Mirrorless camera & lens combo for portrait photography

shonsch · Apr 18, 2018

I have a Canon 6D and a couple nice lenses that I use for senior portraits, etc. But I want to add a mirrorless camera and one prime lens to use when I want to snap portraits, but don't want to haul the big stuff. Maybe one day I will fully jump over to mirrorless, I'm not sure at this point.

Any of you who currently shoot mirrorless, please give me your recommendations. I do not plan to use my currents lenses. I want to buy a native prime lens for whichever camera I decide to get.

Thanks

KE_DP · Apr 18, 2018

I'd start with the DPR search feature - just to see what's out there - https://www.dpreview.com/products/search/cameras#!

Arguably, Sony has been the leader in mirrorless for some time going way back to the NEX series. There have been a lot of Canon shooters jump ship - you'll find them to talk to in the Sony E-Mount forum areas.

The good news is you can still use your Canon lenses if you like - but it's smart IMHO to go native lenses. More good news is there are tons of choices depending on your budget and needs. If you're shooting portraits you don't need the speed of the most current models.

The A7RII or III with an 85 doesn't get much better for portraits size wise. You can get a smaller less expensive E Mount camera and go with a 50. Or go to the 70-200GM for full range zoom coverage at near prime IQ. You can go crop sensor vs full frame - Everything depends.

100% zoom screen shot from a head and shoulders portrait A7RII w/85 Zeiss Batis

--
- Karen
http://www.karenengelphotography.com
Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/karenengelphotography/

shinndigg · Apr 18, 2018

...can do, then check what this photographer is doing with a Panasonic GX8

Sensual beauty

Hi, this week was VERY busy with photosets. On Thursday we had a photoset with this software programmer and very beautiful model. What do you think? -- Michele Balistreri http://michelebalistreri.photo https://www.instagram.com/mik.ksyu.spb/ https://500px.com/micspb

www.dpreview.com

BruceRH · Apr 18, 2018

shinndigg said:
...can do, then check what this photographer is doing with a Panasonic GX8

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/60906912

Last Bastion · Apr 18, 2018

shonsch said:
I have a Canon 6D and a couple nice lenses that I use for senior portraits, etc. But I want to add a mirrorless camera and one prime lens to use when I want to snap portraits, but don't want to haul the big stuff. Maybe one day I will fully jump over to mirrorless, I'm not sure at this point.

Any of you who currently shoot mirrorless, please give me your recommendations. I do not plan to use my currents lenses. I want to buy a native prime lens for whichever camera I decide to get.

Thanks

Sony a6000 and an adapter.

This is almost exactly the path I took to transition to Sony. The a6000 has all of the "bones" of the higher end Sony stuff, and is a good intermediary. Can find them used for darned cheap.

One thing to be aware of, though, is the adapters will seriously slow down your AF. But I find I prefer shooting with the focus magnifier and focus peaking on the Sony instead of relying on AF anyway, so it's not a big deal.

shonsch · Apr 18, 2018

Last Bastion said:
shonsch said:

I have a Canon 6D and a couple nice lenses that I use for senior portraits, etc. But I want to add a mirrorless camera and one prime lens to use when I want to snap portraits, but don't want to haul the big stuff. Maybe one day I will fully jump over to mirrorless, I'm not sure at this point.

Any of you who currently shoot mirrorless, please give me your recommendations. I do not plan to use my currents lenses. I want to buy a native prime lens for whichever camera I decide to get.

Thanks

Click to expand...

Sony a6000 and an adapter.

This is almost exactly the path I took to transition to Sony. The a6000 has all of the "bones" of the higher end Sony stuff, and is a good intermediary. Can find them used for darned cheap.

One thing to be aware of, though, is the adapters will seriously slow down your AF. But I find I prefer shooting with the focus magnifier and focus peaking on the Sony instead of relying on AF anyway, so it's not a big deal.

I've been doing a lot of reading and keep going back to the a6000. Great prices, even when purchased new.

A friend of mine recommends the Sony Zeiss 55mm for the a6000. Just something for me to consider.

KE_DP · Apr 18, 2018

Good recommendation - I had one of these for a short time and was delighted with the results - amazing! But the OP didn't specify budget or sensor type so who knows?

