EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Okay for portraits?

Hi,

The nice folks over in the Sports Sharing board favored this lens as one choice of lenses for indoor youth sports, which is what need.

I was wondering if this lens would work well for portraits too.

Thanks for your input.

yes, the 85 makes a great long portrait lens.

That's what it was made for.

Yes

Very much so

85 f/1.8 is excellent for potraits.
I missed it when I sold my 350D with it.

It's an EXCELLENT portrait lens. The sharpness and background blur are quite good and the focal length works well for head shots or 3/4 length portraits if you have room to backup (I'm assuming an APS-C sensor). That being said, 50mm is a better portrait focal length for me if I want more than head shots.

I love mine, though I've only had it a few weeks. The only question is whether it's too long a focal length for your shooting style on a crop camera. Put your 17-85 at 85 and take a look around. Is it too long? It is taking some getting used to, but I decided it was great for me.

Thanks everyone. I just ordered one today

great news. im sure you will love it. awesome lens.

Its a very nice lens.

Congratz! superb lens indeed

Amazing lens. Congrats.

Yea, it's an awesome lens. A bit long, sure, on a cropped camera, but if you've got the room, it's just great. It was the first lens I bought in addition to my kit lens. The 50 spends a bit more time on the camera for everyday stuff but the 85 definately has its place in my bag.

It's one of the must have wedding lenses, so Yes, it takes superb portraits, but not group shots, as it's not wide, unless you wanna stand 300-feet back and shoot from there! Go for it...