Help me choose a portrait lens

Hello,

I'm a fairly new to photography (been shooting since past two years). I own a Canon T2i, Canon 15-85mm and a 50mm f1.8.

I've been mostly shooting landscape and architecture and never been a portrait guy. However, my wife is expecting our first baby girl and I think she is going to be my first and most favorite portrait subject soon.

I have been reading reviewing and trying to find the a good portrait lens to buy but can't make up my mind. I know I have the 50mm but its has been giving me some trouble since I dropped it on floor few months back.

I can't afford a L quality lens because of price tag. The one's I have shortlisted so far are

1. Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM
2. Canon EF 100mm f/2 USM
3. Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

What I don't like about both Canon lenses is the point that none of them are stabilized.

If you have any suggestions that might fit my requirement and are under $600-700 USD, please let me know.

Thank you so much,

Abhishek

the best portrait lens for indoor and crop is 35 f2 IS imo

MAC wrote:

the best portrait lens for indoor and crop is 35 f2 IS imo

+1 on the 35mm focal length.   85m is a very nice lens, i have one,  but i rarely use it indoors because on a crop camera, i have to back up way too much to get head and shoulders in shot.

Have you thought about the EF-S 60Macro? As a father of a toddler who was not long ago a baby, I would recommend a macro lens for the ability to get close to a baby's small body parts and features without distorsion. If you can't afford the 100L or the 100 Macro, that's what I'd recommend.

Oh yes...85mm and above are too long on Crop. Forget the 100mm lenses.

Thank you for suggestions. I looked at the 60mm Macro and that definitely looks promising. Would that still be enough when she grows up, for visit to the park etc.

I don't see why not.

abhishekchandra wrote:

Thank you for suggestions. I looked at the 60mm Macro and that definitely looks promising. Would that still be enough when she grows up, for visit to the park etc.

I owned the 60, and sold it. Nice lens, but no IS and you'll be shooting at least ss 1/100 handheld rule, which is too high since you need higher, noisier iso without flash:

1/(FL x 1.6)

Better focus system than you 50, but at f2.8, the sharpness is about the same, though the light fall off is worse on the edges of the 60 than the 50 at f2.8, though correctable in LR. The bokeh is better on the 60 than your 50.

but 60 mm on crop is a bit longer than Many of us want

35 f2 IS is FF equivalent of 56 fov f3.2. with the IS you can drag the shutter down to ss 1/40 or 1/30 or lower when subject is still without pod at lower iso's. The bokeh is much better. The sharpness and resolution reaches 14 Mpix at dxo - and is best in class on crop. The 60 is older design and lost some of its luster (MPix on 18 MPxl). The focus is fast on 35 IS and usm is much better. And most of all -- the key -- F2 (wide open) is SHARP. Your 50 is not portrait sharp at f2. The old 35 f2 without IS was not this sharp either at F2.

The 35 F2 IS is the best indoor portrait lens on crop. I like my 35 F2 IS on my T4i better than my 50 F1.4 on my 5d. Don't miss out on the 35 IS

Whats the maximun magnification on the 35IS again?

Abu Mahendra wrote:

Whats the maximun magnification on the 35IS again?

For $79 I added 13, 21, 31 vello extension tubes

Adding extension tubes to a wide angle lens generally makes a dramatic difference in that lens' abilities to focus closer. With the Canon EF 12mm Extension Tube II behind it, the 35 IS has a 0.60-0.36x MM spec. Use the Canon EF 25mm Extension Tube II and MM goes to 1.04-0.79x.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-35mm-f-2-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/898726-USA/Canon_5178b002_EF_35mm_f_2_0_IS.html

What is the working distance of that contraption, and what implications does the lens's barrel distorsion have for close-ups of human subjects?

Abu Mahendra wrote:

What is the working distance of that contraption, and what implications does the lens's barrel distorsion have for close-ups of human subjects?

and why do you keep posting this dribble?

the 60 you recommended, once you said the 100 was too long, doesn't have IS, only works on crop, requires a ss of 1/100 or faster to hand hold, is slower to focus, has light fall off wide open, and not the best in class bokeh, and gets lower MPix scores on high Mpxl crop as shown at dxo - it's lost its luster on high mpxl crop.   Have you ever owned one?  Yet you are recommending something you haven't owned?

The tubes to the 35 are an adjunct that can be used to shoot feet, hands, etc without buying an extra macro.

what is so hard to understand about that?

I'm done interacting with you btw -- bye

I will go against the grain a bit here and say that the 85 works quite nicely for baby pictures indoors. Why don't you put your 15-85 to the different focal lengths and see what works for you?