In a subsequent post they mentioned the A6000 - so that might indicate price range - that would put this camera near the top of the list I would think... but there are a number of very capable cameras in that range.

If you want to step up to full frame and get features like EyeAF though...it will cost you.

Last Bastion said:
Sony a6000 and an adapter.

This is almost exactly the path I took to transition to Sony. The a6000 has all of the "bones" of the higher end Sony stuff, and is a good intermediary. Can find them used for darned cheap.

One thing to be aware of, though, is the adapters will seriously slow down your AF. But I find I prefer shooting with the focus magnifier and focus peaking on the Sony instead of relying on AF anyway, so it's not a big deal.

shinndigg · Apr 18, 2018

He came to mind as well. I just couldn't find him as quickly

REDunnLev · Apr 18, 2018

KE_DP said:
Good recommendation - I had one of these for a short time and was delighted with the results - amazing! But the OP didn't specify budget or sensor type so who knows?

In a subsequent post they mentioned the A6000 - so that might indicate price range - that would put this camera near the top of the list I would think... but there are a number of very capable cameras in that range.

If you want to step up to full frame and get features like EyeAF though...it will cost you.

Last Bastion said:

Sony a6000 and an adapter.

This is almost exactly the path I took to transition to Sony. The a6000 has all of the "bones" of the higher end Sony stuff, and is a good intermediary. Can find them used for darned cheap.

One thing to be aware of, though, is the adapters will seriously slow down your AF. But I find I prefer shooting with the focus magnifier and focus peaking on the Sony instead of relying on AF anyway, so it's not a big deal.

Click to expand...

jkjond · Apr 19, 2018

I don't like carting my pro gear around outside weddings. After considering Fuji x100s (fixed lens put me off) Panny Lumix LX100 (very portable but just too much of a qual compromise). I should have considered the sony 6000 series too, the eye detection focus on the latest model is mind bogglingly accurate. I finally got an OM5 with 14-42 pancake lens. The lens makes it pocket size portable though isn't the best optically. However, everyone rates the 12-40 f2.8 which I'll likely get at a later date.

I like it a lot. Great image stabilisation, lots of scope for customisable buttons and the option for 40mb composite exposures. Here are a few holiday snapshots with available light.

Hmm, the import has ditched the exif. The second shot is 1600iso @ 15th

--
Wedding and fine art photographer www.johnleechstudio.co.uk

jkjond · Apr 19, 2018

A good example of lighting and processing being more important than the camera.

shinndigg · Apr 19, 2018

Have you considered this lens strictly for portrait work?

Doug MacMillan · Apr 19, 2018

According to how small you want to go, you could look at the Fuji X-T2 or X-T20. I shoot with the X-E3.

The Fuji 56mm f1.2 is legendary as a portrait lens. They 90mm is also a great 135 FF equivalent. Even the 50mm f2 gets good reviews.

I shoot OCF using Godox triggers and flashes and they work well with Fuji.

jkjond · Apr 19, 2018

shinndigg said:
Have you considered this lens strictly for portrait work?

Me? No. I'm not into primes, I have a 20mm panny which is a good lens but I hardly use it. I can see the attraction of a 45 prime for portraits but I doubt I'll get one though looks like good value. I may end up with f2.8 versions of 9-18, 12-40 and 40-140 and I'll keep the pancake no matter what for when size and weight are at a premium.

--
Wedding and fine art photographer www.johnleechstudio.co.uk

GCam · Apr 19, 2018

jkjond said:
I don't like carting my pro gear around outside weddings. After considering Fuji x100s (fixed lens put me off) Panny Lumix LX100 (very portable but just too much of a qual compromise). I should have considered the sony 6000 series too, the eye detection focus on the latest model is mind bogglingly accurate. I finally got an OM5 with 14-42 pancake lens. The lens makes it pocket size portable though isn't the best optically. However, everyone rates the 12-40 f2.8 which I'll likely get at a later date.

I like it a lot. Great image stabilisation, lots of scope for customisable buttons and the option for 40mb composite exposures. Here are a few holiday snapshots with available light.

