Budget camera for portrait without distortion

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johnny9546

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I've been searching online for the best portrait cameras, and they're very expensive.
I'm sure someone can give a tip on the best ones for those on a budget.

What I'm most interested in is taking photos with the right .mm to get the true faciall proportions, as we see them in real life. (which is why I can't do it with my phone, because it add so many distortion to it).
 
It may help if you could advise what type of portrait your looking to do, ie head shot, half body, full body. The distance you work/shoot at is far more important than the lens itself.
 
johnny9546 said:
I've been searching online for the best portrait cameras, and they're very expensive.
I'm sure someone can give a tip on the best ones for those on a budget.

What I'm most interested in is taking photos with the right .mm to get the true faciall proportions, as we see them in real life. (which is why I can't do it with my phone, because it add so many distortion to it).
Click to expand...

In general, it's not the camera. Selecting the right lens, lighting, posing, background will all be more important than the camera body.
 
johnny9546 said:
What I'm most interested in is taking photos with the right .mm to get the true faciall proportions, as we see them in real life. (which is why I can't do it with my phone, because it add so many distortion to it).
Click to expand...

Somehow I overlooked this at first pass.

Ideally you want a short-mid telephoto lens: 85mm to 135mm or equivalent depending on space available. The equivalent bit is down to different sensor sizes that give different fields of view.

What's the budget for this?
 
It’s a general misunderstanding that focal length changes perspective.

It’s actually subject distance which changes the perspective.

And as above, when you’re at the correct distance from your subject, a short to medium telephoto is the perfect focal length.

You’ll have to be more blunt re budget. Because if I’m honest, a great camera and lens for portraits can be had for a fraction of the price of an iPhone. ;)

Also, once you get into portrait photography you’ll realise that lighting and posing are the key to ‘great’ results. So you might also end up spending more on lighting than on cameras.
 
So in summary:
What are you currently achieving?

What would you like to achieve?

What’s your budget?
 
johnny9546 said:
I've been searching online for the best portrait cameras, and they're very expensive.
I'm sure someone can give a tip on the best ones for those on a budget.

What I'm most interested in is taking photos with the right .mm to get the true faciall proportions, as we see them in real life. (which is why I can't do it with my phone, because it add so many distortion to it).
Click to expand...

My guess would be something between 50 and 85mm depending upon your distance from the subject but that's in FF or 35mm terminology. If you go APS-C the numbers change to 35-56mm and with Micro Four Thirds they change again to 25-45mm. All figures being there abouts and distance to subject dependant etc.

What I'd recommend is a fairly modern mirrorless camera (and by fairly modern I mean something introduced within the last 10 years or so) because with mirrorless you get eye detect and the ability to focus just about anywhere in the frame and this gives you greater compositional freedom as you can place the subjects eye or whatever you choose to focus on just about anywhere in the frame. With a conventional SLR/DSLR you're possibly limited by the placement of the focus points which could well be in a rather tight grouping around the central area thus potentially giving you a problem or two if the main point of focus isn't in that central area.

Cost depends on which way you want to go, FF, APS-C or MFT and the focal length and aperture you want to use. Personally I like most if not all of a persons head to be reasonably sharp so I wouldn't be taking a tighter shot with FF at f1.2 and that would bring the costs down for me as I wouldn't need a f1.2 lens.

So, it all depends on the end picture you want. My normal thought process is to start at the end result and work back to decide the kit and the settings so I think being clear in your own mind is key. Think about what final framing and look you want and that will help to decide the settings and the kit capable of achieving those settings and that look.

Good luck.

PS.
Just on costs.
I used to have a Panasonic G1 and at lower ISO's I was impressed with the image quality and although I sold that camera years ago I still look at pictures I took with it, but as they're getting old now finding one which isn't sticky (the plastic goes sticky after a number of years) might be a problem. A G2 or G3 can be had for around £100 or less and the rather nice Olympus 45mm f1.8 (90mm equivalent in FF terms) can be found for around £100 or less. So, a G2 or G3 and 45mm f1.8 could maybe be found for around £150-£250. Other options are available :D but I just thought I'd make the point that depending on the look you are going for and the image quality you want your entry point might not be an awful lot of money.
 
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I wonder if he's any the wiser?
 
woof woof said:
I wonder if he's any the wiser?
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he may not be but I am and possibly others are, so your time and effort is not wasted. Thanks
 
Barney said:
he may not be but I am and possibly others are, so your time and effort is not wasted. Thanks
Click to expand...

Thank you Wayne.

Taking people shots is interesting and you can get some interesting effects but not everyone is looking for "interesting" so the question about distortion is valid although I think I'd rather say "perspective."

Mrs WW is south asian and she thinks she has a large face so she is sensitive about pictures which make her face look bigger and here the longer lens used at greater distance look can be less acceptable to her, hence my guess at something 50-85mm for people sensitive about faces looking large or flat or even looking like they're putting on weight. I think in some tighter shots taken with longer lenses the effect can be quite visible if you look for it.
 
When distorting bodily proportions, I have on occasion, at models request, made certain parts bigger/smaller as requested by using wide angle lens and lowering camera silghtly shrinks head. One particular model wanted to emphasis long legs even though they were not long, well shaped but not long, I remember asking her to lean back against a wall, slide down a bit and then extend her her leg out, I took a wide angle portrait shot from low down just in front of her outstretched leg, near the foot, it made her legs look very long indeed and she was very happy. wide angle and camera position throws distance and therefore proportion/size into a parallax type image.

As you say, there is so much to explore in portrait photography.

Your wife is beautiful by the way and in my opinion has a lovely shaped face!
 
johnny9546 said:
I've been searching online for the best portrait cameras, and they're very expensive.
I'm sure someone can give a tip on the best ones for those on a budget.

What I'm most interested in is taking photos with the right .mm to get the true faciall proportions, as we see them in real life. (which is why I can't do it with my phone, because it add so many distortion to it).
Click to expand...
There is quite a bit of disagreement about which focal length gives the true proportions as our eyes see them, however generally around the 50mm full frame equivalent is regarded as the right answer.

However a lot of people prefer 85mm as they say it’s more flattering, and some like even longer focal lengths such as 135mm and 200mm as they like the background compression it gives. Therefore I’d suggest looking at some different focal lengths and seeing which you prefer.

Julia Trotting has an excellent video showing the differences in look between 35mm, 50mm and 85mm. I shoot with all 3 depending on the scene and how I want to portray it.

Phil V made a very good point in that it’s not the focal length of the lens that causes distortion, it’s the camera to subject distance, however with a shorter focal length you tend to be closer to the subject and hence the more distortion.

Try it with your phone, take a photo in standard which will be something like 24mm eq, then try it again in portrait/crop mode which will be something like 50mm eq and see how much you need to alter the subject distance and how that affects the look of the image.
 
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