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A7: Best portrait lens?

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Alas, Canon's FDn 85mm f/1.8 is one of their least sharp lenses. I guess they figured that sharpness was not that crucial for portraiture. Almost anything you are thinking of is sharper.

On the other hand, the FDn 85mm f/1.2L is magnificent, especially its bokeh. I bought mine in July of 1980 for $550, just months after it came out. (No idea how I afforded it, since I was in graduate school in Chicago at the time.) I still own it, and now I use it on my A7r. Mine is slightly modified for closer focusing, and it is chipped for better EXIF information. It is quite light and small compared to the EF versions for EOS. I recall that it was called "an outrageous hunk of glass" at that time, and that is still apt.

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Jerry Fusselman
 
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If you have to use no Sony lenses on the A7, keep in mind the AF is very slow and no where near what the 85 can do on a canon body. I would pick a Sony lens first. The adaptor with AF capabilities could be costly for just one lens. The Sony A mount adaptor (if you choose that route) is also costly but AF is the same as their A mount body and you got full AF at snappy speed when shooting video. You can't do that with other brands.

85 usually is for chest up or slightly below the shoulders. 135 is more like shoulders and up or a close up face/headshot. You can do vice versa but may need to stand a little too far or too close to your subject. I like 80/100/105 range slightly better.

EvilKarma said:
Looking for a tele to mainly do portraits. Budget of under $800 (preferably including the adapter). Would prefer to have AF as well but not a deal breaker.

I keep hearing the Canon EF 85mm 1.8 USM and Nikkor 85mm 1.8G are two of the best "budget" portrait lenses. Anyone who owns these lenses care to share?

Also, do you all prefer 85mm or something even longer like 100/135mm?

Any samples would be greatly appreciated too! Thanks.

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/isaacyuphotography/
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Jerry Fusselman said:
Alas, Canon's FDn 85mm f/1.8 is one of their least sharp lenses. I guess they figured that sharpness was not that crucial for portraiture. Almost anything you are thinking of is sharper.

On the other hand, the FDn 85mm f/1.2L is magnificent, especially its bokeh. I bought mine in July of 1980 for $550, just months after it came out. (No idea how I afforded it, since I was in graduate school in Chicago at the time.) I still own it, and now I use it on my A7r. Mine is slightly modified for closer focusing, and it is chipped for better EXIF information. It is quite light and small compared to the EF versions for EOS. I recall that it was called "an outrageous hunk of glass" at that time, and that is still apt.
Click to expand...
 
Jerry Fusselman said:
captura said:
Jerry Fusselman said:
Alas, Canon's FDn 85mm f/1.8 is one of their least sharp lenses. I guess they figured that sharpness was not that crucial for portraiture. Almost anything you are thinking of is sharper.

On the other hand, the FDn 85mm f/1.2L is magnificent, especially its bokeh. I bought mine in July of 1980 for $550, just months after it came out. (No idea how I afforded it, since I was in graduate school in Chicago at the time.) I still own it, and now I use it on my A7r. Mine is slightly modified for closer focusing, and it is chipped for better EXIF information. It is quite light and small compared to the EF versions for EOS. I recall that it was called "an outrageous hunk of glass" at that time, and that is still apt.
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Elmarit.
 
I meant what I said, 135mm f2.8 Elmarit, which is recognizable by its pair of "goggles".
 
noel58 said:
I meant what I said, 135mm f2.8 Elmarit, which is recognizable by its pair of "goggles".
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Can anyone translate? When and where did noel58 write 135mm, and what is this reference to goggles refer to?

I could read only one word: "Elmarit." Do others see more words?
 
For a7/r/s I suggest you look past the pretty basic but acceptable EF 85/1.8. The idea of a Canon on the a7 series also raises problems of adapters, AF speed, in a lens that will clearly be inferior to the forthcoming Sony short telephotos (and any number of older alts), which may even have OSS and in any case will be tailored for the cameras. All the FE primes must amp up to meet the a7r, a much tougher test than any Canon sensor.

My notion of alt lenses is certainly not Canon EOS on Sony at this FL. The MB adapter will add weight and complexity and bulk and cost and it's an extra bit of junk to carry around. Different if you have a host of EF lenses and just love them.

Versatility is one thing you would miss out on in a lens class that is easy to design for it - good corners and low CA should be givens at 85/100/135; that 85/1.8 is ancient for a mass produced mainstream lens made down to a price by a mainstream maker. It has poor corners and is poor wide open, will be horrible to manual focus with...

'Summarizing, Corner Sharpness for the canon 85mm f/1.8 lens is poor at the wider apertures and satisfactory thereafter.'

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slrgear.com

These guys are obsessives for CA but even so - you shoot a lot at f1.8 with an f1.8 lens:

'We've already reported the problem before but the EF 85mm f/1.8 USM is somewhat prone to purple fringing at extreme contrast transitions. The issue is primarily limited to f/1.8 so you can work around it in critical scenes.'

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM (full format) - Review / Lab Test Report - Analysis

OpticalLimits - Lens reviews and beyond!
www.photozone.de www.photozone.de

No one describes the FE55 at 'satisfactory'. With a budget of $800 why fall short of what the camera can deliver for a 'just OK' C/N legacy lens? I'd wait a few months for the thrill of a new FE prime in an FL much easier to make than 55mm..

or otherwise go for a fine CZ/Leica lens from last century - they are just wonderful to use in MF, draw beautifully and built to last. Hold their price too.

Such as Leica's 90mm f2.8 Elmarit-M, a Mandler lens:

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www.stevehuffphoto.com

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www.kenrockwell.com

These will go on a small cheap adapter and weigh just 400 grams, and look great on a modern Sony. What comes out of it will never be confused for an image from a Canon or Nikon lens. If I did not have a Contax 100/3.5 as my main short tele lens I'd get one of these. But I'm also waiting for the FE85!
 
Jerry, sorry for the confusion. In my first answer above I mentioned the 135mm although erroneously referred to it as an Elmar. It is an Elmarit f2.8. The goggles refer to two 1.5x lenses attached to the main lens which fit in front of a Leica rangefinder's windows so as to use the 90mm frame in the camera's viewfinder.
 
But needs be said that EF 85 1.8 ishould be perfect on a Sony APSC.
 
Many good points, philip pj, but corner sharpness is not that often a huge concern with a portrait lens. Also, the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 AF is very fast, especially compared to any of Canon's 85mm f/1.2 lenses. Further, if you're hand holding, you're not often going to get sturdy-tripod-level sharpness.

In a few tests of AF that I did with Metabones and EF-mount lenses, the faster a lens autofocuses on a Canon camera, the faster it autofocuses on a Sony E-mount camera. I wonder if that might be a general tendency.

--
Jerry Fusselman
 
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I use the 85mm 1.4 with the la-ea4. Wrt to focal length, 135mm looks nicer to me, it is the perfect balance between depth and distortions. 85mm though is more flexible, as you do not need as much space. I guess the portrait prime on Fe will be a macro around 90 coming out this year. In my experience you do not normally need more than,f4. This is assuming you want the whole head to be in focus at the same time. Nevertheless faster lenses often produce more pleasing bokeh and sharper images. It also gives you more headroom in low light situations. Really recommend spending time on flickr to see what you like.85mm is more flexible for other purposes. 70-200 f4 or f28 is very flexible of course. In studio or posed AF may not be critical. I.e. if you have control over the subject and can reshoot. But it is great to just detach from technicals and focus on the images sometimes
 
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