Hmm, the import has ditched the exif. The second shot is 1600iso @ 15th

--
Wedding and fine art photographer www.johnleechstudio.co.uk

Excellent in technique and quality. gc

The Ryantist · Apr 19, 2018

Sony E-mount APS-C is the only system I'm really familiar with. I have the a6000/6300 and my main portrait lens is the 50mm f/1.8 OSS (optical steady shot). It doesn't get much smaller than that. That lens can have some chromatic abberation on high contrast areas, but it's pretty much gone by f/2.4, and it's easy to fix in post. By f/2.8 it's very sharp.

The Sigma 60 f/2.8 and Sony Zeiss 55 f/1.8 are supposedly sharper but I've never used either of them. Neither of these has OSS.

As someone else has said, the a6000 is a fantastic bare-bones camera. I've had mine for 3 years now. Having a toddler was a strong motivation for me to upgrade to the a6300 so that I could use Eye-AF with continuous PDAF (plus lots of other small upgrades). On a6000 the Eye-AF only works with single CDAF. The a6500 is the newest model currently and adds more features such as IBIS (in body image stabilization), touch screen, larger buffer, etc.

Also, I know you don't plan on adapting your Canon lenses now, but if you do in the future, I've heard the a6300/6500. I believe (not 100% certain) that they allow PDAF with adapted lenses while the older bodies can only use CDAF and it's slower.

shonsch · Apr 19, 2018

Thanks everyone for you replies.

At this point I don't really have a specific budget in mind. I guess whatever I think will work for me. I am sort of leaning toward the Sony a6000 series and the 50 or 55mm lens.

A friend of mine recently sold his DSLR and lenses and jumped fully into mirrorless with the Fuji XT2. That is somewhat appealing, but not sure if I'm to that point.

Thanks!

Ed B · Apr 19, 2018

shonsch said:
Thanks everyone for you replies.

At this point I don't really have a specific budget in mind. I guess whatever I think will work for me. I am sort of leaning toward the Sony a6000 series and the 50 or 55mm lens.

A friend of mine recently sold his DSLR and lenses and jumped fully into mirrorless with the Fuji XT2. That is somewhat appealing, but not sure if I'm to that point.

Thanks!

Sony seems to be recommended more than any other brand here and that surprises me just a little.

I will agree some of the Sony cameras are very good but I'm not sure they'd be my first choice for portrait photography.

I suppose it depends on a person's personal opinion more than anything else and if you're strictly shooting raw it probably doesn't doesn't make much difference but if you're shooting JPEG for portraits (and many people do) Fuji may be a better choice.

As one other poster said, the Fuji 56mm 1.2 lens is an excellent portrait lens.

Naturally, if you move up to the top-of-the-line Sony A7 series camera along with a good Sony lens, and shoot raw, I'm sure that would make almost anyone happy.

KE_DP · Apr 19, 2018

I would highly recommend always shooting RAW for portraits regardless of what system. Skin tones are critical in shooting people - and while there are many different camps on "good color" and post processing - it's best to have extra latitude for corrections or treatment to taste post. RAW provides that better than JPG.

If one "has" to shoot JPG and only use SOOC images - set your WB and color profiles up before you click. (regardless of what camera) IMO - Great results are possible with any camera in the right hands...

Ed B said:
Sony seems to be recommended more than any other brand here and that surprises me just a little.

I will agree some of the Sony cameras are very good but I'm not sure they'd be my first choice for portrait photography.

I suppose it depends on a person's personal opinion more than anything else and if you're strictly shooting raw it probably doesn't doesn't make much difference but if you're shooting JPEG for portraits (and many people do) Fuji may be a better choice.

As one other poster said, the Fuji 56mm 1.2 lens is an excellent portrait lens.

Naturally, if you move up to the top-of-the-line Sony A7 series camera along with a good Sony lens, and shoot raw, I'm sure that would make almost anyone happy.

Henry Stamm · Apr 19, 2018

I use an Olympus Em1 Mk2 for all my photography, including portraits. I don't use primes at all, but find the PL 12-60 f2.8-f4 to be quite nice. The caveat is that I seldom use or desire extremely shallow DOF. There are micro 4/3 prime lenses that will do this.

I do have some older model 4/3 constant f2 zooms that I find are quite useful as well.

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