Hi help with lens please

chez1980

chez1980

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Hi I'm just starting out in photography & I have the canon eos 1100d. Which lens would be best for portraits? I've been looking on Jessops at the tamron make and canon. Can anyone advice me before I buy??

Cheryl
 
I am totally baffled & you will prob all think I'm stupid. Ive been looking at lenses now for over an hour now & I'm assuming the lens have different fits, so now I have no idea which is the best for portrait or which ones will fit?
Sorry in advance for asking silly questions

Cheryl
 
Any canon fit lens will fit. It will be marked as such.
As for whats best, well thats mainly down to personal choice, but the most common portrait lengths are 35mm, 50mm and 85mm.
On your camera, you'll be best of with between 30-50mm.

Need to know a budget really, but the Canon 50mm f/1.8 is a good cheapish option
 
My budget isn't massive really, prob £100 to £200 at a push. I've been looking at the canon ef 50 mm II is that what you mentioned?
 
For portraits you don't want a lens with to short a focal length. I assume you have the kit lens that cam with your camera. This I think is the 18-55mm. This lens at the 55mm setting will be a fairly good portrait setting. See if this works OK for you. If it does then fine.

If you want something a bit longer then I would suggest you look at some thing around 85mm. However first I would try the existing kit lens and see how it performs. What you don't want is to have distorted features. It's usually the nose that suffers looking bigger than it is in relation to other features. By using a lens of a longer focal length enables you to be further away from the subject reducing or eliminating this unwanted effect.

You can see the effect exaggerated if you take a portrait shot with your kit lens at say set to 25mm and then at 55mm. This is an extreme but it will give you an idea of the problem you are trying to overcome
 
Chappers said:
For portraits you don't want a lens with to short a focal length. I assume you have the kit lens that cam with your camera. This I think is the 18-55mm. This lens at the 55mm setting will be a fairly good portrait setting. See if this works OK for you. If it does then fine.

If you want something a bit longer then I would suggest you look at some thing around 85mm. However first I would try the existing kit lens and see how it performs. What you don't want is to have distorted features. It's usually the nose that suffers looking bigger than it is in relation to other features. By using a lens of a longer focal length enables you to be further away from the subject reducing or eliminating this unwanted effect.

You can see the effect exaggerated if you take a portrait shot with your kit lens at say set to 25mm and then at 55mm. This is an extreme but it will give you an idea of the problem you are trying to overcome
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Thank you and yes that's the lens I have & I have been using it around the 55 mm.
Will try it again and see how it goes
 
the 75 to 300 lens is more for zooming in at distance..... for your budget i'd try and get a 50mm lens (£100 in shops ish/ cheaper on ebay/amazon).... and with spare money invest in a light reflecting disc or diffuser, as that can improve photos if used correctly without costing the earth
 
tezmed said:
the 75 to 300 lens is more for zooming in at distance..... for your budget i'd try and get a 50mm lens (£100 in shops ish/ cheaper on ebay/amazon).... and with spare money invest in a light reflecting disc or diffuser, as that can improve photos if used correctly without costing the earth
Click to expand...

Ok thanks may sound really thick again here do sorry! But if I get the 50 mm isn't that similar to the lens I already have?? Just want to take better portraits & my new course doesn't start for 3 weeks so got no one to ask! I have reflectors x
 
someone might wanna improve on untechnical answer, but as far as i can make out the 50mm lens is pretty much what the eye can see (viewing angle in shot) so wider than the 50 in the 18mm55mm kit lens... i have both and i use the 50mm lens for portraits (however with this lens you have to move the camera instead of being able to zoom in etc.... as you'd do with the 18mm55mm lens
 
tezmed said:
someone might wanna improve on untechnical answer, but as far as i can make out the 50mm lens is pretty much what the eye can see (viewing angle in shot) so wider than the 50 in the 18mm55mm kit lens... i have both and i use the 50mm lens for portraits (however with this lens you have to move the camera instead of being able to zoom in etc.... as you'd do with the 18mm55mm lens
Click to expand...

Thank you, you have been really helpful, what sort of photography do you do mainly?
 
The 50mm has a wider maximum aperture which is often used in portraiture to blur out the background. Being a prime lens is often a lot sharper than the kit lenses too.
 
i try a particular style for a month/ or two, then change to something different for a month or two- more to learn about what the camera can do etc etc i just wanna get get a taking photos, for personal use- will take years to become a fully fledged pro lol
 
tezmed said:
someone might wanna improve on untechnical answer, but as far as i can make out the 50mm lens is pretty much what the eye can see (viewing angle in shot) so wider than the 50 in the 18mm55mm kit lens... i have both and i use the 50mm lens for portraits (however with this lens you have to move the camera instead of being able to zoom in etc.... as you'd do with the 18mm55mm lens
Click to expand...

50mm is 50mm regardless of the lens. It will give the same field of view on any lens. Of course some lenses for various reasons aren't truly what they claim to be, but as a rule it's set.
 
TCR4x4 said:
The 50mm has a wider maximum aperture which is often used in portraiture to blur out the background. Being a prime lens is often a lot sharper than the kit lenses too.
Click to expand...

So the 50 mm would be better than the lens I have??
 
tezmed said:
i try a particular style for a month/ or two, then change to something different for a month or two- more to learn about what the camera can do etc etc i just wanna get get a taking photos, for personal use- will take years to become a fully fledged pro lol
Click to expand...

Sounds interesting and fun! You on any sites where you put your pics on? I'm only on fb at the moment
 
chez1980 said:
So the 50 mm would be better than the lens I have??
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Better in some areas yes.
 
The 50mm f1.8 (nifty fifty) will be by far the best choice for you. A nice focal length and a lens that will really blur out the background to create excellent bokeh. Make sure ur cam is set to aperture priority mode and set it to f1.8. Happy snapping!
 
Turnermator21 said:
The 50mm f1.8 (nifty fifty) will be by far the best choice for you. A nice focal length and a lens that will really blur out the background to create excellent bokeh. Make sure ur cam is set to aperture priority mode and set it to f1.8. Happy snapping!
Click to expand...

Thank you so much and yes I already use the av mode x
 
+1 for the 50mm 1.8.

It's a good introduction into the world of low apertures.
 
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