Advice very much needed!

[nls1988]

I want to progress in fashion & portrait photography, mainly fasion/model work.

I want to buy a new camera, thinking of the canon 50d.

What lenses am I looking at needing for optimal performance in the fashion/model field?

Now, I currently own a canon 400d, is my money better spent on a good lens to go with it or a new camera and new lens, I have to admit, I really like the 50d.

But I really could do with people's help on what lenses to invest in for my particular fields of interest. As I cant imagine anything worse than buying a lens then realising its not good enough!

 

[andrewc]

Depends on the circumstance - indoor, outdoor, studio, catwalk.

I would have thought a 24-70 f2.8 and a 70-200 f2.8 would be good starting points and maybe a couple of primes - 50mm, 85mm etc.,

I would consider the 5D or 5D2 over the 50D for fashion work, and the normal advice of glass before bodies usually works out best.

 

[Mostly Vintage Cameras]

I hate to say this but from those fashion photographers I've seen they seem to prefer Med Format Digital, Leaf, Phase One or Hasselbald H.
I may be wrong but this seems to be the standard high end fashion clients seem to expect.
Now where is my tin hat?

 

[Jelster]

Keep the body and spend it on the lenses.... A 24-70 f2.8 and/or 24-105 f4, plus maybe the 70-200.

Why ? Well I've used both my old 350D and my 40D both of which deliver fine photographs especially when used with the "L" lenses. The f2.8 is handy for out door work in lower light, but the 24-105 is an excellent portrait lens.

If yo really get the bug and feel that you want to invest more later, look at a used 5D Mk1, they'll be a few on the market in the coming year, and it may be old by today's standards but it's still a bloody good camera, especially for the genres that you are looking to shoot.

Steve