Portrait lens recommendations for the 400D?

Hi, I'm a newbie just starting out. I would love to start doing portrait photography, mostly of my 2 girls. I recently bought a 400D (rebel XTi?) and I'm looking into buying my first lens other than the 18-55mm that it came with. I see that most people shoot with a 50mm f1.8 lens for portraits but since I'm new to this i'm not sure if its the bes for me. I'm also on a budget so I would like to get the most for my money. So what would you recommend? I've been reading as much as possible and I also know lighting is a key factor mostly. Any tips on that? How can I take some good portraits just inside my house? Also where would you recommend that I buy my lenses? All I have is a Ritz camera nearby and I bought my camera at besy buy.

sweetypie925 wrote in post #2200731
Hi, I'm a newbie just starting out. I would love to start doing portrait photography, mostly of my 2 girls. I recently bought a 400D (rebel XTi?) and I'm looking into buying my first lens other than the 18-55mm that it came with. I see that most people shoot with a 50mm f1.8 lens for portraits but since I'm new to this i'm not sure if its the bes for me. I'm also on a budget so I would like to get the most for my money. So what would you recommend? I've been reading as much as possible and I also know lighting is a key factor mostly. Any tips on that? How can I take some good portraits just inside my house? Also where would you recommend that I buy my lenses? All I have is a Ritz camera nearby and I bought my camera at besy buy.

Indeed, a 50 f1.8 may be a good choice, particularly on a budget. I will give you about 80mm focal lenght, which is close to the 85mm "ideal" focal lenght for portraits, as well as f1.8 maximum aperture, good enough to isolate subjects from backgrounds, etc.

I never used the 50 f1.8, only the 50 f1.4, but in both cases autofocus seems to suffer a bit in low light.

About lighting, taking advantage of window light may be the simplest way.

Most people would recommend the 50 1.8 but I would skip that lens. If I were you, I would get the Sigma 30mm and save up if you have to.

Mikez, dont you think 30mm is a bit too wide? i think 85mm is best suited portrait lens on full frame cameras, and for his 400d (1.6 crop) camera would make it 80mm. I mean for $80 you cant go wrong.

See this post about portraiture using an APS-C camera like the 400D. While it starts about general focal length ranges, it also includes information pertinent to portraiture, too.

https://photography-on-the.net …hp?p=2128677&po​stcount=15

Best 'bang for yer buck' (as those amerikan people say) must be the 50mm f/1.8. - I'd personally save up and go for either the 50 f/1.4 (better build quality & focus accuracy/speed) or the 85 f/1.8, although the 85mm is really for head & shoulder portraits on a crop body like to 400D (unless you stand a long way back).

On a 1.6 crop camera like the 400D

For wider group shots:
Sigma 30mm f/1.4
For tigther, more traditional:
50 1.8/50 1.4
Even tighter:
85 1.8

Places to buy your stuff:
B&H
OneCall
Beach Camera
BuyDig(same company as Beach)
Canoga Camera
digitaldiscountfoto.co​m
BestPriceAudioVideo.co​m
Dell(when they have their crazy discounts)


www.pricegrabber.com will help arrange the best price for a particular item with just about most of those stores.

I'd get the 50 f/1.8. For around $80.00 you can't make a better improvement to your gear.

For lighting, go with natural light. You'll have to stay close to windows, but that will make for some interesting backgrounds. For lighting the side of the face which is not lit by the windows, make yourself a reflector with some cardboard and aluminum foil and reflect the window light back onto your subject. Cheap and effective.

I would recomend getting the 50 1.8 no matter what.

Read what Grego posted - twice. Then make your decision.

Mark

Mark_Cohran wrote in post #2202009
Read what Grego posted - twice. Then make your decision.

Three times. And read my message (#5) and the link to help set it firmly in your mind.

The 50mm f1.8 is a good lens, for $85 it delivers a very credible preformance. As you are only used to your 18-55 and have little or no experience with primes, the 50 1.8 may be a good lens to start with. If it works for you, you can always upgrade to a 50 1.4 or get a 85 1.8 or alternatively, should you so wish, stick to zoom lenses...
Personally i find that Sigma 17-70 does a decent job with portraits as long as there is adequate light and i have the added flexibility of a zoom. On the other hand the 50 1.8 allows me the extra flexibility of almost 2 extra stops. I am very happy with both lenses and find that i require both for diffrent work. So i would be prone to suggesting, get the nifty fifty and experience the new, sharp world of primes !!
P.S. the IQ diffrence between your 18-55 and even the 50 1.8 will SHOCK you

Wilt has it spot on. I actually find the 50mm focal length a bit long for normal portraits and would prefer to have something like a Sigma 30mm f1.4. The 85mm lens on my 20D is too long and it only gets used when I'm pretty far away in low light conditions - like at a concert.

Lighting as the OP posted is also very important and I'd suggest you read about flash to help with taking portrait shots. The 50mm f1.8 is a fast and sharp lens as others have noted although it's cheaply built. Value for money wise it's probably one of the best lenses Canon make. If it's all you can afford for a lens buy one. You will learn what you can and can't do with the lens. Use your feet to zoom in/out by getting closer or further away from your subject.

I had one but sold it for the better 50mm f1.4 but as above I think I'd prefer the 30mm focal range. Each to their own.

85L

amarasme wrote in post #2201219
Indeed, a 50 f1.8 may be a good choice, particularly on a budget. I will give you about 80mm focal lenght, which is close to the 85mm "ideal" focal lenght for portraits, as well as f1.8 maximum aperture, good enough to isolate subjects from backgrounds, etc.

85mm is the "ideal" focal length only for a 35mm film camera or a "full-frame" DSLR.

Since the poster is using a different format (a 400D is an APS-C format) the translation of that "ideal" recommendation is 50mm.

80mm to 85mm is a bit long for the average portrait work in the average sized studio when used on an APS-C camera.

The Canon 50mm f/1.4 is a far superior lens to the Canon 50mm f/1.8 in several respects. Mostly I am referring to mechanical issues rather than the quality of images it is able to produce. It has a conventional focussing ring for one thing while the 50mm f/1.8 is much like the 18-55 "kit" lens in construction and where the focussing ring is. The 50mm f/1.8, while optically acceptable, is not very well built in my opinion.