Have check if this has been covered before and nothing jumped out. I warn some of you it may be a little stupid but here goes.
I have been reading on the official Canon website about lens etc and they clasify there fixed/prime lens for use in specific scenarios. For example the 85mm lens is said to be ideal for portrait shots, 50mm a flexible all rounder, 35mm editorial work etc
Anyway on to my stupid question. If a fixed length of 85 is perfect for portrait is that specifically for a full frame sensor? I have a cropped so I am guessing that the 85mm for me would not be that great for portrait work? Or am i totally wrong?
In my little brain I am thinking if I shoot a shot on a cropped lens with a 85mm I would need to stand further back from the perons to than on a full sensor?
I don't know what the pro's would say, but I have a 100mm prime (f/2.8) and a 50mm prime (f/1.4). Both take excellent shots, but the 50mm is far the better length for portraits.
I have a Canon 600D crop sensor, so the 50mm lens shoots like a 80mm, and it is perfect!
I have taken many portraits with the 100mm too, but it is rather too zoomed in for comfort.
@brav Yep, that's how I take it! meaning that for all of us with crop sensor cameras, 50mm is a fairly ideal portrait lens. That's my experience as well.
I prefer my 50mm on my crop sensor and 85mm on my full sensor. I purchased the 85mm before getting a full sensor camera and was a bit disappointed. The 50mm is much cheaper and I use it a whole lot more. I also love my 70-300mm for portraits. Yes, you have to be further back, however, for outside portraits, it's been great!
My bit about the 50mm is that I use it for many other things as well. I can't believe I went so many years without a nifty-fifty!
Hope this helps :)
It has a lot to do with compression and how features are rendered. A 50 on a crop and an 85 on a full frame are great for keeping portraits pleasing. That said, I use a 35mm all the time for portraits. You just have to be careful to look for the best angles to avoid making someone's nose look huge, for example. I actually prefer the 135mm length for portraits as the background is compressed even more. You run into more distractions at a shorter focal length---like trees coming out of people's heads.
I have a 50mm and an 85mm on a Nikon D90, so not a full-frame. I use the 50 as an all around lens. The 85 creates fantastic portraits, but the 50 has occasionally as well -- I just don't usually think of using it in that way. I haven't posted any of the 85mm portraits as I haven't been taking shots of people for 365, but I've found it to be a totally reliable lens for portraits and more general use. I'm guessing when I eventually get a full-frame, I may find out it is much better on that, but for now, in my ignorance of any other look from an 85mm shot, I think it does well. I suspect it is all in how we are used to using a particular lens, and I've never had a full frame to compare it to.
@carolinejensen has it right. I am not up to all of the technical portions of digital; most of my experience comes from the 35mm film days.
The length of the lens is more to determine the compression than how close or far you are from your subject. The wider the angel the further apart things will be in the picture. The longer the length the closer things will be. I’m talking about subject vs. background.
When a lens manufacture says that the lens is ideal for portraits, this is because this will give you an image where the person and their features will look the same (or as close to) in the photo as in real life. As Caroline said, if you use a different length you will need to be careful of your angle.
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I have a Canon 600D crop sensor, so the 50mm lens shoots like a 80mm, and it is perfect!
I have taken many portraits with the 100mm too, but it is rather too zoomed in for comfort.
My bit about the 50mm is that I use it for many other things as well. I can't believe I went so many years without a nifty-fifty!
Hope this helps :)
The length of the lens is more to determine the compression than how close or far you are from your subject. The wider the angel the further apart things will be in the picture. The longer the length the closer things will be. I’m talking about subject vs. background.
When a lens manufacture says that the lens is ideal for portraits, this is because this will give you an image where the person and their features will look the same (or as close to) in the photo as in real life. As Caroline said, if you use a different length you will need to be careful of your angle.