135 f2 for family pics and portraits

What camera are you using? For given situations, the DOF of the 135 at f2 can be pretty thin. I have found that even though it's an older model, it still keeps up with new AF systems well. Having a camera that has more AF points helps: MF with a thin DOF is even more hit or miss. There's also no golden rule about shutter speed, since it depends on your subject. Even with really high speed racing, you can greatly reduce necessary shutter speed by panning the camera with the subject's movement.

I also want to confirm that the 135L requires excelent handholding technic, and/or high shutter speeds in my case over 1/250

davesrose wrote in post #18495863
What camera are you using? For given situations, the DOF of the 135 at f2 can be pretty thin. I have found that even though it's an older model, it still keeps up with new AF systems well. Having a camera that has more AF points helps: MF with a thin DOF is even more hit or miss. There's also no golden rule about shutter speed, since it depends on your subject. Even with really high speed racing, you can greatly reduce necessary shutter speed by panning the camera with the subject's movement.

I'm using the 5dsr and 5dmarkii. thanks!

I'm sure glad I read this thread. I have the canon 85mm 1.8 and I shot a big General meeting last week and my shots were very soft. I thought it was the lens, but realized I was shooting at 1/60th of a second. I should always shoot hand held at 1/125 or higher.

Moncho wrote in post #18495956
I also want to confirm that the 135L requires excelent handholding technic, and/or high shutter speeds in my case over 1/250

Any lens requires specific handholding techniques, and more care has to be given should the shutter speed drop below the prescribed safety guideline of 1 / <focal length x crop factor> for any camera and any lens.

So on a full frame, you want your shutter speeds to be over 1 / 135 with the 135L.

This is just a guideline, if you are prone to shaking, in a windy situation or moving situation, or cannot have a firm stance, this number needs to go up even more. If you have a monopod, are braced or sitting, or have image stabilization, this number can go down.

anitaw2 wrote in post #18496031
I'm sure glad I read this thread. I have the canon 85mm 1.8 and I shot a big General meeting last week and my shots were very soft. I thought it was the lens, but realized I was shooting at 1/60th of a second. I should always shoot hand held at 1/125 or higher.

with an 85 you can get away with 1/125 with somewhat ok consistency, but not with the 135. Your consistency will be very poor, you need bare minimum of 1/200 if you want similar consistency. That's 2/3 stop of light. With good light, you really should go 1/400 or faster.

James Crockett wrote in post #18495970
I'm using the 5dsr

You'll find you need a little faster shutter using that camera, than your other cameras, to prevent motion/shake blur, with it's very small pixels. The old "1/focal length" rule doesn't work the same for all pixel sizes and we're finally at a point where it's obvious.

Very best,

TeamSpeed wrote in post #18496050
Any lens requires specific handholding techniques, and more care has to be given should the shutter speed drop below the prescribed safety guideline of 1 / <focal length x crop factor> for any camera and any lens.

So on a full frame, you want your shutter speeds to be over 1 / 135 with the 135L.

This is just a guideline, if you are prone to shaking, in a windy situation or moving situation, or cannot have a firm stance, this number needs to go up even more. If you have a monopod, are braced or sitting, or have image stabilization, this number can go down.

The chart shows faster shutter speed is better for larger prints.. someone please explain. I'm a rookie. Thanks!

James Crockett wrote in post #18496123
The chart shows faster shutter speed is better for larger prints.. someone please explain. I'm a rookie. Thanks!

Scale matters. If printing a wallet, it doesn't matter much and is a lot like viewing a small image on a monitor like here on the forums (blur and noise are easier hidden in small scale viewing). If printing a huge print, it will matter (and is relative to viewing distance). You're taking a small pixel and blowing it up. If there was blur, when you increase the scale and make those pixels huge, it will also magnify the effect of that blur. Blur limits resolution. So the more blur you have, the more limits you'll have when you go to print large.

Very best,

MalVeauX wrote in post #18496133
Scale matters. If printing a wallet... ...

A "wallet" would be a 3x2", yes??? I haven't come across this term in a British context and just want to be sure I've understood.

DaviSto wrote in post #18496135
A "wallet" would be a 3x2", yes??? I haven't come across this term in a British context and just want to be sure I've understood.

Yea, small prints, wallet being something like 3x2 or even smaller.

Very best,

MalVeauX wrote in post #18496112
You'll find you need a little faster shutter using that camera, than your other cameras, to prevent motion/shake blur, with it's very small pixels. The old "1/focal length" rule doesn't work the same for all pixel sizes and we're finally at a point where it's obvious.

Very best,

This seems to be a little bit misleading. Using 2 FF cameras, one with 20Mpx resolution and one with 50Mpx resolution, you will see the same amount of blur using the same exact settings. If an insect moves 1mm across the scene, both cameras will record 1mm movement across their sensors (assuming a 1:1 scale).

You only see more blur when one or more are true:
a) You zoom into the image on the 5DS further due to resolution than what you can on the other FF. (pixel peep deeper)
b) You crop a bit deeper into the 5DS image. (crop deeper)
c) You print larger with the 5DS image than what you do with the other FF. (print larger)

All involve different types of "enlargement", so basically if you enlarge more with the 5DS, you will want a faster shutter. With all the extra detail the 5DS series brings to bear, it is understandable that many go a bit deeper into their image files, and then see that enlarged blur, so they then go back and shoot with a faster shutter to reduce that blur.

Varying levels of resolution on a sensor in themselves add no additional blur to the image.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #18496152
This seems to be a little bit misleading. Using 2 FF cameras, one with 20Mpx resolution and one with 50Mpx resolution, you will see the same amount of blur using the same exact settings. If an insect moves 1mm across the scene, both cameras will record 1mm movement across their sensors (assuming a 1:1 scale).

You only see more blur when one or more are true:
a) You zoom into the image on the 5DS further due to resolution than what you can on the other FF. (pixel peep deeper)
b) You crop a bit deeper into the 5DS image. (crop deeper)
c) You print larger with the 5DS image than what you do with the other FF. (print larger)

All involve different types of "enlargement", so basically if you enlarge more with the 5DS, you will want a faster shutter. With all the extra detail the 5DS series brings to bear, it is understandable that many go a bit deeper into their image files, and then see that enlarged blur, so they then go back and shoot with a faster shutter to reduce that blur.

Varying levels of resolution on a sensor in themselves add no additional blur to the image.

well, you wont see the blur on the 20mp camera the same way you can see it on a 50mp camera.

when resized to the smaller size, then sure, they look the same.

When buying a 50mp camera, you're bound to peep

Charlie wrote in post #18496200
well, you wont see the blur on the 20mp camera the same way you can see it on a 50mp camera.

when resized to the smaller size, then sure, they look the same.

When buying a 50mp camera, you're bound to peep

It isn't about resizing down to a smaller size. If you print a 20x30 from a 20Mpx and a 50Mpx, you won't see any more blur, the enlargement of the image is the same from each camera, and thus the physical dimensions of the blur is the same.

I would think we are in agreement on "bound to peep" though.

However that doesn't mean that a higher resolution sensor inherently requires faster shutter speeds. One's use of the images and how far they go down into it might.

The heavy croppers, pixel peepers, and wall mural printers are the ones that will need faster shutter speeds, the rest of us that produce small to medium prints, don't crop very much, and view normally on the screen won't.

I use it almost exclusively handheld... no problem. It's a wonderful lens.