Portrait lens advice

3tagebart wrote:

Hi forum,

I like to ask you people's opinion regarding a possible lens purchase of mine. I quite recently bought an EOS 6D as addition to my old trusty EOS 40D. My standard zoom is the 24-70mm f4 I also own a 85mm f1.8 and a 70-200mm f4.

On the 40D I really loved the 85mm giving me an equivalent field of view of a 135mm on FF. The 85mm still is a great portrait lens for bust portraits but i do miss a dedicated lens for head shots. Of course I can use my 70-200mm f4 for that purpose and the results are really nice.

Since the G.A.S.-bug bit me lately I was wondering if a 135mm f2 would be able to produce some even more pleasing (bokehlisious) head shots.

To cut to the chase: Have you personally felt that a 135mm f2 is a sensible addition to the existing 70-200mm f4 or is it plain overkill?

I know it's all about personal taste in the end, nevertheless I would appreciate some shared experiences. Thank you.

David

Hi David,

The 135L would be a good compliment to your 70-200 f/4. There is a huge difference between f/2 and f/4 when it comes to portraiture.

It seems to be carved in stone that the 135mm focal length is for headshots. Absolutely not. It is an excellent lens for full length portraiture rendering a beautiful bokeh background. I use my 135L for just that and find it isn't too far to use fill flash from the camera even.

I cannot say enough about the 135L. Yes the f/2.8 version of the 70-200 is a solid choice too but it is twice the weight and twice the cost and unwieldly large when compared to the prime. I realize that you didn't ask about the f/2.8 just saying because the subject always comes up.

These were shot at f/2.5 and f/4       The 135L is also sharp wide open at f/2.