Reading mode: Light Dark

Best lens for d60 portraits?

Go to last post
R

roger kea93013

Well-known member
Messages
106
Reaction score
0
Location
Maui, US
I am geting a d60 and need to bundle it with a good lens for portraits. Given the 1.6 multiplier, what in your opinion is the best lens for portraits keeping in mind sharness wide open and price?

I have been looking everywhere and can't get enough comparison info to make a good decision. Off brands are fine as long as they focus well and still look good wide open. Also, if you have a recommendation of a good bundle/ price i'd appreciate that as well. Thanks in advance for the help.
 
My best portait lenses are:
135mm/f2 and 50mm/f1.4

SE
R.Kea said:
I am geting a d60 and need to bundle it with a good lens for
portraits. Given the 1.6 multiplier, what in your opinion is the
best lens for portraits keeping in mind sharness wide open and
price?
I have been looking everywhere and can't get enough comparison info
to make a good decision. Off brands are fine as long as they focus
well and still look good wide open. Also, if you have a
recommendation of a good bundle/ price i'd appreciate that as well.
Thanks in advance for the help.
Click to expand...
 
R.Kea said:
I am geting a d60 and need to bundle it with a good lens for
portraits. Given the 1.6 multiplier, what in your opinion is the
best lens for portraits keeping in mind sharness wide open and
price?
Click to expand...
Both the 50/1.4 and the 50/1.8 are as sharp as any 35mm camera lens of similar focal length made by anybody, nitpicking ignored. Sample photos are very irrelevant in this regard. The 1.6 crop factor gives a field of view of an 80mm lens, since the 1930s recognised as an "ideal' focal length for portraits. If you are short of money get the 50/1.8 ($85). If you have 4 times the money available get the 50/1.4 and you get better build and bokeh (because it has more leaves in its aperture setup), sensual stuff like that, plus a half stop extra aperture. But do not buy it expecting it to be sharper. The cheapo 1.8 is already as sharp as they come.

Personally I find my 100/2.8 macro often too long for portraits indoors on a D30/D60, but there are some who prefer a long focal length, presumably because they prefer very tight head shots. If you are one of these then you have the options of the 100/2.8 macro, 100/2, the soft focus, etc, etc.
 
Samir,

Would there be any time that you'd regret not buying the 1.4 over the 1.8? It just seems a lot of $$$ and weight difference between the two.

Colin
Samir Kharusi said:
R.Kea said:
I am geting a d60 and need to bundle it with a good lens for
portraits. Given the 1.6 multiplier, what in your opinion is the
best lens for portraits keeping in mind sharness wide open and
price?
Click to expand...
Both the 50/1.4 and the 50/1.8 are as sharp as any 35mm camera lens
of similar focal length made by anybody, nitpicking ignored. Sample
photos are very irrelevant in this regard. The 1.6 crop factor
gives a field of view of an 80mm lens, since the 1930s recognised
as an "ideal' focal length for portraits. If you are short of money
get the 50/1.8 ($85). If you have 4 times the money available get
the 50/1.4 and you get better build and bokeh (because it has more
leaves in its aperture setup), sensual stuff like that, plus a half
stop extra aperture. But do not buy it expecting it to be sharper.
The cheapo 1.8 is already as sharp as they come.
Personally I find my 100/2.8 macro often too long for portraits
indoors on a D30/D60, but there are some who prefer a long focal
length, presumably because they prefer very tight head shots. If
you are one of these then you have the options of the 100/2.8
macro, 100/2, the soft focus, etc, etc.
Click to expand...
 
I own quite a few Canon lenses and recently purchased the 85mm f1.2 lens. I wish that it had been one of the first that I had purchased. It provides everything that I was looking for. Photodo tests indicate that it is Canon's second sharpest lens (200mm F1.8 is first). I can attest that it is the sharpest lens that I have ever used. It provides wonderful bokeh behind the subject and when focusing on the eyes it appears you can look into the soul of the subject. The lens has a different character than any lens that I have ever used and it makes a simple snapshot appear as something very special. On the D60 it becomes a 136mm and on my 1D it is a 110. The only disadvantage that I can come up with on the lens is that it focuses much slower than any Canon lens I have ever used making it better for stationary or very slow moving subjects. However, the quality and the character is more important to me. Highly recommended.
R.Kea said:
I am geting a d60 and need to bundle it with a good lens for
portraits. Given the 1.6 multiplier, what in your opinion is the
best lens for portraits keeping in mind sharness wide open and
price?
I have been looking everywhere and can't get enough comparison info
to make a good decision. Off brands are fine as long as they focus
well and still look good wide open. Also, if you have a
recommendation of a good bundle/ price i'd appreciate that as well.
Thanks in advance for the help.
Click to expand...
 
