Correct lens for the best portaiture

[Tight Knot]

Will my 100mm EF 2.8 canon macro lens work well for portraiture on a Canon T1i?
And what is the exact size of my 50mm 1.4 lens on the same frame, being that it has a cropped sensor? 80mm?

 

[o hey tyler]

Will my 100mm EF 2.8 canon macro lens work well for portraiture on a Canon T1i?
And what is the exact size of my 50mm 1.4 lens on the same frame, being that it has a cropped sensor? 80mm?

They will both "work" for portraiture, but I would probably go with the 50/1.4 for ease of use and versatility. The 50mm lens will be a 50mm lens on your camera, the FoV will be narrower than on a full frame camera though.

 

[Tight Knot]

Will my 100mm EF 2.8 canon macro lens work well for portraiture on a Canon T1i?
And what is the exact size of my 50mm 1.4 lens on the same frame, being that it has a cropped sensor? 80mm?

They will both "work" for portraiture, but I would probably go with the 50/1.4 for ease of use and versatility. The 50mm lens will be a 50mm lens on your camera, the FoV will be narrower than on a full frame camera though.

Thanks tyler,
I've been using the 50mm for portraiture, and it has so far served me very well. However, I've been following Karl Taylor's stuff, and he recommends at least an 85mm or he feels the people in the images will come out fairly "stocky". I haven't seen that with my 50mm, and was wondering if that is because of the crop factor, I am really getting a FOV of 80mm.
Plus, I was wondering on more of a technical note, whether the 100mm EF Macro lens would also be good for portraiture, even though it is designed as a macro (the sole reason I bought it),

 

[paigew]

Will my 100mm EF 2.8 canon macro lens work well for portraiture on a Canon T1i?
And what is the exact size of my 50mm 1.4 lens on the same frame, being that it has a cropped sensor? 80mm?

They will both "work" for portraiture, but I would probably go with the 50/1.4 for ease of use and versatility. The 50mm lens will be a 50mm lens on your camera, the FoV will be narrower than on a full frame camera though.

I have been doing a lot of reading about lenses and I have read that the 50 on the crop sensor is comparable with an 85 on a ff. Is that not correct? According to reviews the 28mm on the cs is comparable to what a 50mm would be on the ff sensor. Is that not accurate? I think the 100 would be very tight (at least the way I shoot).

 

[Tight Knot]

I have been doing a lot of reading about lenses and I have read that the 50 on the crop sensor is comparable with an 85 on a ff. Is that not correct? According to reviews the 28mm on the cs is comparable to what a 50mm would be on the ff sensor. Is that not accurate? I think the 100 would be very tight (at least the way I shoot).

Hi Paigew,

The 100 would definitely be tight, unless I'm doing portraiture in an open location. The question though is really more for the knowledge of the actual lenses capability to produce good portraiture.
Theoretically, the 28mm would give +- an equivalent of a 45mm.

 

[Robin Usagani]

Yes, I agree.. 85 or longer is best for portraiture. Does not matter if it is cropped or not. See these samples.

http://www.holesinthenet.co.il/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image31.png

All of these discussions about focal length equivalent on crop is very tiring. You see this discussion like every week. 50mm on crop does not produce the same image as 75mm or 80mm on FF.

 

[paigew]

well in that case I have seen some great portraits taken with the 100mm!

 

[paigew]

Yes, I agree.. 85 or longer is best for portraiture. Does not matter if it is cropped or not. See these samples.

http://www.holesinthenet.co.il/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image31.png

All of these discussions about focal length equivalent on crop is very tiring. You see this discussion like every week.

When we say crop vs full frame we are (or at least I am) specifically talking about how much I can fit in the frame. What good is a 85mm if you can't get what you want in the shot!

 

[o hey tyler]

Will my 100mm EF 2.8 canon macro lens work well for portraiture on a Canon T1i?
And what is the exact size of my 50mm 1.4 lens on the same frame, being that it has a cropped sensor? 80mm?

They will both "work" for portraiture, but I would probably go with the 50/1.4 for ease of use and versatility. The 50mm lens will be a 50mm lens on your camera, the FoV will be narrower than on a full frame camera though.

