Best Lens for portfiats on 10D

I do a reasonable amount of portrait work and currently use the 28-135 IS with reasonable resultd. I am in the market for a second lens and top of the list is the 50mm f1.4, just wondered what are other photogs fav portrait lens.

john

Normally.. EF 85/1.8 USM or the EF 100/2.0. But these may be too long on the 10D, but that depends on ehat kind of portrait you shoot. Shorter than that there is the EF 50/1.8 that are really really good.

If you don't need to zoom, the 50 f1.4 is as good as it gets in my opinion. Stop looking and start shooting. Good luck. With the mutiplier ,it is a perfect focal length.

Most of the reading I've done recommends a range of 85 - 135mm. The usual reason for this is the ability to fill the frame but from a longer distance from the subject. This "flattens" the subject to provide a more flattering image. I would suggest the same composition with the same subject at various ranges (filling the frame each time approximately the same) and then closely looking at features such as the nose of your subject. I end up usually at 105mm being happy and have done this with a few subjects and asked their opinion without telling them what I was looking for. They usually pick the one from a longer physical distance. Not a pro, just beginner in portrait photography but am following down that path as I enjoy it so much.

The 85 to 135 that you are reading is for film cameras so you need to multiply by 1.6 for a digital camera such as the 10D. When using film, I always thought that 135 was too long but 80 to 100 or so was just right. The 50 mm is 80 mm with the 10D and I really like this focal length.

How well does 50/f1.4 function with 10D? With D30 it focuses annoyingly slowly when shooting in relatively low light (indoors, that is) without the annoying AF assist light. It draws a great picture, I agree.

Just curious what others think: wouldn't a 28-70 zoom make a good all-purpose portrait lens? With effective focal ranges from slightly below 'normal' (45mm) to around 110mm, it seems that this range would be very convenient. I know a zoom won't be as sharp as primes, but for portraits do you really want to see the subject's peach fuzz and oily pores?

The 28-70 L is a great portrait lens. The only thing I don't like about it is the weight...its a load!! The pictures however are fantastic.

(another comment)
The 50 f1.4 focuses fine on the 10d but haven't used it on the D30