What type of lens for portraits?

[crowl31]

I think I am going to go with a lens with the 2.8 speed, I just need to determine which one.

I will add the flash into the purchase so my budget will be less.

I'm going to rent some lens before making the decision.

 

[Big Mike]

I can recommend the Tamron 17-50 F2.8...It's around $500, maybe less.
I have this lens, as well as the Canon EF-S 17-85 IS (and the 18-55 kit lens).

I use the Tamron for shooting weddings where I need the large aperture for helping with ambient exposure and for getting faster shutter speeds in locations where the light isn't great. It's well built, although not up to the quality of Canon's L lenses. The image quality is rather good...again, not quite as good as Canon's L (or the 17-55 F2.8 IS). However, the price was good and the value for that price is high.

If you didn't need/want the large aperture...I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the 17-85 IS. It's also a well built and sharp lens...not up to L quality but pretty good. I believe this one is more expensive, so the value isn't quite there...especially when you consider the smaller aperture...but you do get IS, which is a great feature.

 

[Mav]

Thanks Mav!

Would you think having 17 - 50 would be better for shooting portraits?

There's a compromise here. 28-70 is definitely better for portraits since 70mm will give you a bit more distance from your subject than 50mm. But if you want to take a group shot and don't have a whole lot of space, suddenly 28mm is not gonna be wide enough. This is where a 2nd body comes in handy. :mrgreen:

I could do a 17-55 f/2.8 type lens on one body to cover group shots and the mid-range, and then an 85mm f/1.8 prime on the other for portraits. Or reverse it and use a 28-70 f/2.8 on one, and the whatever you have that'll go wider (even an 18-55 kit lens) on the other for group shots. You don't need a wide lens that also does f/2.8, because usually you want to be stopped down for those to make sure you have everybody in focus. The shorter depth of field from a larger aperture lens can sometimes throw people out of focus in group shots who are at the edge, or maybe a row or two back, depending on how big the group is. Here you just need good lighting more than anything.

Fisheye lenses can be extremely useful for group shots in tight spaces, too. This one I corrected with the Image Trends Hemi plug-in in photoshop. It doesn't look like it, but it was standing room only in this hall. Somebody who also had a DSLR wanted me to take a group shot with their own camera, but even 18mm on their kit lens wasn't nearly wide enough without backing up a lot which was really difficult.

Personally for a budget of $1000 and good event coverage (but on two lenses), I'd go for the EF-S 10-22mm for wide shots or group stuff, and then a 28-70mm f/2.8 type lens for speed and portraits. With one body it's a pain and you have to switch lenses, but you're golden with two bodies.

 

[crowl31]

I took this info from Amazon.com...

I think i've narrowed it down, The external flash and then one of these lens.... Thoughts?

Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) Lens with - $446

Sigma AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS (Optical Stabilizer) Zoom - $459

Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC SLD ELD Aspherical Macro Lens - $381

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 Image Stabilized USM SLR Lens for - $478

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens for - $409

Canon EF 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 USM Standard Zoom Lens for - $372

 

[Joves]

Looking at the Canon 17-85mm IS it would give you a good range plus Image Stabilization is always nice too. But it is a tad high in f-ratio. But then you will be using a flash too.