R.Kea said:
Paul I asume that is a canon lens? And did you use that lens in any
of your shots? i know that the samples are downsampled, so not a
very good example of the lenses sharpness. Like the site and some
of your shots.
Click to expand...
R.Kea,

Trust me, 50 1.4 is one of the sharpest lenses Canon has (see e.g. http://photography-on-the.net/gallery/photo.php?photo=210&exhibition=1&pass=public&size=quarter ). Its color reproduction is most accurate (Canon rep told me they use it as a reference when designing new lenses - there is a color ISO standard and 50 1.4 is very close to that).

PS. There was a page somewhere in the net comparing it to 1.8 version and the difference was noticeable.

Pekka
http://photography-on-the.net
 
Wow, thanks for all the help guys! i will probably have to go with the 50 1.8 because of money constraints initially, plus I will be traveling to Thailand by backpack and trying to shoot some portraits of local models while there. This makes space a concern as well. My next lens will probably be a 28-200 for the range to weight ratio. In a controlled environment(modeling shoot) I will want the sharpest and fastest, so I have to have something like the 50mm for that. Thanks again and anybody has more to say on the subject, please feel free.
 
R.Kea said:
Wow, thanks for all the help guys! i will probably have to go with
the 50 1.8 because of money constraints initially, plus I will be
traveling to Thailand by backpack and trying to shoot some
portraits of local models while there.
Click to expand...
I had the 50mm 1.8 and found that it wasn't acceptable for my portraits, since it offered a bit of facial distortion, particularly with groups (those in front will be much bigger than those in back).

So, at someone's advice here I got the 85mm 1.8 and have been VERY pleased with the results. See for yourself:



Full image: http://www.siverly.net/d30/crw_2187.jpg

Have fun!

Bryan
http://www.siverly.net
 
Colin Lee74118 said:
Samir,
Would there be any time that you'd regret not buying the 1.4 over
the 1.8? It just seems a lot of $$$ and weight difference between
the two.
Click to expand...
The 1.4 may be marginally sharper, but that alone wouldn't justify the price and weight difference. The other advantages the 1.4 has over the 1.8 are mechanical (better AF motor), speed (an extra half-stop), and build quality.

Check out my post here for more on the choice between 50/1.4 and 50/1.8:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1019&message=2435516

I'm sure you'll be happy with either lens.
--Keith
 
BryanS said:
I had the 50mm 1.8 and found that it wasn't acceptable for my
portraits, since it offered a bit of facial distortion,
particularly with groups (those in front will be much bigger than
those in back).
Click to expand...
I wouldn't think that you'd have problems with perspective distortion on a 50mm lens with the D30 or D60, except MAYBE if you're taking REALLY tight face shots, and even then I doubt it. Remember this is effectively an 80mm lens on these cameras.

For group shots, I cannot see why you'd prefer the 85mm lens. To get everybody into the frame you'd have to stand quite far away. With a 50mm lens, sure people in front might appear larger than people in the back, but not unnaturally so (as they would with, say, a 20mm lens).

For price and weight, I think you can't beat 50/1.8 as a portrait lens. The 85/1.8 is also an excellent lens, but it'll be tighter, heavier and much more expensive.

--Keith
 
Robert Bedwell said:
I own quite a few Canon lenses and recently purchased the 85mm f1.2
lens. I wish that it had been one of the first that I had
purchased. It provides everything that I was looking for.
Photodo tests indicate that it is Canon's second sharpest lens
(200mm F1.8 is first).
Click to expand...
The 85 1.2 is a very nice lens, but it isn't Canon's second sharpest. The 200 1.8 takes top honors, followed closely by the 135 f2.0L. Check Canon's Lens Works MTF charts for confirmation, or this excellent review of both the 135 and the 85 at:

http://www.wlcastleman.com/equip/reviews/85mm/index.htm

http://www.wlcastleman.com/equip/reviews/85_100_135/index.htm
 
Keith Lommel said:
I wouldn't think that you'd have problems with perspective
distortion on a 50mm lens with the D30 or D60, except MAYBE if
you're taking REALLY tight face shots, and even then I doubt it.
Remember this is effectively an 80mm lens on these cameras.
Click to expand...
The 1.6 multiplier does nothing to get rid of the normal distortions of the lens itself. It's just a frame crop. If the lens distorts up close on a 35mm EOS, it will on the D30 or D60, too.

