portrait lenses...

considering purchasing a portrait lens...

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135mm/f2.8 w softfocus

85/f1.8 usm

100/f2 usm

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what do you think?

I don't know much about the 135/2.8 but IMO the relatively slow

aperture is not worth the sacrifice for the softfocus feature. Take a

"normal" lens and add a softening filter if you really need the

effect. This artificial softening was nice in the 70s but today I see

very few professional pictures taking "advantage" of that.

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As for the 85mm or 100mm - it's more a matter of taste. Personally

I would prefer the 100/2 or even better the 135/2L. Optically these

"normal" lenses should be quite comparable.

I've used and loved the Canon EF135 2.8 Soft focus lens and the 85mm

1.8 USM lens for about 5 years now. Both are excellent but serve

different purposes.

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The 135 is a mirco-motor rather than a USM design and thus lacks the

full-time manual focus override of Cannon's 100mm and 85mm USM lenses.

Nevertheless, it focus very fast due to the movement of small inner

lens elements rather than a large front element. At 135mm its max

aperture of 2.8 is plenty big to maintain a narrow depth of field to

blur busy backgrounds during portraits. Without the soft focus feature

this would be a very fine lens. However, the choice of 2 soft focus

settings is a bonus. I personally find the no. 1 setting too soft for

portraits (it's nice for impressionistic landscapes). I like the no. 2

setting at about F4 with back lighting for portraits of older females

(they like it because imperfections disappear!). The soft focus effect

doesn't work at apertures smaller than 5.6.

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I find that 135mm gives subjects a thinner look than my 85mm (this is

usually good!).

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Problems? 135mm is too long for most indoor portraits unless you have

a very big room--85mm or 100mm may be better suited for studio work.

It, like the 85 & 100mm USM lenses, lacks Macro ability, but it will

still give a nice, tight head & shoulders portrait.

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Aloha

Although some don't seem to like extremely sharp lenses for portrait

work, I find the EOS 100/2.8 macro to be a marvelous portrait lens, as

well as an outstanding all-around 100mm lens. The 85/1.8 is nearly as

sharp towards the center, and although i have not used the 100/2, I

understand it is akin to the 85/1.8 in terms of sharpness.

My vote is for the 85mm f1.8 with Zeis Softar I if desired. Perhaps

not as convenient as the built-in softener of the 135, but the extra

speed and USM of the 85mm outweigh that inconvenience.