Canon - 85mm f/1.8 USM EF Lens - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

08/02/2004 05:08:20 PM · #1

Would this be a decent portrait lense for the Digital Rebel/300D?

It equates to a 136mm with the crop factor. It seems to be a nice and fast prime, which might seriously help me with capturing nice portraits.

Right now I prefer zoom lenses, but I also don't know how important a low f-stop number is to making 'professional' portraits. I believe the lowest f-stop available in a zoom that hits the 136mm range (with the crop factor) is 2.8 and still be within a similar price range.

I am looking to keep my costs down (as far below $500 USD per lense as possible) at least until I feel competent and confident enough to see about making some a little cash on the side with portrait shooting.

What are your thoughts?

KevinRiggs

Canon EOS-1Ds

08/02/2004 05:19:17 PM · #2

That lens on a 1.6x crop factor (such as the 300D or 10D) is a fantastic lens. It gets a 4.1 score from Photodo (lenses link or link directly to the 85 f/1.8). That is equivilent to the EF 70-200 f/2.8 L IS USM lens. I have this lens and love the bokeh. It isn't as fast a focuser as some of the USM lenses but it is a lightweight lens and it does a major number on the background clutter. You do have to be mindful about how much you are filling the frame and make sure that your composition with this lens is what you want (with the 70-200 you have just a little more play room because you can zoom out to 70mm). I like this lens better than the 50 f/1.8 as it feels sturdier to me and the images at the same f-stop seem just a little crisper around the edges (could be the version I picked up though).

I don't think you'll find many people with this lens who have used it for portraiture say anything bad about it. As long as you don't mind moving around your subject to create your composition (as opposed to changing the field of view with the zoom), then this lens should definitely be in your bag.

Kev

Message edited by author 2004-08-02 17:20:48.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

08/03/2004 06:30:17 AM · #3

Kevin,

Thanks for your comment. I admire your porfolio of portraits and hope to come close to your level of skill someday. You insight into the lense I am considering and the other lense you mentioned has been quite usefull.

Jesuispeure

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8

08/03/2004 06:46:23 AM · #4

I recently used that lens for a shoot. It's suuuuuuuuper fast (I only had the kit lens before), and excellent for head shots, but I found it a little irritating if you want a full body or 3/4 shot, because you have to get so far away from your model it's easy to lose the connection between model and photographer. I felt like I was yelling at the poor girl from down the street! The 50mm is a great deal lighter however, but very inexpensive. I'm hoping they make a nice pair in the camera bag!

PaulMdx

Canon EOS-1D

08/03/2004 07:21:49 AM · #5

I've got this lens, and it is a stunning piece of kit. Very sharp, very fast. However, as others have mentioned, I feel it's too telephoto for model photography. I hope to do a model shoot very shortly, and I'll be using my Sigma 28-70/2.8 EX, and my Canon 50/1.8.

Edit: On B&H:

Sigma 24-70/2.8 EX - $409
Sigma 28-70/2.8 EX - $329

Message edited by author 2004-08-03 07:26:43.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

08/03/2004 07:30:27 AM · #6

So the 50mm f/1.8 could be a better candidate for portrait shooting. Is that a fast focusing lense as well?

I am looking for something that I could use both hand-held and on a tri-pod that will minimize some of the camera shake. I find it extremely difficult to get off really good hand-held shots, regardless of how careful I am with the 'rules' of hand-held photography. That's part of my reason for looking for a really fast lense.

Thanks for the input.

PaulMdx

Canon EOS-1D

08/03/2004 07:35:25 AM · #7

Originally posted by Nelzie:

Is that a fast focusing lense as well?

Nowhere near the 85..

Edit: The 85 is pretty close to my 70-200/2.8L. The 50mm is much nearer to my (fairly slow) 28-70/2.8.

Message edited by author 2004-08-03 08:24:37.

magnetic9999

Canon EOS-20D

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX Aspherical DF for Canon

08/03/2004 07:52:55 AM · #8

A combo that i use that offers a lot of the same advantages of both the 85 and the 50 is a 50/1.4 with a 1.4x teleconverter. For general portraits, I use the 50/1.4 on its own, but sometimes, for headshots, it's nice to put on the 1.4x and get that extra degree of closeness and perspective compression. Turns it into a 70/2.0.

50/1.4 on its own

50/1.4 + Tamron 1.4x TC

However, the majority of my model portfolio sessions, I use the Sigma 24-70/2.8 EX. This is partly because, in a small studio, you sometimes can't back up enough to get a full length shot, so I need the extra wide angle, in spite of the curvature distortion.

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