50mm 1.4 or 85mm 1.8?

[tylerfj24]

<p>First of all I cannot afford a L series lens so lets not get carried away and start comparing or going off on tangents about them. <br>

Now I have a 28-135 lens and would like to get into portraits of all kinds. I have narrowed what I think would be my best two options, the 50 or the 85?<br>

I would like to have at least one prime in my bag and have read great things about these two, both are in my price range and are said to be sharp and have pretty good Fs. Please I would like to hear all opinions on these and if anyone has a better option please feel free to tell me and I will explore that option as well.<br>

By the way I use a canon 50d.</p>

[scott_ferris]

<p>Look at the EXIF on your favourite pictures, whichever lens is closer get that one.</p>

[jeff_harper3]

<p>I just ordered the 85 f/1.8 and from what I've read it is one of the most highly recommended lenses out. Two pros I've talked with today both said wow, that's a great lens.</p>

<p>I've also read it is among the best lenses for the money you can buy. Mine comes tomorrw and I cannot wait to shoot with it. </p>

[tommyinca]

<p>One way to have your cake and eat it too is get a used 85/1.8. With what you saved, a 50/1.8. Get the 50/1.4 when saved up and sell the 50/1.8.</p>

[jack_nordine]

<p>The 2 you mention are good choices. Of the 2, I'd choose the 85mm. May I also suggest the 100mm 2.0 which makes a nice portrait lens as well and has some very smooth bokeh. It also gives you a flatter perspective than the other 2 which I like in a portrait lens. Then of course, there's the 135mm 2.0...</p>

[akajohndoe]

<p>It at least partially depends upon your subjects and the way you like to see them. Aside from any image quality discussion, any 50mm will have a different angle of view and telephoto compression effect than any 85mm lens.</p>

<p>I love an 85mm lens, whether on full-frame or crop bodies. I suppose that probably means that my view of the world through a lens tends towards the short to medium telephoto focal length.</p>

<p>As for the original query: I have both of these lenses (50/1.4 and 85/1.8) and would recommend the 85/1.8; however, the advice to look at the images you have taken to determine from the EXIF data what focal length you gravitate towards is pretty good avice.</p>

[mark_pierlot]

<p>Tyler, I'd like to put in a plug for the 50/1.4. Stopped down a bit, it's one of the sharpest lenses I've ever used. If you're intending on using the lens for portraiture, the 85/1.8 would be a little long on your 50D. I've only ever shot with full frame bodies, and find that the optimal focal length range for portraiture is 50-135mm, which would put the 85/1.8 on a 1.6x body right at the top end of that range. Of course, if you're not intending on using the lens primarily for portraiture, the 85/1.8 would be a fine choice. I'm just partial to the 50/1.4.</p>

[landscape_shooter]

<p>I have both and they are both excellent on a 40D. The 85 1.8 is the best lens for outdoors portraits, indoors it is hard to use though at home etc. It is useful at weddings etc in large indoor areas. The 85 has fantastic bokeh and is just wonderful in color and contrast. It focuses faster than the 50mm in dim lighting. The 50 1.4 is also great. I use it alot indoors-kids. For me it works out great indoors and has great bokeh, color and contrast, maybe just a tiny bit below the 85. You need to try a little harder to get great bokeh with the 50, with the 85 it works like magic. I would try to make a plan of getting both. Will you be using it indoors in tighter spaces? Decide what focal length you would like for the first one and go for that. I had a 50 1.8 and I wasn't as impressed with it as others are. The bokeh was kind of rough and the color wasn't as vibrant as the 1.4 50mm to me. Best wishes.</p>

[landscape_shooter]

<p>Try using your zoom only at 50 or 85 for a little while and see what you like and what's useable indoors.</p>

[robin_sibson1]

<p>I have both of these lenses, and use them on both 1.6-factor (50D) and FF (5DII) bodies. My experience of the way they perform is consistent with what appears to be pretty much of a consensus. The 85/1.8 is a really good lens (if somewhat overshadowed by the 85/1.2L, which I have not used), optically excellent, and nicely built (although not to L standards) with real ring USM. It has only two faults: the trivial one of taking an old-style clip-on hood; and the more significant one of not focusing very close. The 50/1.4 is a bit of a mixed bag. Optically, it is a good f/2 lens and a very good f/2.8 lens. Although built to look like the 85/1.8 or 28/1.8, it actually uses a micro-USM motor, but with a unique clutch mechanism to allow it to have full-time manual focusing and handle like a ring-USM lens. This mechanism contains under-specified plastic components and is notoriously vulnerable to damage. When working properly, it focuses almost as fast as the 85/1.8, and I suspect that some of the criticisms of its focusing speed have come from users whose lenses were starting to fail. The 50/1.4 is a nice lens to use, but it does not offer the kind of got-its-act-together feel that the 85/1.8 does.</p>

[Alex]

<p>A few months back I had the excact same query and I did what one of the post said. I locked my 28/135 at 50mm and 80mm took the kind of pictures I wanted (my kids) and then I bought the 50 1.4 for my 40D I could not ask for more, specially for the money. I have being shooting my kids, lots of indoors and 50mm is about as long as I can use inside the house before I run out of room if I want a full body shot. Now I'm borderline to get the 85mm but also contemplating a 30MM as well.<br>

