Photograph and Camera talk
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mank
if you wanna shoot portrait a 50mm would work fairly well
I'm too lazy to look up the crop ratio of the 7d but it'll be prolly 1.5 making the 50 equiv to 75mm focal length which is a good general purpose portrait lengthany of those 50/1.4 lenses are gonna be similar in price and performance. I'd prolly stick with a canon but that's just me.
if you're thinking of getting into the L lenses (50/1.2?) I'd prolly be looking into a FF body first. If youre dropping that much on a lens, you may as well take advantage of it.
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now if youre gonna use that zoom most of the time and really want a portrait lens for special situations
and your subject is gonna be still (not small kids/action) look into some manual focus (old is fine) stuff in the 75-90 focal length. You could get like an 85/2 for $250 or less that'll shoot a great portrait with nice bokeh and the older glass often has a slightly softer look which lends well to portrait especially faces
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^Its 1.6, canon I believe has full frame, 1.3x, and 1.6x crop. Reading up on the comparison between the 50 1.4 and 1.2L when you go wide (2.0+), the images lose their quality, but the 1.2L is the best of the 50mms. Otherwise if you had a full frame and wanted the best portrait lens the 85mm 1.2L would be the way to go, but it is a slow lens.
Like Jacoavlu said if you are going to get a 1.2L it would be wise to invest in a FF body. I would personally rather buy the lens, then sell the body (when you have anough money to add onto the money you make from the body for a FF body), and then buy it. But wait a couple more months before deciding to go FF, the 5D Mark II should be coming out in Spring of 2012 I believe?
Otherwise look into some zoom lenses as well, or if you do want a nice L lens, get a wide angle lens. The 35 1.4L is a sweet lens, may consider that over the 24-70 2.8L but am still reading up on a ton of lenses to buy. Oh, before I forget a lot of people have focusing issues with the 50 1.2L when shooting @ 1.2. The minimum focusing distance is about 4 (or 3) feet away.
Just in case you still don't know what crop factor is, this helped me a LOT
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/crop-factor.htm
Edit 2:
And another link to know what lenses are with crop factors:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/1-6x.htm -
Jaco, Thanks for explanation.. I'm eyeing on a Canon 50mm f/1.4 before, in fact thought about trying el cheapo f/1.8 first for playing,but the 72mm filter thread on a Sigma really catch my eyes, but the price slowing down me a bit.. i'll get it someday.
I'm more on a general purpose L lens .. And yes, in case that this will be my next addiction, full frame it is.. I'm still a new learner.. Need a lot of advice from experienced users..
7D using a 1.6 cropped sensor.. -
Laxlife..Sorry i misread your post.. Thanks for the explanation.. Still studying all the functions though.. Is the 5D mark 2 already out? Do you means Mark 3? I'm still far far away from FF body.. In fact just trying to experiment with the one i had first and step it from there.. But i need at least prime lens right now.. and Maybe a general purpose L series lens for a step up toys.. Anyway its a very nice to get a valuable info from you.. MAny thanks..
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Mankarat, no problem at all. For a prime lens then I would just recommend getting a cheap one. And yes I mean Mark III, not II. But I know what you mean I mean if you just got a DSLR wait about a year before thinking of upgrading your body, I am planning on upgrading my body probably next summer. For an all purpose L lens I believe the 24-70 2.8L (same one crisone has), is a very good lens. Image quality is fantastic.
I actually think I will be purchasing a 35 1.4L lens instead of the 24-70 2.8L, I don't mind prime lenses at all. IF you are in fact brand new to cameras, take your time before you buy a new lens learn the kit lens (unless you don't have one, then buy 1 lens), use it to its full potential. Play around with the settings (iso, aperture, shutter speed), know how to take better pictures make them darker or lighter in broad daylight etc.. etc… it is better to know your camera and understand how it works first before you get anything else because once you get the next thing you will know how to use it perfectly.
also look into the 35mm 2.0 lens, trust me if you want good portrait lenses get good portrait lenses. Otherwise when you are using them at their widest aperture quality will not be what you would think it could be and you will need to stop it down to probably ~2.0.
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I think it's a good thing to shoot a 35mm or 50mm (both 35mm film/full frame equivalent) for some time, beginner or not, you might realize it is all you need and that you don't actually need zoom capabilities. "Zooming with your feet" can be a very rewarding experience. Just like using an old manual focus lens like jacoavlu recommended. Especially the EOS mount allows for a lot of old lenses to be mounted and I'd encourage anybody to try that out.
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I actually find manually focusing my lens much more to my liking than having it autofocus. Not only that but it is quicker for me personally.
And if anyone owns the 35 1.4L does anyone have an opinion on it?
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Yeah, well I do change my mind, but for the better. I am trying to find what lens I would like the best because I will be using it for quite a while haha. I am sure I would be fine with the 24-70 though, just was looking and maybe thinking about the 35 as I didn't even consider it before and its aperture is great for low light.
I wasn't dead set on the zoom L though, just had a strong feeling that it was it I have been looking for a lens for the past couple of days and was thinking the 24-70 was it but now I see the 35 1.4L! I am reading reviews and trying to compare both, looking at pictures from both, etc…
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the L lenses are overkill for most of us
if you can afford it, great
but it's largely unnecessarygood photos are more about the scene, the light, the composition and framing, timing, being there and being ready
most of us are better to get a decent but cheaper lens
and just shoot the hell out of it
save money for prints -
Its true, I did save up for an L lens though so I will be buying either the 35 or the 24-70. From what I have read though it is better to buy the zoom lens than the prime as I am sure I can find the same lens with smaller tweaks to it (smaller aperture), but the only thing is the quality. I am probably going to go for the 24-70 though, just keeping my horizons open.
I can always get the cheaper prime lenses later on.
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I think it is going to be the 24-70, I'm just trying to keep my horizons open for when I do buy it I wont end up regretting it (although i thunk that will be hard with such nice lenses).
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Finn
good choicelax - if you're thinking of the 35, do this:
get out your zoom, set that shit at 35mm
and tape across the zoom ring so you can't turn it
force yourself to shoot at that length for a week or two
see how you like it… can you live without the flexibility?
plus you may prefer another length. 28? 50?
there's quality lenses at any length.it depends how you shoot typically
28 is great for street, scenes, groups of people, intimate, city wides, requires composition and getting in close. Google Garry Winogrand he always shot 28
35 is classic, versatile, the length looks natural to many.
50 is not quite wide, not quite tele. Can do some portrait, some scenes. But for some it's too in between (and a 35 on a crop camera is gonna be near 50) google Henri Cartier Bresson, he always shot 50and on and on...
