Which 90mm lens for group shot from a distance?

[krooshof]

<p>Dear FD users,<br>

I want to take a group shot from a distance with a 90mm lens. I have a tokina AT-X 90mm f/2.5 and a FD 85mm f/1.2 L for my canon T90, and a contax G sonnar 90mm f/2.8 for my contax G1. I plan to shoot around f/5.6. I am very happy with the performance of all lenses, but I am interested in what you would choose and what positive experiences you might have with any of the lenses mentioned above.</p>

<p>Kind regards,<br>

Douwe</p>

[mark_pierlot]

<p>Douwe, the FD 85/1.2 L is my favourite "portrait" lens and my all-time favourite prime, so there's no question that I'd use it for the stated application. I've never been less than thrilled with its performance. </p>

[Lou_Meluso]

<p>Gee Douwe, you have three of the finest short telephoto lenses ever made. I love my Contax G Sonnar but it is, of course, a rangefinder and autofocus. Depending on the size of your group, I would prefer composing the shot with the T90 slr with either of the other two. If I'm not mistaken, the Tokina was rated as one of the sharpest lenses ever. The L is very fine but the speed isn't helping here and, depending on the lighting, that's a big piece of glass to shield.</p>

[User_502260]

<p>I don't know whether any of these lenses will perform better than a 100/2.8 Canon FD SSC or New FD for photos of distant subjects. Even at some distance you need enough depth of field so using an f/1.2 lens will not be especially helpful. My equivalent of the 90/2.5 AT-X is the 90/2.5 Vivitar Series 1. It's a very nice lens for macro work but it's heavy and not necessarily any better than a 100/2.8 for non-macro subjects. I now have both 85/1.8 New FD and 85/1.8 FL lenses. Either would work but not better than a 100/2.8. I could also use a Tamron 90/2.5 SP (2nd version), a 100/2.8 Vivitar macro (22XXX...) or one of the Cosina made 100/3.5 macro lenses. If you take any shots with tight cropping so only one person is in focus and others are not then the 85/1.2 may be handy. With an adapter but I could also use a 105/2.5 Nikkor. </p>

[awahlster]

<p>Sharp at 2 feet is sharp at 200 feet. I would personally use the 90mm f2.5 AT-X I have the lens and it never fails to amaze me with it's resolution. And with a group photo from a distance resolution would be very important. Shoot in the f5.6-f11 range if possible and you will not be able to get sharper.</p>

[JakeQ]

<p>I own all 3 lenses (the Tokina being my latest acquisition) and I would go with the 85 L. It has the best bokeh of the three in my opinion. The Sonnar is maybe a bit sharper and has the best colour rendition. The Tokina I use for macro exclusively.</p>

[philip_wilson]

<p>I only have 2 of the 3 (not the Tokina). the Contax 90mm is the sharpest of the lenses and gets the best colour/ contrast performance. the issue is AF - which on the G1 is not so great (the G2 is better) plus you do not have a 100% viewfinder. I love the 85 F1.2 but find it best relatively wide open. While the quality suffers wide open portraits at F1.2 to 1.8 have such a shallow DOF that the subject shines. Either of these two (and from what I have heard the Tokina) will be fine. My views mirror Jake as the 85 F1.2 has better Bokah than the Contax.</p>

[sfcole]

<p>"Sharp at 2 feet is sharp at 200 feet."<br>

Mark, <br>

Not to start an argument, but I was under the impression that lenses are optimized for different focal points, something like 50 x focal length, etc. So some lenses are much sharper for a 10-foot portrait than at infinity, or at 1 foot.<br>

Anyone else wish to verify/dispute this?<br>

Scott</p>

[dennis_kushner2]

<p>85L usable at ALL f stops & would give you better edge sharpness for those group photos. No worries when using at f5.6.</p>