You should be ok with either one in terms of IQ and bouque, despite the inherent defferences of focal lenght. I think the answer to your question shoud be based on how much space you like to have between you and the suject. or how much space you actually have.<br>

Best of luck</p>

[pgranone]

<p>Portraits tend to be shot at F1.8, F2, F2.2 for the nice background bokeh. <br>

The 50mm F1.4 is poor until at least F2.2 or 2.4 I tested several other people had, and all were the same. I gave up and bought the excellent Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX. That lens is good at F1.4<br>

The 85mm F1.8 is good at 1.8 or stopped down. The only issue is some purple fringing at F1.8 in very high contrast shots. <br>

On 1.6 crop the 85mm F1.8 is very nice for portraits. </p>

 

[anders_carlsson]

<p>Unless you <em>really</em> need the f-stops below f/2.8 for your venture into portraiture, you might want to consider the EF-S 60/2.8 macro. I rarely use my 50/1.4 at the largest apertures since it's extremely hard to nail focus with such limited DOF.</p>

[scott_ferris]

<p>What tosh,</p>

<p>The 50 1.4 is a superb portrait lens on a crop camera and a FF one. This is from a 1D so a 1.3 crop.</p><div></div>

[scott_ferris]

<p>And this one, slightly different subject :-) Wide open at 1.4.</p><div></div>

[Stock-Photos]

<p>For portraits on a cropped sensor like yours, I'd recommend the 50MM 1.4.</p>

<p>With the 85MM, you'd need to be too far from the subject.</p>

[Alex]

<p>This image is at F2.5 with 50mm 1.4</p>

[scott_ferris]

<p>Alex the portrait I posted was at 2.8. I was just much closer than in yours.</p>

[dd_toth]

<p>85, 85, 85! 50mm is pretty much what everyone in the world sees at. You have to really work to find creative shots with it, in order to capture something that everyone else didn't see. Yes you can be creative with depth of field but you also get that with the 85mm, as well as a different view point. They are both great lenses, but my vote is on the 85mm. It's on my wish list.</p>

[tylerfj24]

<p>Wow thanks everyone for the great responses.<br>

<strong><em>DN: It at least partially depends upon your subjects and the way you like to see them. Aside from any image quality discussion, any 50mm will have a different angle of view and telephoto compression effect than any 85mm lens.</em></strong><br>

Can you elaborate on this, I dont know what you mean by all the compression and angle of view. No one else has ever said this before.<br>

Anyway I am the guy who likes to do the research by the best and be done with it. My wallet is not unlimited so I have to do it this way. I will need the lens for all types of light. I have not taken any portraits indoors yet. But I have to take some graduation portraits outdoors and I have to take portraits of a newborn indoors, I love to blur the background and like to fill the frame with the photos I take. However I do see myself taking portraits and pics of ppl mostly from the chest and shoulders up, hardly ever a full body shot. If this makes a difference please let me know. Again thanks everyone.</p>

[tylerfj24]

<p>By the way, which lens is built better?</p>

[scott_ferris]

<p>Tyler, please just look in your exif and see which you use more, it really is as easy as that. The different angle etc are just smoke and mirrors, most people can't tell the difference from a 50mm shot and an 85mm one or even a 105mm one!( http://www.photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00Sdr8 ) But on a crop body I would suggest a 50mm to be more useful. Ultimately you will end up with more lenses and you'll get the 85 sooner or later.</p>

 

[landscape_shooter]

<blockquote>

<p>"85, 85, 85! 50mm is pretty much what everyone in the world sees at. You have to really work to find creative shots with it, in order to capture something that everyone else didn't see."<br>

--Don't agree- On 1.6 crop the 50mm isn't the "normal" lens. It equals around 80mm in full frame terms. I have read that 50mm is close to what our eyes but 50mm on 1.6 crop is different.<br>

--To the comment on the 50mm must be worn causing slower focusing, the 50 brand new focused slower in low light than my 85mm. Different builds. I posted a question when I first bought it to make sure it was normal and others all agreed.</p>

</blockquote>

[a_b84]

<p>85mm would give your model feel comfortable and nice bokeh than 50mm.</p>

[tylerfj24]

<p><a href="/photodb/user?user_id=657840"><strong><em>Scott Ferris</em></strong></a><strong><em> Tyler, please just look in your exif and see which you use more, it really is as easy as that.</em></strong><br>

<strong><em>Scott </em></strong>how do I look in my exif, ive not heard of that acronym? I do thank you for your help and I do agree with you, but I am still new to this venture and Im not sure I have enough pics in my gallery to really tell me what I use more. Most of my photos are outdoors in natural light. <br>

Which lens is built better?<br>

I have a photo shoot and I will be shooting my brothers graduation photo and my friends newborn photos, one outdoors the other indoors. i would like to get one lens to do both and have great photos.<br>

I just got some pics back from the lab and I am noticing some cropping issues that I am not used to with this camera, I am now afraid that the 85mm will be to close to use indoors, and with the 50mm I can always move closer to get the photo that I want. Now I would really like to know if the 50mm is built good and sturdy or is the 85 built better.<br>

Thanks again for your help</p>