100mm f2/f2.8 for portraits or 70-300

I have lenses as in my signature. I am an enthusiast into landscapes, family, friends, vacation, in & around house pictures.

Some time I miss opportunities for pictures of tight head & shoulder portraits and birds & animals at 20 to 30 feet away. My budget is $ 500 to max 700.

Should I buy 100 mm f2 or 100mm f2.8. Can a Tamron 70-300VC do good job for portraits at 100mm wide open.

Thanks for views / comments

For tight head+shoulder shots F/4 can still give plenty of subject isolation. When working with a bit of distance for full length shots etc the faster aperture will have a more noticeable impact IMO - and that's where a more pleasant bokeh will be more important too as the foreground/background wont just be a complete blur.

I think the Tamron 70-300 sounds like a wise compromise for the variety of things you want to shoot.

I have both versions of the 100mm 2.8 and the 100mm f2. The f2 is a far better portrait lens.

phreeky wrote in post #12868614
For tight head+shoulder shots F/4 can still give plenty of subject isolation. When working with a bit of distance for full length shots etc the faster aperture will have a more noticeable impact IMO - and that's where a more pleasant bokeh will be more important too as the foreground/background wont just be a complete blur.

I think the Tamron 70-300 sounds like a wise compromise for the variety of things you want to shoot.

Thanks. I have choosen 70-300VC over 70-200F4 non IS due importance of VC in hand held pics.

Any more views are welcome.

With a 100mm lens and at 30 feet you could take a picture of a billboard about 7feet wide & 4.5 feet tall so a bird would be a small part of the overall image. At 300mm the billboard would be about 2feet by 1.5 feet so it might be better for your birding shots. My guess is that dedicated birders would say this is still not enough.

Go to the Dimensional Field of View Calculator at this site to plug in your own numbers for shooting distances & focal lengths. http://www.tawbaware.c​om/maxlyons/calc.htm

The question you have to ask is are head & shoulder shots so important to you that you would take the time to switch out lenses for that type of shot. For some it is and for others it may not be.

John

100mm f2 would be the best lens for protraits, bokeh and sharpness

brotherian11 wrote in post #12868734
100mm f2 would be the best lens for protraits, bokeh and sharpness

For some it is and for others it may not be. Select the lens that works "best" for you.

jwp721 wrote in post #12868692
With a 100mm lens and at 30 feet you could take a picture of a billboard about 7feet wide & 4.5 feet tall so a bird would be a small part of the overall image. At 300mm the billboard would be about 2feet by 1.5 feet so it might be better for your birding shots. My guess is that dedicated birders would say this is still not enough.

Go to the Dimensional Field of View Calculator at this site to plug in your own numbers for shooting distances & focal lengths. http://www.tawbaware.c​om/maxlyons/calc.htm

The question you have to ask is are head & shoulder shots so important to you that you would take the time to switch out lenses for that type of shot. For some it is and for others it may not be.

John

thanks. It is clear from the above calculator that for 300mm on a crop, with bird 30 feet away, the pic would need good amount of cropping.