Which lens would you use?

[Robin Usagani]

If you had a 5D or 5D II and you have 3 lens selections, which one would you use for family photos at a park?

A. 50mm f/1.4
B. 24-70mm f/2.8L
C. 70-200mm f/2.8L IS

Let me know why you choose that lens and why. Thanks!

 

[Derrel]

C. I would choose to use the 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. Why? I think shorter focal lengths, like those in the 24 to 70mm range, create photos that look less-appealing than longer focal lengths when the subjects are people. The 50mm has zero focal length flexibility. The 24-70 would be useful from about 65 to 70mm. lol So, the tele-zoom would be my first choice.

When approaching very closely and using a wide-angle lens to compensate, such as say using a 24 to 35mm focal length from close distances, apparent perspective distortion becomes a big problem...objects at the edge of the frame appear distorted and "weird". Legs, arms, anything closer to the camera becomes physically larger in the photo than things even a foot behind. The 24-70 is an "event" lens, not a "portrait lens". It is not long enough on the long end...ie, 70mm is not long enough to give the desired rendering of people.

 

[ghache]

if you have the space to play with, especially in a park, go with the 70-200, i love the 24-70 when working in tight space.
50mm in studio is a winner.

 

[Robin Usagani]

So Derrel, what minimum focal length would you use for 70-200mm?

C. I would choose to use the 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. Why? I think shorter focal lengths, like those in the 24 to 70mm range, create photos that look less-appealing than longer focal lengths when the subjects are people. The 50mm has zero focal length flexibility. The 24-70 would be useful from about 65 to 70mm. lol So, the tele-zoom would be my first choice.

When approaching very closely and using a wide-angle lens to compensate, such as say using a 24 to 35mm focal length from close distances, apparent perspective distortion becomes a big problem...objects at the edge of the frame appear distorted and "weird". Legs, arms, anything closer to the camera becomes physically larger in the photo than things even a foot behind. The 24-70 is an "event" lens, not a "portrait lens". It is not long enough on the long end...ie, 70mm is not long enough to give the desired rendering of people.

 

[Derrel]

Anywhere between 75 and 85mm, typically. I prefer a more-telephoto look, with a less-distinctly rendered background. I grew up with really, no good zoom lenses...so I am used to an 85mm as the minimum telephoto lens length. The difference between 70mm and 85mm is actually a pretty noticeable one. Longer lenses give more background blur; this is not the same thing as depth of field.

Take a look at this illustration by Bob Atkins.
http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/technical/bokeh/compare2.jpg

Take careful note that the foreground object is the same,exact size in all three images. But the background has MORE BLUR in the shots taken with the telephoto lenses. For this reason, I simply do NOT like to use shorter focal lengths for "people" work, unless the goal is reportage/realism/photojournalism/documentary type of photos.

This is from his article located here.Bokeh and Background Blur - Bob Atkins Photography

 

[orb9220]

Informative link thanks Derrel.
.

 

[pbelarge]

When I am not sure what lens to use, I use them all. I shoot and shoot until I think I have enough to make some kind of decision as to what works or not.

 

[MohaimenK]

x2 on 70-200! Its one of the most used lens for that purpose. You get better dof with smaller aperture from it because you can zoom in. A lot of times people don't take that into count. Plus for family photoshoot, you're free to move around so it's a good lens to use for getting candids. Say you take a shot and take a 30 sec break, then you quietly walk away and from afar you take a few candids. 50mm is good for certain stuff but IMO, I'd go with the 70-200 :thumbup:

 

[usayit]

Just my two cents...

Take 24-70 and 70-200...

Question is impossible to answer as there is no description as to the intent of the photos at the park. Are you intending to shoot "story like" series, portraiture, group, artistic, glamor... etc? Once someone says you should do A someone proves that B is just as "correct". I recall an old thread in which someone showed how a wide angle can be used to produce wonderful portraiture and glamor shots when everyone else was shouting telephoto.

Personally, I'm incline to bring along a 35mm and 75mm for almost anything. I do like the 24mm as a "story telling" focal length... This is especially nice with kids at play but my back and knees kill me afterwards trying to keep up.

Take both... experiment... and most importantly enjoy.