Suggestions

[polly_l]

I want to get a good portrait lens that is fast and very good quality. I have 2

tamron lenses, and don't need to stick with Tamron, but have had really good

luck with their lenses but would like to get a good 85mm lens at least this is

what someone told me is the one I would need. Any suggestions would be

wonderful. I have a Canon 30D.

 

Thanks a bunch

Polly

[tony_leinster]

If you had a full frame sensor then the 85mm is perfect but, good news!, with the crop sensor of the 30D the equivalent focal length is a 50mm lens. This means you can use the brilliant and cheap Canon 50mm f1.8 as a damn fine and fast portrait lens! If you have more money to spare go for the 50mm f1.4. But the f1.8 really is a very fine lens.

[sattler123]

Polly, a 85mm might be too long on a crop body like the 30D. I would suggest the very good and very cheap 50mm f/1.8 Canon lens. The IQ of this lens is very good despite the price tag of only $80.

 

If you want an 85mm lens, I'd recoomend the Canon 85mm f/1.8 - it is an amazing lens. I own both these lenses for my 5D.

[tom_schutz]

I agree that a 50mm lens is the way to go. I have the EF 50mm 1.4 on a 20D, and it works

great for portraits. According to photozone.de, the 1.4 wide open is as sharp as the 1.8 wide

open, but the 1.4 stopped to 1.8 is a little sharper than the 1.8 wide open. (But who knows

how consistent their findings would be with different lens samples.) If you shoot a lot of

dim, available light pictures, go with the 1.4 if the price difference is not a deal killer.

[tridakfoto]

I have both the 50mm f/1.8 and 85mm f/1.8 by Canon for my 40D and Rebel series cameras and I absolutely love the 85mm lens! Not to say the 50mm isn't bad because it is also fantastic for the price and I highly recommend both if you want portrait lenses for the 30D.

 

Many will say get the 50mm f/1.4 over the 1.8 version and if you have the money to spend then go for it but if you are on a budget the f/1.8mm will be fine.

 

Sample taken with my 85mm f/1.8 (shot at f/1.8, ISO 200)

[KenPapai]

The Canon 85 1.8 is far and away better than the Canon 50 1.4 and 1.7 lenses. Simple choice to go with the 85mm, but on a 1.6 crop sensor, obviously it's a long, tight portrait lens (like a 135mm with film).

[davebell]

Personally I would go for the 85mm on the 30D, contrary to popular advice. I love a 200mm on a 5D for portraits (headshots). That said, the 50mm F1.8 is defintiely a good choice, slow and noisy but good!

[jason_hall4]

The 85mm can be a little long, but if you have the room to work it is just fine. And it is a lot better than either 50mm in term of build. Here are some shots with the 85mm f1.8

 

http://jphotoarts.smugmug.com/photos/245800887_W7L9N-M-1.jpg

 

http://jphotoarts.smugmug.com/photos/245800199_cAsoG-M-1.jpg

 

http://jphotoarts.smugmug.com/photos/245840282_DHHXu-M.jpg

 

The first two was with the 30D in front a window in my living room. The last one was on location somewhere or another.

 

jphotoarts.com

 

Jason

[jason_hall4]

Here are larger versions if you have the bandwidth.

 

http://jphotoarts.smugmug.com/photos/245800887_W7L9N-XL-1.jpg

 

http://jphotoarts.smugmug.com/photos/245800199_cAsoG-XL-1.jpg

 

http://jphotoarts.smugmug.com/photos/245840282_DHHXu-XL.jpg

 

Jason

[William Michael]

1. What Tamron lenses do you have at the moment?

 

Buying a lens for a (task) reason is logical, but it also need to fit the kit.

 

2. `Portraits` means many different things: are you thinking one person? do you like tight head shots? do you like full length? is it whole families? is it inside or outside? do you want to be more flexible than specific?

