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what would you recommend as additional portraits lens ?
#1
I noticed I am doing mostly portraits. And I am ready to invest some $$$ getting new material.

I am using 30D and 5D

My current lenses used for portraits are 50f1.4 with EFS 17-55f2.8 on 30D plus 100mm macro with 24-105f4L on 5D.

I am quite happy with the setup but I feel I need something more.

First lens to come to my mind is 70-200f2.8, however I am also considering a very fast prime like 85f1.8 or 1.2 or 135mf2.0 what would you suggest?

BTW I am doing mostly outdoors portraits photography using reflectors and flashes (hotshoe and off camera flashes)
#2
Without seeing what level/kind of photos you make, it is kinda impossible to advice on lens choice? And do you crave less DOF? Would you mind manual focus?

#3
I would have liked doing manual focus however, I don't seem so good at it, with faster lenses manual focus should get easier because of shallow depth of field however more precision is needed and it is always the best shot that has focus issues.

I do use manual focus with my 100mm macro for very close shots. So I could live with it only if The lens is really fast.
#4
85mm 1.8 would seem an obvious choice, although I often find myself stopping down for enough dof so your two zooms would do the same thing. I've always lusted after the 135l; this could be a good choice as you'll have the space to use it outside. A 70-200 would cover both. Is size and weigh a consideration?

 

How about a left field choice: sigma dp3 quattro - gives you a leaf shutter, 1/1000 sync is magical.

#5
And the skin structure and details are magical as well. But if Toni-A already has troubles to find a RAW converter for his dated PC, he will not have fun with super-slow Sigma PhotoPro.  :mellow:  And that's only one of the other downsides like lowlight usabilty and recording time per frame.

 

How about trying a 180 mm or 300 mm? Just rent one before to be sure it's suiting your wishes.

#6
Well a Fast PC wouldn't be a problem just I am happy with what I have for the equipment I am using. As for the sigma DP3 50mmf2.8 is way too slow for me.

I find my 100 macro too long for portraits on 30D so 200 and 300 mm aren't that interesting for me.

85f1.8 has been on my list, would it add anything over 100 macro plus 50f1.4 ? They are too close
#7
Quote:I would have liked doing manual focus however, I don't seem so good at it, with faster lenses manual focus should get easier because of shallow depth of field however more precision is needed and it is always the best shot that has focus issues.
 

For the 5D I recommend to use the Ee-S focussing screen ... it is darker as the standard screen,

but it is much easier to see, where the point of maximum sharpness is. Without the Ee-S I find

manual focusing on the 5D quite error prone.

 

Quote:Well a Fast PC wouldn't be a problem just I am happy with what I have for the equipment I am using. As for the sigma DP3 50mmf2.8 is way too slow for me.

I find my 100 macro too long for portraits on 30D so 200 and 300 mm aren't that interesting for me.

85f1.8 has been on my list, would it add anything over 100 macro plus 50f1.4 ? They are too close
 

The 85/1.8 can deliver a bit narrower DOF compared to the 100/2.8 (when a comparable

portrait is taken). Also, the 85/1.8 delivers better imagequality than the 50/1.4 when both are used

wide open (or near wide open).

 

I personally enjoy the 135L on the 5D very much, but also a 180/2.5 and rarely a 300/2.8

(a clear sign that I like a bit different type of portraits).

 

Rainer
  


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