 f/1.4 could be a serious contender if what they said to me is true. RRP of £699 as well...
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I just don't know if I could spend more on a Sigma lens than I could get a Nikon equivalent for. I've turned into a brand snob and Nikon produce such great lenses you see.....
 
I know - I'm the same...but...
The new Nikkor is £1600 - the Sigma will be £699 - if it does the same job equally well...?
 
50mm is generally fine for me on a D300. Often find myself wanting 85mm but dont want to keep changing. 24-70 is on the cards soon!
 
Arkady said:
I know - I'm the same...but...
The new Nikkor is £1600 - the Sigma will be £699 - if it does the same job equally well...?
Click to expand...



Well Sigma did a cracking job with the 50mm 1.4 straight after Nikon brought out the new 50mm 1.4. I believe the sigma was slightly faster focussing and had nicer bokeh?
They may just do it again with the 85mm...

Kev.
 
It depends on the style and type of work, the size of the studio and the size of the sensor, so there isn't really an answer to your question.
 
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