 

 

WW

[William Michael]

A fast 85mm lens on an APS-C camera (like a 30D), is the `ideal` portrait lens, for ME.

 

I like tight portrait work: thus on a 135 format camera (`Full Frame`) I would use a 100mm 135mm or even a 200mm

 

I also like working with available light, hence I want a fast lens.

 

I use the EF 85mmF1.8 USM on my 20D for portraits quite a lot: however, in tight spaces I need to swap to the EF50mmF1.4

 

WW

[William Michael]

. . . and I just had a look, what I wrote above is almost identical to how I answered you Nov 07, 2007; 06:32 p.m, if anything it shows my consistency :)

 

Good luck with the choice: list out the parameters you want to meet first.

 

The a 50mm will be more flexible than an 85mm: a 35mm will be the most flexible portrait lens on a 30D, without being too wide.

 

WW

[john_frie]

Polly,

 

The 85 and 50 lenses are both fine for portrait work. You might consider going with the

85 to give your subjects a bit more breathing room. The more you can keep out of their

face the more comfortable they'll feel. The light gathering differences between the 1.8 and

1.4 are so not a factor in how low of a light level you can shoot in. There's not even a full

stop's difference between the two. You'd barely see your meter move. But I bet there's a

substantial price difference. It's more of a race in who's got the fastest lens. Save your

money. Go with the 1.8. Don't be concerned about the bragging rights it will just cost you

many extra dollars for really not a lot more.

 

John

[markonestudios]

Another vote for the cheap and excellent 50 f/1.8 as a superb portrait lens for crop sensor (and indeed full-frame) camera...

[alan_myers]

Hi Polly,

 

I use both. A lot.

 

As far as I'm concerned, the 50/1.4 and 85/1.8 are the yin and yang of portraiture on my two 30Ds. One is the "classic: short tele portrait", the other is the "classic: longer tele portrait".

 

Both perform great. (I also use 20/2.8, 28/1.8 and 100/2.8 Macro, for more specialized types of portraiture, among many other things.)

 

If budget is tight, yes the 50/1.8 is a great buy.

 

But, if at all possible, I'd recommend the f1.4. There are reasons the it's a lot more expensive.

 

The f1.8 is much more susceptible to flare and, due to it's five-bladed aperture, doesn't give as nice a background blur, which can be especially important in portraits.

 

There's a website that does a good job closely comparing a bunch of shots made with these two lenses. You can clearly see the difference in the side-by-side photos, to help you decide if the extra $200 is money well spent. I don't have the URL of that website, but I'm sure you could Google it.

 

I also prefer a lens with a metal bayonet mount, instead of the plastic on the current version of the f1.8. (The original version of the 50/1.8 had a metal mount, which is one reason used ones sell for more than brand new 50/1.8 II!) The 50/1.8 also uses 52mm filters, which none of my other lenses do, and it's got a skinny little manual focus ridge.

 

The 50/1.4 isn't perfect.

 

The 50/1.4 is not completely sharp when used absolutely wide open. But, that's true of most fast lenses. Stop it down to f2 and it gets sharp in a hurry. And, you have f1.4 if needed. (The f1.8 lens isn't entirely sharp wide open, either.)

 

Something minor that I don't care for on the f1.4 is that it's one of the last Canon lenses still using the old style of USM (auto focus motor). Mine is quite old, very well used and has never had a glitch, but others have reported problems with it just not being as durable, and recommend not manually overriding AF at all. (Which is something you should never do with any of the non-USM lenses... like the 50/1.8... anyway.)

 

Someday I'm sure Canon will update USM on the 50/1.4. It'll be a really great lens then. It's very, very good now. By comparison, I'd call the 50/1.8 "pretty darned good", and an exceptional value at under $100, compared to approx. $300 for the f1.4.

 

With any of them - 50/1.8, 50/1.4 or 85/1.8 - be sure to get the lens hood. It's sold separately, but important and better protection for the lens than any UV filter!