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Portrait / lingerie / half bodyshots. 40mm or 50mm
Hi there, I have a Canon EOS 6D and i shoot lingerie / half body shots and portraits. I would like to buy one of these two lenses. 40mm 2.8 or 50mm 1.8. I know that the 50mm has a better blurr but i'm more concernd about the 'real-factor'.. Because i know a face looks different at let's say 20mm.. As it looks like when you shoot the face at 80mm. The shape changes. I once heard that 50mm comes closest to the real thing, the way people see the face with their eyes. So i don't know about the 40mm ... LOL please help me out!! Jan 18 17 12:53 pm Link Here is a good review and comparison of both lenses you mention. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_-qJWmaDDw The better blur (bokeh) is from the wider aperture and how far your subject is from the background you intend on having blurred. If you stop the lens down you will have less bokeh. Quality of the bokeh can be seen in the higher quality lenses like the L lenses. There is a difference in the quality of bokeh as well. Although the average person really doesn't know the difference they can sometimes subconsciously feel it. The distortion from lenses of facial features varies widely on how the lens is made and the quality of glass/coatings. I find my favorite prime lenses for the head and shoulders are the 85mm f 1.2 II, 135mm f2. In my experience anything under 50mm does distort features. The 50 well depending how close you are to your subject it can do a bit of distortion of its own. Remember the normal on the FF with the 50mm is going to be different on a crop sensor. so you will get different reviews based on cropped body or FF. Jan 18 17 02:32 pm Link Well, may be that is why we call the 50 mm lens a normal lens. Aside from it, it boils down to personal preference. I like to have choices for difference perspectives, so I owns most of them. But I must admit, my 85 mm is pretty much stick on my camera body 90% of the time when comes to shooting models from 3/4 shot to head shot. It is your vision you intended to deliver to the viewers is important.  Jan 18 17 02:37 pm Link In general you really do not need to be worrying about bokeh for the kind of shots you are planning. Well, that is you don't need to be worrying if you actually understand the factors that control depth of field and how you can use those factors to reduce background distractions at moderately higher apertures. Shooting portraits at those wide open apertures is a challenge because as soon as your subject turns their face away from straight on to the camera you will almost never get both eyes tack sharp. What is the most important thing to capture, your subject or the background? Too many people get crappy soft images because they are so worried about "bokeh". Unless you deliberately want some part of the subject out of focus for a creative reason you will be better off shooting from f/5.6 - f/8 and controlling the background in other ways than shooting wide open. Jan 18 17 02:58 pm Link Thank you for your help, you guys (and girl) are great. I think your right, bokey isn't that important for the kind of shots i want to make. Although i also love headshots, and maybe the 50mm is better for that, as i also seen in the youtube video. I heard more people talk about a 85mm lens, so i gues maybe i want to buy that one as well in the future. But i do have a 24-105, and so i can zoom in to 85mm. Is that 'kind of' the same? Although the aperture will be something like 4 zoomed to 85. In fact, would you say that 85 is the best option to avoid distortion in people faces? Jan 18 17 05:09 pm Link Vitabello wrote: I am a Nikon guy, but you just can't go wrong with a Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L. Jan 18 17 05:18 pm Link partly depends on your working distance (both desired and how much room you actually havel) and also how powerful your strobes are (if you shoot wide open with a fast lens you may have too much strobe power or at least that's why i had to buy some 400s to go with my 800s). if you shoot without strobes then you don't have to worry about that part. i like using a 17-40 or 24-70 or 24-105 which gives me flexibility on the wide end. i did an elevator shoot with a model once and using a 50 (or even a 40) wouldn't have given me room for the wider shots that were part of my zivity set. i could see maybe having a 50 and a 24 and switching between them. to me that's the thing about primes. you really need to have several and switch (or use multiple bodies which i do often at weddings). i have a 6D. Jan 18 17 05:19 pm Link Vitabello wrote: The Canon 6D is a FF body so one of your issues is working distance. The other issue is available light versus studio lighting. In general, I'd choose the 50mm, especially if using available light. If you have plenty of working distance, I might consider the Canon 85mm F1.8 as an alternative. I would not use the 40mm but that has to do with the way I shoot and wanting to avoid exaggerated features in closeups. Jan 18 17 06:46 pm Link Vitabello wrote: If you have a 24-105 and don't need bokeh, wondering why you are looking at a new lens? You have a wide range now. And, if your port was shot with that lens, the image quality on a lot of them looks great. Clean and sharp! Jan 18 17 08:38 pm Link Well, 85mm can cause distortion too, but it's the good kind. Between the 40 2.8 and 50 1.8, I think the 50 is much more versatile, especially on a full-frame sensor, and especially if you're shooting people. Jan 22 17 09:31 pm Link It depends on your room or studio size. If you have space, 85mm is my fave for half body, but if not, 50mm is my next choice. If you want bokeh skip the zoom. Jan 23 17 12:15 am Link I usually use a 50mm for full-length, and 85mm for half-length or less, but I am usually working in a studio with plenty of room. Unfortunately, even the cheapest 85mm doesn't come down to the price of the 50/1.8 or 40/2.8. Try them both in a shop, and buy the one that you like. Jan 29 17 02:59 pm Link If you already have the 6D, the 50 1.8 is a better all-around lens. If you have more room and more money, go with the 85mm to get a little more natural look. Depends on how much space you have to work with. Can't go wrong with the 50mm though. Jan 31 17 12:39 pm Link |
