Portrait Lens for 7D

Hi,

I know this topic has done the rounds a few times, and apologies if it's a bit of a re-hash. I've read through lots of posts but those posters seemed to have different equipment/circumstance​s which might have affected people's responses.

I currently have a 7D with a 15-85mm lens which has been perfect for travel/street photography up until now. Recently though, I've been asked to do a few portraits and am thinking of doing more of this in future. My current lens isn't really going to be up to the job and would love some advice as to what lens the pros on here think I should get next.

I prefer a more close-up, headshot style and have been thinking about a 50mm 1.4 (which is also roughly my price range). I had a play with a friend's 50mm 1.2 and loved the clarity of a prime compared to the zoom (though I appreciate that one is also probably about 3 times the price of the one I can afford). Any thoughts?

Thanks a lot!

Ive had lots of good results with my sigma 50 1.4, but the siggy 30 1.4 and teh canon 50 1.4 are both very great aswell.

For headshots I'd prefer something like a 85mm f/1.8, 100 f/2 or maybe even 135 f/2. When shooting portraits with your 7D and 15-85, do you usually end up in the 50mm range or at the long end of the zoom?

Thanks Alexei - will take that on board

Rsyx - with the 15-85 I'm usually at the long end of the zoom, but wouldn't really go closer than that I don't think.

Rsyx wrote in post #10968628
For headshots I'd prefer something like a 85mm f/1.8, 100 f/2 or maybe even 135 f/2. When shooting portraits with your 7D and 15-85, do you usually end up in the 50mm range or at the long end of the zoom?

Yes, these 3 will give you great headshots. The 50mm 1.4 is a decent choice, but I far prefer the longer focal lengths. Forget 30mm for portraits & headshots. You'll end up with some mild distortion in some shots. I like the 100mm f2 and the 135mm f2 best.

Sigma 30mm f/1.4 and Canon 85mm f/1.8.

Rsyx wrote in post #10968628
For headshots I'd prefer something like a 85mm f/1.8, 100 f/2 or maybe even 135 f/2. When shooting portraits with your 7D and 15-85, do you usually end up in the 50mm range or at the long end of the zoom?

nightcat wrote in post #10968933
Yes, these 3 will give you great headshots. The 50mm 1.4 is a decent choice, but I far prefer the longer focal lengths. Forget 30mm for portraits & headshots. You'll end up with some mild distortion in some shots. I like the 100mm f2 and the 135mm f2 best.

Well with a 1.6x crop, wouldn't these long a focal length give a kinda funny look to the faces... I have read that the human eye view of a 35mm-equivalent would be closer to 50-55mm range, and that on a 1.6x crop sensor would mean 31-34mm. Just stating what I have learnt from others on this forum, I have no experience of my own.

nikmar08 wrote in post #10970037
Well with a 1.6x crop, wouldn't these long a focal length give a kinda funny look to the faces... I have read that the human eye view of a 35mm-equivalent would be closer to 50-55mm range, and that on a 1.6x crop sensor would mean 31-34mm. Just stating what I have learnt from others on this forum, I have no experience of my own.

If you do a tight-headshot at 10mm (on crop), it will look funny because you're so close to the subject.

If you do a tight headshot at 100mm (on crop), it will not look funny because you are farther away from the subject.

It would be a good exercise for you to get some experience with persepctive/focal lengths/shooting distances. It will be an eye-opener

What lenses do you have now?

nikmar08 wrote in post #10970037
Well with a 1.6x crop, wouldn't these long a focal length give a kinda funny look to the faces... I have read that the human eye view of a 35mm-equivalent would be closer to 50-55mm range, and that on a 1.6x crop sensor would mean 31-34mm. Just stating what I have learnt from others on this forum, I have no experience of my own.

Quite the opposite. A wide angle lens can give you a funny look to the faces (big nose). Most of the best outdoor portraits I've seen are taken with lenses from 85mm to 135mm. The longer focal length does nothing to distort the face. Check out the samples of headshots on POTN taken with a 135mm 2.0 lens. I think you'll be impressed. Then check out headshots taken with lenses from 24mm to 30mm lenses. You can judge for yourself.

I recently picked up a Tokina 50-135 for this type of stuff and I like the results.

Years ago, when I shot film, a focal range of 85 to 105mm was considered the ideal range for portraits. Using a crop factor lens, a 50mm is just shy of ideal and really, anything longer than that would work well. You would just need to keep in mind how far away from the subject you would need to be using longer lenses. Another advantage of using a medium telephoto for portraits other than less distortion is the shallow DOF gained to keep the background from being a distraction.

egordon99 wrote in post #10970189
If you do a tight-headshot at 10mm (on crop), it will look funny because you're so close to the subject.

If you do a tight headshot at 100mm (on crop), it will not look funny because you are farther away from the subject.

It would be a good exercise for you to get some experience with persepctive/focal lengths/shooting distances. It will be an eye-opener

What lenses do you have now?

nightcat wrote in post #10970243
Quite the opposite. A wide angle lens can give you a funny look to the faces (big nose). Most of the best outdoor portraits I've seen are taken with lenses from 85mm to 135mm. The longer focal length does nothing to distort the face. Check out the samples of headshots on POTN taken with a 135mm 2.0 lens. I think you'll be impressed. Then check out headshots taken with lenses from 24mm to 30mm lenses. You can judge for yourself.

Well, I just bought a 7D on Canon's loyalty program and am on the look out for lenses. I had made up my mind about a couple that fit my budget based on what I understood from responses I received from other experienced members of this forum. With responses I have got from you folks, my understanding needs to be revised (read corrected if you like). I feel fortunate that I replied to this thread and got a different perspective before buying lenses. Geez, more confusion for lesser mortals like me

What I am also learning as I spend more and more time reading threads here is that I have to start shooting and learn during the process. A good or not so good pic is more of a "eyes of the beholder" stuff I guess. Well, the end result of this is that this becomes a more expensive a hobby than what I should be engaging in

nikmar08 wrote in post #10970550
Well, I just bought a 7D on Canon's loyalty program and am on the look out for lenses.
...
I feel fortunate that I replied to this thread and got a different perspective before buying lenses.

I like the pun

Enjoy the 7D!

The 85 1.8. My favorite on my 7D.

egordon99 wrote in post #10970568
I like the pun

Enjoy the 7D!

Well perspectives can be opinionated, and opinions can be perspectives sometimes - no pun intended this time