Lens Question

[kayliana]

I was wondering if anybody has any suggestions on what a good canon lens for portrait would be? Thanks!

 

[KmH]

Wide angle lenses distort a persons features to much.

Anything from about the 50 mm focal length and up work just fine.

Some of the most stunning portraits are made with at a 200 mm lfocal length. As theocal length increasea the photographer has to be further from the subject

Wedding photographers usually use two main lenses, a 24-70 mm and a 70-200 mm.

 

[tsaraleksi]

It depends on what kind of portraits you're doing. Traditional headshots need something in the 85-200 range, but full body shots might call for something wider, as would be the case for environmental portraits and other non-traditional applications.

 

[Big Mike]

Canon | EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Autofocus Lens | 1056B002AA | B&H

 

[Derrel]

Canon's EF 85mm f/1.8 is a good prime that works well for portraiture. It is light, easy to handle, sharp, focuses well, and indoors in most rooms is good for half-body to headshots. The price is affordable.

 

[cfusionpm]

On your XTi, a 50mm 1.4 would be an excellent choice. If you're on a budget, the 50mm 1.8 is a lot cheaper, but it's not nearly as well made. (~350$ vs ~100$).

 

[table1349]

Anything above 50mm that fits your working room will work. You want a lens with sharp optics and a high number of aperture blades with rounded ends. One big downfall with the 50mm f1.8 is the fact that it only has only 5 non rounded aperture blades that really effect bokeh.

 

[usayit]

Unless you are looking for pure fast aperture speeds, I don't see much of an advantage of the 85 f/1.2L. There's a reason why fast glass users (Like me) usually also have a "normal" aperture lens also in the stable. They are more "specialized" lenses. At least from what I've shot, f/1.2 isn't going to be a common aperture you will use for portraits.

I've owned the 85mm f/1.8 for years.... I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone as a portrait lens. The 50mm f/1.4 as well... better than the f/1.8 even though it too is a good, more general use prime.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the 100mm macro.... Good macro but also valued by many as a portrait lens. I personally passed it up for the 135mm f/2L .. again.. fast glass.