Try it sometime. Shoot a full face shot from the top portion of the chest to the top of the head... see if they don't look like they've got a big nose with the 50mm. Then again, with the D60, you can stand back and crop, I guess. :)

I didn't like what I saw for waist up portraits or closer with the 50mm 1.8, so I got the 85mm instead and never looked back. When I mention groups, I mean groups of 3 or 4 people in close... for large groups, I'd use the 50 or wider, for sure.

Bryan
http://www.siverly.net
 
Bryan Siverly said:
The 1.6 multiplier does nothing to get rid of the normal
distortions of the lens itself. It's just a frame crop. If the
lens distorts up close on a 35mm EOS, it will on the D30 or D60,
too.

Try it sometime. Shoot a full face shot from the top portion of
the chest to the top of the head... see if they don't look like
they've got a big nose with the 50mm. Then again, with the D60,
you can stand back and crop, I guess. :)
Click to expand...
Distortion due to perspective is entirely dependent on distance from camera to subject. The lens is irrelevant except for how far you have to be from the subject in order to frame the picture properly. In that respect, for identically framed pictures, perspective distortion of a 50mm lens on a D60 is identical to the perspective distortion of a 80mm lens on a 35mm camera.
 
John Kim said:
In that respect, for identically framed pictures,
perspective distortion of a 50mm lens on a D60 is identical to the
perspective distortion of a 80mm lens on a 35mm camera.
Click to expand...
I think you'll find you're wrong. A 50mm lens isn't identical to an 80mm lens... it's a cropped 50 with the field-of-view of an 80mm. Distortion will not be the same as an 80mm.
 
Bryan Siverly said:
John Kim said:
In that respect, for identically framed pictures,
perspective distortion of a 50mm lens on a D60 is identical to the
perspective distortion of a 80mm lens on a 35mm camera.
Click to expand...
I think you'll find you're wrong. A 50mm lens isn't identical to
an 80mm lens... it's a cropped 50 with the field-of-view of an
80mm. Distortion will not be the same as an 80mm.
Click to expand...
Let me re-word it.

Perspective distortion is not caused by the lens. It's caused by the distance from the camera to the subject. If you take identical portraits with a 50mm lens on a D60 and a 80mm lens on a 35mm camera, both pictures will have the same camera to subject distance. And thus the perspective distortion will be identical.
 
BryanS said:
I think you'll find you're wrong. A 50mm lens isn't identical to
an 80mm lens... it's a cropped 50 with the field-of-view of an
80mm. Distortion will not be the same as an 80mm.
Click to expand...
The Kodak Guide to Better Photography states, "Perspective is determined by camera-to-subject distance. Whether you have a normal, wide-angle, or telephoto lens, perspective is the same for all of them if the camera-to-subject distance remains the same."

See http://www.kodak.com/global/en/consumer/pictureTaking/lenses/lensFil4.shtml

I saved this link because this topic comes up once a week. =8-)
  • Christopher
 
For portrait shots, won't the 50 1.8 and 50 1.4 be equivalent with respect to sharpness since they are too sharp? I use my Canon 100 USM macro for portrait and find it too sharp already. I am not sure if the 50 1.4 is sharper than my macro but I use a soft warming filter to soften the look. Btw, I shoot with Elan 7e, awaiting my D60.

Better bokeh is always welcome though.

GreenArcher
Pekka Saarinen said:
R.Kea said:
Paul I asume that is a canon lens? And did you use that lens in any
of your shots? i know that the samples are downsampled, so not a
very good example of the lenses sharpness. Like the site and some
of your shots.
Click to expand...
R.Kea,

Trust me, 50 1.4 is one of the sharpest lenses Canon has (see e.g.

http://photography-on-the.net/gallery/photo.php?photo=210&exhibition=1&pass=public&size=quarter ). Its color reproduction is most accurate (Canon rep told me they use it as a reference when designing new lenses - there is a color ISO standard and 50 1.4 is very close to that).

PS. There was a page somewhere in the net comparing it to 1.8
version and the difference was noticeable.

Pekka
http://photography-on-the.net
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Keyboard shortcuts

f
Forum
m
My threads
Mobile site
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
Community
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Back
Top