I have been doing a lot of reading about lenses and I have read that the 50 on the crop sensor is comparable with an 85 on a ff. Is that not correct? According to reviews the 28mm on the cs is comparable to what a 50mm would be on the ff sensor. Is that not accurate? I think the 100 would be very tight (at least the way I shoot).

The FoV on a 50mm will be closer to 85mm. It will still will be a 50mm lens, and perform like one. The 28mm you speak of will have a narrower FoV, close to a 50mm on a full frame, but it will have the distortion associated with the 28mm focal length. Not ideal for portraiture, as a matter of fact, it wouldn't be great at all IMO.

 

[Infidel]

All of these discussions about focal length equivalent on crop is very tiring. You see this discussion like every week. 50mm on crop does not produce the same image as 75mm or 80mm on FF.

You are correct, however, for portraiture, camera-to-subject distance plays a critical role in many aspects of the process. The example you linked to varied camera-to-subject distance along with focal length, producing the distortion. As your example clearly shows, camera-to-subject distance powerfully influences perspective distortion. Also, adequate personal space while still allowing comfortable communication impacts the portrait in a qualitative or even subjective manner. Classic portrait focal lengths are essentially those that produce the most flattering images while utilizing a reasonable amount of studio space.These aspects translate reasonably well when applying a crop factor adjustment to a shorter lens. The ability to blur backgrounds with narrow depth of field is lost to a notable extent when shooting with a shorter focal length lens on a crop sensor body.

Long ago, member kundalini posted a fantastic demonstration of this.

 

[Infidel]

The FoV on a 50mm will be closer to 85mm. It will still will be a 50mm lens, and perform like one. The 28mm you speak of will have a narrower FoV, close to a 50mm on a full frame, but it will have the distortion associated with the 28mm focal length. Not ideal for portraiture, as a matter of fact, it wouldn't be great at all.

I think you are incorrect. As I understand, the distortion is inherent to the camera-to-subject distance, not the focal length of the lens.

 

[paigew]

They will both "work" for portraiture, but I would probably go with the 50/1.4 for ease of use and versatility. The 50mm lens will be a 50mm lens on your camera, the FoV will be narrower than on a full frame camera though.

I have been doing a lot of reading about lenses and I have read that the 50 on the crop sensor is comparable with an 85 on a ff. Is that not correct? According to reviews the 28mm on the cs is comparable to what a 50mm would be on the ff sensor. Is that not accurate? I think the 100 would be very tight (at least the way I shoot).

The FoV on a 50mm will be closer to 85mm. It will still will be a 50mm lens, and perform like one. The 28mm you speak of will have a narrower FoV, close to a 50mm on a full frame, but it will have the distortion associated with the 28mm focal length. Not ideal for portraiture, as a matter of fact, it wouldn't be great at all.

bummer. What are your thoughts on the 35 2.0? Better? Or should I get the 50 1.4? I was originally wanting the 35 but the 28 was 'better' quality wise. (sorry to hijack)

 

[Robin Usagani]

The FoV on a 50mm will be closer to 85mm. It will still will be a 50mm lens, and perform like one. The 28mm you speak of will have a narrower FoV, close to a 50mm on a full frame, but it will have the distortion associated with the 28mm focal length. Not ideal for portraiture, as a matter of fact, it wouldn't be great at all.

I think you are incorrect. As I understand, the distortion is inherent to the camera-to-subject distance, not the focal length of the lens.

I am with Tyler. Doesnt matter... 28mm will distort your subject unless of course you only put them in 10% the size of the frame and maybe you wont really notice it. Full body shot will take most of the frame. You will get distortion.

 

[Infidel]

We're losing track of the issue. 50mm on a 1.5x crop body has the same FoV as 75mm on full frame. Put a 50mm on a crop body and a 75mm on a full frame. USing each set up, compose identical photos (framing-wise). DoF aside and all else otherwise equal, the photos will be identical in terms of perspective distortion, because the camera-to-subject distance is identical. The example you linked to essentially proves my point, as it illustrates how changing FoV requires changing the camera-to-subject distance to achieve the same composition (again, framing-wise).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspective_distortion_(photography)

 

[Robin Usagani]

Nope... You really think the red bottle looks the same??