Portrait Lens for Canon 40D

Lesley Bray

Hello
I am looking to purchase a portrait lens for my Canon 40D.
Until now I have been using my kit lens.
I don't mind paying for a good quality lens - I just don't want to waste money on the wrong lens.
Have been considering the 50mm f1.4 or f1.2L lens.
Does anybody have some good advice?
Thank you sincerely
Lesley

snowalker

BHphotovideo
Hi,
you can try BHphotovideo. They have tolerable prices. Good luck!

Just Bob

I recommend the 135mm F 2.0 L series. I have shot that lens a 20D and now on Mk III and I absolutely love this lens.

As far as a portrait lens, I think there is none better.

I also shoot a ton of sports, theater, and nature with it.

Just an all around great lens.

Unbelieveably sharp.

B&H is the only place I personally shop.

Best of luck.

Peace,
Bob

ziggy53

HippiefromOz wrote:

Hello
I am looking to purchase a portrait lens for my Canon 40D.
Until now I have been using my kit lens.
I don't mind paying for a good quality lens - I just don't want to waste money on the wrong lens.
Have been considering the 50mm f1.4 or f1.2L lens.
Does anybody have some good advice?
Thank you sincerely
Lesley

You probably won't find a single lens to meet your needs. I would suggest the following lenses for serious portraiture:

For head-and-shoulders and head shots I suggest the EF 85mm, f1.2L USM or EF 85mm, f1.8.

For 3/4 length and full length 1 and 2 shots I suggest the EF 50mm, f1.4 USM.

For smaller spaces and for groups I suggest the EF-S 17-55mm, f2.8 IS USM although the EF 35mm, 1.4L USM might yield much better bokeh, depending on the distance to background.

Nikolai

EF-S 17-55/2.8 IS
EF 70-200/2.8 IS
EF 100/2.8
Maybe 50/1.4

LiquidAir

For indoor and studio work, I'd pick a 50mm. For oudoors, I'd pick an 85mm. If you plan to do some of each, 50mm is probably the best all-round focal length.

Lesley Bray

Thank you for all the great advice - now I have SO much to consider and weigh up. I am considering hiring a couple of different and experimenting until I find what suits me.
Too many to choose from. This is a great forum


Lesley

TaDa

For me, I tend to navigate towards my 17-55 f/2.8 IS for most portraits of my children. It is just a fantastic all around lens. I have the Sigma 30mm 1.4 for low light shooting.

rpcrowe

I agree with Ziggy53
I usually do agree with his recommendations.

I do like a lens that is around 85-100mm for head and shoulders portraiture.

I often use my Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Macro lens for head and shoulders portraiture. The combination of focal length, f/2.8 aperture and great bokeh makes this a sweet lens for shooting head and shoulders.

IMO the slightly longer focal length (as opposed to the 50mm lens which is an 80mm equivalent) of the 85-100mm lenses (136mm to 160mm equivalent) gives a more flattering perspective for head and shoulder shots. However, you need to have a large enough area in which to shoot. The 85mm lens needs about 13.25 feet lens to subject distance with additional distance between the subject and background and, of course, some room for the photographer to move behind the camera. Many home studios do not have this amount of space. But sometimes, you can shoot through a doorway and have the camera in an adjoining hall or room which would give you some additional camera to subject distance. If you are shooting outdoors, shooting space should not be a problem.

A 50mm lens (80mm equivalent) is IMO a bit short for head and shoulders portraiture but can be used in tighter environments. You only need a little over 8 feet of lens to subject plus distance in back of the subject and camera. If you decide on a 50mm, I strongly recommend the f/1.4 model rather than the f/1.8 "nifty-fifty" because of the far better bokeh.

Actually, there are many lenses which are good for portraits. Focal length and bokeh are probably the paramount parameters. IMO absolute sharpness is not critical for portraits. I have been happy with portraits using a 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens as well as the shorter focal lengths of the 70-200mm f/4L (both IS and non-IS). I could probably cover 90% of my shooting with my 17-55mm f/2.8 IS and 70-200mm f/4L IS lenses and this includes portraits of all types. The only thing I cannot do with this combination is wildlife or other subjects needing a very long lens (although the 1.4x TC will help the 70-200mm cover distance) and macro shooting.

Bottom line, I would choose a portrait lens that will suit you for other types of shooting. The 85-100mm lenses are nice short, relatively fast, telephoto choices and the Tamron, of course, is additionally a great macro lens. The 70-200mm f/4L IS is a superb general purpose telephoto lens. Even the much maligned 28-135mm IS lens is a fairly nice relatively inexpensive general purpose lens that does a lot of stuff well but, nothing exceptionally well.

Tee Why

I think if you are thinking between the Canon 50mm f1.4 and the 50mm f1.2L, then the 50mm f1.4 may offer much more bang for the bucks. The 50mm length may be good for half body to head and shoulder shots when shooting from normal distances. The 85mm f1.8 or a 100mm f2 may be better for head and shoulder to headshots.

See if you like shooting at the 50mm focal length on the kit lens and see.

Zooms are more versatile but can be more expensive and heavy and not as fast as fastest zooms are f2.8 where as most portrait prime lenses are f1.8 or quicker.