what telephoto lens for portraits would be best

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lewisdark

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hi
just needed some help to fined out what telephoto lens would be best for me for portraits, looking at around £500 to spend. i own a canon 30d old i know but still work well:) was looking at Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 Lens our Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Lens. any help would be great and if there are other lenses i should look at please let me know
 
A sigma 70-200 2.8 would come in at around your budget, less if you buy used.
 
The Canon 70-200 f/4 is a cracking lens for portraits, works very nicely with my old, but still worthy 30D.
 
You might just squeeze a 135/2 L from your budget....hard to beat for a longer FL portrait lens.

Bob
 
85/1.8 for the 30D cropper.. the 135/2 is fantastic but can be a bit long on 1.6x crop.
 
For a crop sensor if go for a 50mm. The Sigma f/1.4 is the best if you get a goo copy but the Canon f/1.4 is the more reliable for getting a decent copy with no focus issues.

If you want something a little longer then the 85mm f1.8 is a cracking lens. It's what I use on my 5D.

Overall though I would go for a prime lens rather than a zoom. More flexible aperture for low light and shallow depth of field.

You could even get the 85mm AND 50mm both f1.8 for you budget. That's what I've got.
 
For that money you'll not beat a 70-200 f4.
 
Would you not need to stand REALLY far back to do a full length shot with a 70-200? :thinking: The size of space you work in would be a big factor surely! :) Maybe you only do outdoor portraits? :shrug: :D
 
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I just double checked that photo distance using PhotoMe and it returned 2.11m which seems about right.

Thats one of the good bits about a zoom :)
 
What about the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8? It's a very good lens for the price, you can get it here for around £270 or so.
 
rbrown74 said:
Would you not need to stand REALLY far back to do a full length shot with a 70-200? :thinking: The size of space you work in would be a big factor surely! :) Maybe you only do outdoor portraits? :shrug: :D
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To be fair, the OP never specified whether he's doing full length or just head & shoulders stuff. He also hasn't specifed how much room he has to work in.

The 70-200 f4 has got to be the best choice for the money for headshot portraits within a few metres.
 
domino1999 said:
To be fair, the OP never specified whether he's doing full length or just head & shoulders stuff. He also hasn't specifed how much room he has to work in.

The 70-200 f4 has got to be the best choice for the money for headshot portraits within a few metres.
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I'd rather have a prime or two for the same money. I'd also prefer the Sigma 70-200 f2.8, so that's what I did :-) its far better for portraits due to the ability to get shallower depth of field than the f4 Canon. But my primes are always my first choice still.
 
Phil Young said:
What?!

A full length portrait @ 70mm on a 1.6x crop sensor...2.11m?!

no chance! I'm going to test this tonight...
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Erm my picture wasn't a full length portrait and was of a toddler, also the 1D3 is a 1.3 crop...
 
70-200 seems too long for portait work on a crop sesor. My guess is most shots will be within the sub 100mm range, so maybe a 24-105L or EF 85mm 1.8 prime will work best.

I would personally opt for two fast primes, the EF 50mm F/1.8 (or F/1.4 budget allows) and EF 85mm F/1.8. Just zoom with your feet. On my 7D, I found the 135L far too long for portaits and eneded up selling it. 50-85mm is much better for me. with 85mm being by far the most effective.
 
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Orville said:
70-200 seems too long for portait work on a crop sesor. My guess is most shots will be within the sub 100mm range, so maybe a 24-105L or EF 85mm 1.8 prime will work best.

I would personally opt for two fast primes, the EF 50mm F/1.8 (or F/1.4 budget allows) and EF 85mm F/1.8. Just zoom with your feet.
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Agree almost 100% except I think a 35mm / 85mm combo would work a bit better.

35mm for larger groups / confined space / full length.

85mm for stronger DOF work.
 
sorry for not getting back sooner work does not let me have alot of time of late, thanks for the help, i have a 50mm f1.8 and i do love it just wanted to look at adding more lenses to use for portraits. and sorry i did not give you all more infomation i want the lens for outside use and full body portraits would be great, but image quality is more important. have not looked ant the 24-70l because of the price but if that is a top portrait lens i could go to that but only if it is worth the price any more info would be great thanks
lewis
 
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