Phoenix/Samyang 500mm Lens

I am an amatuer using a EOS Canon Elan II with a standard 28-70 len,

but I like to take some close up portrait and was looking at the

Phoenix/Samyang 500mm Lens that cost around $110.00 but don't really

know if I can use this len to take closeup picture on the face and

figure of a person like the way I want. Please give me some pointer

to as which lens will do the job and not costing like over $120.00.

Thanks a whole bunch :-)

Dude, first off, you won't find many people recommend many brands other than Canon here (maybe Sigma, Tokina, or Tamron but just sometimes). Also, "good" (Canon) lenses for less than $120 can only be found used (go on ebay)... if you're lucky. The only lens offered by Canon that is less than your budget maximum is probably the EF 50mm f/1.8 II. It's about US$70. THIS, however, is a GREAT lens. It won't zoom, of course, because it's a prime lens. BUT, having a max aperture of 1.8 is really good for isolating your subject from the background. I think 500mm is way too much for portraits (unless you're FAR away).

 

I just checked the specs on this lens... it's f/8!!! (Uses internal mirrors to allow for longer focal lengths). I'm going to ask you something, how long have you been shooting for and how much do you know about photography? You say you're an amateur... are you really sure about this? (not to sound mean or anything, ok?) But, I think you need to read up a lot more on the subject.

 

Let me recommend this. Don't buy anything right now. Read as many articles and tutorials as you can here (photo.net) and at www.photonotes.org and also www.webslr.com

 

It will do you A LOT of good. Keep using your current lens (70mm should be pretty good for portraits anyway). And once you know more about apertures, shutter speeds, and exposure... then you'll know what to buy.

500mm for a portrait would be serious overkill. 85mm to 135mm is a normal range for close up portraits with a 35mm camera.

 

Also, as the previous response pointed out, the lens you're describing is a "mirror" lens, much like a telescope, with a fixed aperture of f8. The fixed aperture will limit your exposure lattitude and keep you from controlling DOF which is very important with portraits. Also, with all mirror lenses, there's a considerable amount of distortion.

 

For the amount you're looking to spend the best suggestion I can come up with is to get a decent (Tamron or Sigma) 2X teleconverter for your existing lens. It'll give you an appropriate focal length range for portraits and the only downside is you're aperture choices will be limited. If you want to spend a little more money look into a 70-200mm zoom.

 

Hope this helps.

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Unless you want a 120 dollar paper weight. If you need a portrait lens and don't have a whole lot of money get the 28-105 3.5/4.5 USMII and its dedicated hood. IT will blur the backgound if you put some distane between you and th eback ground. Stay with Canon.

Thank you for all of your responses. As you can see I am quite ignorant about camera lens *embarrass* I have the Canon EOS Elan II for about a year now. I have used this camera to take picture with a 50 mm 1:1.8 II lens and a 28-80mm 1:3.5-5.6 II. Somehow, I am very disappointed with the close up shots that I took from these two lenses. I called Adorama to ask for recommendation to purchase an economical close-up lens to use for body and facial shot, and was told that I need a telescope type of lens then the sale representative tried to hurriedly sales me a Sigma of 70-210. I have not used any generic lens and don�t know much about them but since I got recommended a generic brand, I was thinking that I might as well get a really powerful telescope lens that I can use to zoom close into the body or face. To me it�s kind of like �one stone kills two birds� type of deal :-) Once again, thank you for your advice.

Chris, don't worry about it. We're all here to help you. As for the lenses, it is a good idea to stick with Canon. Daniel's recommendation is good. My used 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM just came today and it's a beauty! Thing is, brand new, it costs US $200. You can save up for a new one or buy a used one for a bit cheaper. The 50mm is amazing and you'll soon learn it's beauties when you continue to develop your eye. Selling your 28-70mm will help you with some of the cost. And yes, 500mm is WAY too long for portraits. You can also use the shorter end of a 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III (USM or non-USM) for portrait work. Anyway, Good luck!

Chris

 

My best advise is this: Join a local photo club, get a good photo manual/guide (Kodak or John Shaw) and learn all technical aspects of photography. If you want to use something else than a �point & shoot� small camera, you must learn the techniques� and the technical language.

 

The sales person at Adorama probably recommended a telephoto lens, not a telescope lens. Any telephoto lens in the range of 70 to 200 mm is a good range for portrait photography. A good used Canon 70-210 (f4 or f3.5-4.5) should get you started in the right direction and should be very close to your budget restrictions.

 

Good luck

I just happen to have a Kmart "Focal" 500mm lens. I understand this is the Samyang product. Mine is NOT a mirror lens- for some reason, people always assume that cheap 500mm lenses are mirrors. But it is an f/8 telephoto. It is T-mount, came with a 2x T-mount teleconverter.

 

In response to your question, it would be a very poor lens for portraits mainly due to the 500mm focal length. What is less obvious, is that (on mine) the minimum focus is around 30'. I'm not sure what this does for a head shot, but many of the things you'd like to use it for (like little tweety birds), you just can't get close enough. It has various other drawbacks, let me know if you need more detail. It IS fun to play around with, just don't plan to use it for normal portraits or anything you're too serious about.

 

For the amount you're looking at, I'd suggest look at some used lenses, possibly zooms, in the 70-200 mm range.

>> "I have used this camera to take picture with a 50 mm 1:1.8 II lens and a 28-80mm 1:3.5-5.6 II. Somehow, I am very disappointed with the close up shots that I took from these two lenses".

 

I had the 50/1.8 MkII for 11 years and it never gave me anything but great pictures, close up shots included.