What Canon SLR do you suggest for Portrait Photography

[creativelyfive]

I am just starting my venture in photography and working on establishing my collection of professional equipment. I currently have a Canon Rebel Xsi that I bought about 5 or 6 years ago. I've been having trouble with a lot of noise in my pictures and believe that my sensor may be going bad so I'm hoping to upgrade soon. I want something that is optimal for portrait and wedding photography. I also do sports photography on occasion. I don't do landscapes very often so bonus features for landscapes aren't necessarily essential for me. I'm really new to all of this and have read many articles and blogs but I'm still not sure what options are best for what I need. Should I go full frame or cropped etc.? I want to be able to produce very crisp, clean, hi-res portraits and I am having trouble achieving that with my current Canon. I don't have a budget set at this point. I don't want to settle for a camera that doesn't actually meet my needs for budget sake. I would rather know what options are best and then make a budget plan to save for the appropriate equipment. Help please!! I don't know where to begin.

 

[ronlane]

For portrait, low light and less noise, I believe you would be better off with Canon full frames. I have heard that the 6D is really good with noise reduction but my personal want it the 5D Mark iii.

You say that you have an Xsi, but you don't say what glass you have. Glass can help with the low light issues that contribute to the noise issues.

 

[creativelyfive]

For portrait, low light and less noise, I believe you would be better off with Canon full frames. I have heard that the 6D is really good with noise reduction but my personal want it the 5D Mark iii.

You say that you have an Xsi, but you don't say what glass you have. Glass can help with the low light issues that contribute to the noise issues.

I mainly use my Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens for my portrait photography. I haven't started my venture with wedding photography yet so haven't had the chance to choose a lens for use in this environment. I do have a Tameron 75-300 mm lens also but I don't often use it unless I am photographing sports performances for my kids and nieces and nephews and need the ability to zoom in.

 

[ronlane]

You should check out creativeLIVE: Free Live Video Tutorials & Online Training Courses. There is a lot of information about business and photography. The 50 1.8 isn't a great lens for wedding photography. For that you are going to want two bodies and something like 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8, 85mm f/1.8, maybe an ultrawide or a fish-eye lens. Also, you will need lighting.

 

[Derrel]

You have no budget specified. If it were "me", and I wanted a good,versatile, high-resolution camera capable of taking on basically almost any assignment, I'd buy the new Canon 5D Mark III, and the new Mark II 70-200 f/2.8 L IS USM lens, one of **the** finest zoom lenses available. I would augment that with the FAST-focusing and light Canon 85/1.8 (NOT the heavy f/1.2-L, but just the EF 1.8) prime lens, the awesome 24-70 f/2.8 Mark II zoom lens, a 600 RT flash, and a good, clean used 300 f/2.8 non-IS for maybe $2,750 from a real walk-in camera store, not one of the Big 5 web dealers where the same lens is another $1,000. Add the 24mm f/1.4-L and you're set for a LOT of stuff, with VERY high quality lenses that ought to last 10 to 15 years.

That would be the top-shelf stuff; you could also settle for less-spec'd gear. The 70-200 f/4 L IS USM aka "the NEW f4 with IS" is also a fine, fine lens, and is a good value.

The 85/1.8 EF and the 135 f/2 L are both fine lenses, as is the 100mm f/2 EF, which gets overlooked allll the time.

The 5D-II or the 6D are also viable options for portraiture.

 

[goodguy]

Well after Derrel detailed reply I can pretty much repeat most of what he wrote.

For best results especially in low light situation you can either go with the Canon 6D or Canon 5D III both very capable in this.
If you think you might shoot sports from time to time then scratch off the 6D as its AF system is very basic and you really want the 5D III for that
As for lenses, for portrait I personally would go with the 85mm 1.8 lens and I would also add the Canon 24-70mm 2.8 and Canon 70-200mm 2.8
This is going to be an initial huge investment but if you want to go pro then this is the starting basic camera/lenses I would get.

 

[DSRay]

I would forget Canon and go with a Mamiya RB 67 film setup. Assuming your creating the lighting a high def 120 negative scan will give better results than a digital SLR will.

 

[IaR17]

Canon 6D is a good idea. For lenses Tamron 24-70 2.8 (stabilizer) or Canon 24-70 2.8 MKII is needed in the church.
For the portrait photography outside canon 70-200 2.8 IS MKII, canon 135 F2 (The latest rumors indicate that later this year the company will introduce also new Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG OS), Canon 85 1.2 (Sigma 85 1.4)
good light

 

[LShooter]

5d Mk III without a doubt. One of the best, if not the best, camera's ever made. Put a 24-70 or 70-200 on it and you're set.

 

[lambertpix]

Full frame will be best for portraits, but it's a big jump from your current Rebel. If you'd consider used, a 5D II or maybe even I would be fine for portraits. The autofocus on the 5D-II isn't the best for sports, so if you're set on doing sports, you'll want to account for that. Most wedding photographers have a second body as a backup or to mount a second lens, so you could always look at something like a 7D for a sports body / backup body.

Ron's right on the money as far as lenses.