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My next prime portrait lens should be ... ?

Started 7 months ago | Questions thread
thunder storm Forum Pro • Posts: 10,139
Re: My next prime portrait lens should be ... ?
1

DanInSoCal wrote:

I personally find the super-shallow-DOF use case a relatively rare one. For example, at 100mm, f/2.8, and 10 feet away,

This is crucial. Some think wide angle is for environmental and telephote + big aperture is for head shots. In my opinion the latter is especially needed for environmental shots to get a good subject separation. For head shots you don't need a crazy large aperture to get your subject separation.

your DOF is about 3 inches, 1.5 inches in front and 1.5 inches in back. If the eyes are in focus, the tip of the nose won't be. At f/1.8, it's about half that. So in many cases your 70-200 will do a great job.

The Sigma Art lenses are great, you won't go wrong here.

Another one to consider, is the RF 100/2.8 L macro. Amazing sharpness and bokeh, and an amazing macro lens.

When there's a 70-200mm f/2.8 in your kit it probably doesn't add much for portraits.

Dan

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