What to get for my wife? Surprise!!!

amandamuns

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Hi everyone, currently in my wifes camera bag she has

Canon 40D
Canon Rebel T1i
Canon 18-55mm 3.5-5.6 IS
Canon 28-135mm 3.5-5.6 IS
Canon 55-250mm 4-5.6 IS
Sigma 17-35mm 2.8-4 = not happy with it so she never uses it
Canon Speedlite 430EX II

She likes taking outdoor family portraits mostly, but she is also getting into indoor Family portraits. I am just looking for a good surprise for her I would like to get her the 70-200 2.8 but that is a little much for my pockets. I was looking at these let me know what you think.

1 Canon® EF 100mm F/2.8 Macro USM Lens $575
2 Canon® EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens $599
3 Canon® EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Telephoto Zoom $699
 
I think the best choice is the 70-200 f/4 but that is also the priciest. It is a great lens and I hear the IQ is also great. F/4 is still pretty fast and if she is doing portraits she will be lighting the subjects and all that so it is good. The 70-300 i wouldn't really consider. It is more of a cheap slow lens that covers a huge focal range. If she likes macro and prime the 100 2.8 is another good choice. She could get nice head shots with that and also do fun macro work. GL
TJ
 
I wouldn't particularly use any of those lenses for outdoor or indoor portraits. The 100mm might be ok, but if you're trying to fit more than 1 person in the photo, it will be frustrating, especially indoors. if you want to get her a good portrait lens, get either the canon 50mm f1.4 (~$360) or the canon 85mm f1.8 (~$370)
 
if she really wants to do inside stuff, I'd definitely go for the 50mm... otherwise, she won't be able to get back far enough to get the field of view she'll want. especially on a crop frame camera, it's really frustrating.
 
Filters, bounce boards, maybe an off camera speedlite set up.
 
I'm surprise that she doesn't have the 50mm 1.8 yet if she does a lot of portrait. It could be had new for as low as like $89. Either way, I think the 50mm f1.4 or f1.8 would suit her needs best given what she already had.
 
Filters, bounce boards, maybe an off camera speedlite set up.

she has a speedlite but doesn't have any type of wireless system, it has the cord so it can be used off camera, if that is what you mean. As far as studio lighting right now all she has is 2, 18 or 24 inch constant soft boxes and a small hand held reflector-diffuser.
 
For indoor portraits on a crop-body camera like the 40D, I fourth the suggestion for a 50mm lens ... Canon's 50mm 1.4 is great, the 1.8 ain't at all bad for $100 either. For portraits outside with a bit more space, the 85mm 1.8 may be a better choice (though I use a 50mm outside for portraits on my 20D and find it great).

Looking at what she wants to do, and the amount you were thinking of spending, you could do much worse than getting the 50mm f/1.8 and the 85mm f/1.8 as a perfect portrait pair! (and still spend less than on just one of the other lenses).

The 1.8's (or even larger aperture 1.4's) open up a lot of opportunities for low light photography (e.g. indoors just using ambient light) and for small depth of field to isolate the subject from the background effectively.
 
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Thanks for all the input, looks like the 50mm is winning this race. I would like to get her some more lighting but, we are currently stationed in Holland and the houses here are tiny so set up and storage is limited. Thank you again everyone.
 
ok so I think I have decided to go with the "nifty 50". Since it is pretty cheap what about 2 more speedlites and a cheap wireless system and 2 lightweight tripods, for outdoor shooting? With that being asked will the speedlite 430 EX II work good on a wireless setup?
 
Yes that will work good but for off camera stuff I would take a look at these They aren't as expensive as the 430 and should be very good off camera.
TJ
 
How about a 3 carat diamond pendant necklace cleverly disquised in a 2x-teleconverter zippered hard case? :)
 

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