7 D Owners

[casegrl]

.......... what lenses are your favorite for shooting family portraits

 

[Crollo]

I don't own a 7D but I'd say a 50mm 1.8 is essential for any portaits works, 85mm being my favorite.

 

[casegrl]

I don't own a 7D but I'd say a 50mm 1.8 is essential for any portaits works, 85mm being my favorite.

I have a 50mm 1.4. So with the crop sensor thingy that makes it like 80 or something right?
Can you help me with settings?? I just got this lens and have only used it on AV wide open on babies.

 

[Jlatigo]

I like using 16-35 f2.8 L II USM because of the crop factor it lends itself very well for this and the lens is tack sharp, saying all that I do have a 70-200 f2.8L II IS USM that I have ordered that might replace this one for portraits cause of its clarity but until it gets here its the 16-35

 

[MLeeK]

70-200 f/2.8 OS Sigma which I probably use more than any other lens
50mm, 28mm, 28-75 f/2.8 Tamron

 

[Big Mike]

7 D Owners
.......... what lenses are your favorite for shooting family portraits

This isn't really something that should be asked, specifically of 7D owners. The Canon Rebel models, the 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D & 60D all have the size size sensor as the 7D, and this the lenses will be essential the same on those cameras, as on the 7D.
(although, the 7D, having so many mega pixels, may require a high quality lens, with plenty of resolving power, to really get the most image quality out of it's sensor).

I shot with 20Ds for a long time (and sometimes still do). My most used lenses for portraits were my 70-200mm F2.8 and my Tamron 17-50mm F2.8. I would probably always use the 70-200mm, but you need a lot of space to shoot with it, especially if it's a group. If I want to be (or had to be) closer to my subject, then I would use the Tamron.

I have a 50mm 1.4. So with the crop sensor thingy that makes it like 80 or something right?
Can you help me with settings?? I just got this lens and have only used it on AV wide open on babies.

It has the same field of view that an 80mm lens has on a 35mm film SLR. That is all. It's still a 50mm lens....and always will be.

The settings you use, will depend on your creative goal and your exposure. If you want a shallow DOF, use a large aperture and then use the shutter speed and ISO to get proper exposure. If you want a deeper DOF, then use a smaller aperture (higher F number) and use the other settings to get your exposure.
Keep an eye on the shutter speed, to make sure it's fast enough to freeze the movement of the camera and the subject.

Mostly, the settings you end up using, will be a result of the light that you are working with.

 

[Crollo]

I don't own a 7D but I'd say a 50mm 1.8 is essential for any portaits works, 85mm being my favorite.

I have a 50mm 1.4. So with the crop sensor thingy that makes it like 80 or something right?
Can you help me with settings?? I just got this lens and have only used it on AV wide open on babies.

Rule of thumb is, it's generally advisable to stop down a stop or two for maximum sharpness. Wide open tends to be soft, but you can use that intentionally if you wish.
When I had my 1.8 I usually stopped it down to 2.8 as that's the spot it's sharpest at, yet still retains the very shallow DOF.

 

[GeorgieGirl]

I just used my 60mm Macro this past weekend. In the past I have used my 17-55 or my 70-200.