Art and Photography

Require input in purchasing lens

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  • Aug 10th, 2014 10:24 am
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Deal Addict
Aug 30, 2007
2002 posts
1465 upvotes
AncasterRFD wrote: Curious how far back you are to get that body shot?
(to judge it's workability indoors)
Indoors 135L on a crop camera is only good for head and head and shoulders shots.

You still might consider the cheaper alternative, 85mm f1.8. You'll get 1.4x less background blur (for the same framing), and somewhat worse image quality wide open, but the working distance will be 1.6x shorter, AF is as fast, and it is 2.5x cheaper new.

Photozone gives the 85mm and 135mm on a crop camera 4 and 4.5 stars, respectively:

http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/164-c ... rt--review
http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/168-c ... rt--review
Deal Addict
Aug 1, 2010
1588 posts
1599 upvotes
Montreal
pulsar123 wrote: Indoors 135L on a crop camera is only good for head and head and shoulders shots.

You still might consider the cheaper alternative, 85mm f1.8. You'll get 1.4x less background blur (for the same framing), and somewhat worse image quality wide open, but the working distance will be 1.6x shorter, AF is as fast, and it is 2.5x cheaper new.

Photozone gives the 85mm and 135mm on a crop camera 4 and 4.5 stars, respectively:

http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/164-c ... rt--review
http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/168-c ... rt--review
For indoor 85mm is much more convenient than the 135mm, for half the price.
Deal Expert
Jun 15, 2012
15662 posts
10440 upvotes
Southern Ontario
Sorry, I should say indoors at say 20-25 feet on a crop such as sidelines at a game, in an auditorium on the side, where my kid is up front participating and I can't get past the group of children sitting, etc.
Where flash isn't permitted or discouraged out of courtesy, and I have the time to change lens but not setup a tripod for the same no-flash reasons.
Mainly shots of my kids.
I have the budget for the 135mm, but I don't want to spend it on a large aperture zoom costing a lot more... as I don't think I'll make much use of the max 200mm, plus it weighs more and is more cumbersome.
Deal Addict
Jun 29, 2008
1897 posts
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North York
Rent it and try if it works for you. There are too many variables to know if it'll work.
Deal Expert
Jun 15, 2012
15662 posts
10440 upvotes
Southern Ontario
I didn't know that was possible. Great idea, I see it's $25 for a day with the 135.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Oct 5, 2004
1218 posts
371 upvotes
Toronto
Ideally, a perfect portrait lens is about 100mm or more. Although very very little, there's still a tiny bit of distortion at 85mm, if you shoot very tight.

Lens distortion can be a good thing,depending on what you are shooting. In general, people appear slightly younger on images taken with a lens of 100mm or less as your face is less defined, just like all the teenagers and kids. You can use that to your advantage,but it can take a lot of time to learn to use the lens properly.
Take 24mm or 35mm(including L series). Both aren't that good for portraits due to distortion,but if learned, they can also be excellent, with minimal distortion shown.

A lot of excellent fashion photographers use 70-200 for their work.
.
Deal Addict
Aug 30, 2007
2002 posts
1465 upvotes
demi2004 wrote: Ideally, a perfect portrait lens is about 100mm or more. Although very very little, there's still a tiny bit of distortion at 85mm, if you shoot very tight.

Lens distortion can be a good thing,depending on what you are shooting. In general, people appear slightly younger on images taken with a lens of 100mm or less as your face is less defined, just like all the teenagers and kids. You can use that to your advantage,but it can take a lot of time to learn to use the lens properly.
Take 24mm or 35mm(including L series). Both aren't that good for portraits due to distortion,but if learned, they can also be excellent, with minimal distortion shown.

A lot of excellent fashion photographers use 70-200 for their work.

Yes, but with one correction - it should be 100mm or more for the equivalent focal length. For a crop camera that translates to the FL>60mm.

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