Jeremy Jones |
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Suggested Lens
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Spring Has Sprung
Aperture Value f/2.8
ISO 100
Shutter Speed Value 1/1600 sec
Jeremy Jones
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Untitled
Jeremy Jones
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Tastey.
Jeremy Jones
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I just purchased the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Telephoto Lens for my first lens (on a 350D). I'm relatively new to Digital SLR photography and my main subject is my daughter, who's almost 6 months old. I can already see a huge difference in the pictures (great background blur) but being a prime lens, it's taking some getting used to. Also, given the focal length, it's a bit tough to take pictures in tight spots. My question is this - what lens would you recommend to pair with the 85mm f/1.8? I thought about getting the 50mm prime (either the f/1.8 which is cheap, or the f/1.4) but wasn't sure if that would buy me much since it's relatively close in focal length to the 85mm. Would I be better served to get a decent zoom lense? I think the 85mm is going to be great for portraits but I would also like a general purpose (zoom or prime) lense, so any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!Thanks,
Jeremy Attached are some photos I shot with the new lens (keep in mind I'm a newb).
April 11, 2006
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Christopher A. Vedros |
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"(keep in mind I'm a newb)" Make no excuses, Jeremy - you're off to a great start. I really like the composition of "Spring has Sprung". Framing the dog over to the right gives him "room to run". The 85mm f/1.8 is a great lens, it does a very nice job on portraits. The drawback, as you've found, is that the 1.6x lens factor makes it a bit too long for some situations. While I feel the 50mm f/1.4 makes a great companion to the 85mm lens (I have both of them), I think having ONLY these two lenses would really limit your possibilities. I think you would be better served with a good zoom lens. Something like the 18-200mm from Sigma or Tamron would be a good all-purpose lens. After you've had the camera for a while, you may find yourself migrating toward a particular type of photography. Then you would have a better idea of what lens you could add next, like a wider prime, or a dedicated macro lens, etc. BTW, if you ever decide to get a 50mm prime, I would recommend the f/1.4 over the f/1.8. The f/1.4 is very similar in construction and quality to your current 85mm. In comparison, the 50mm f/1.8 is built like a cheap plastic toy. Many photographers swear by its great image quality, but I think much of the praise is due to surprise that good images can be made with such a cheap lens. Just my opinion. Have fun! Chris
April 11, 2006
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Jeremy Jones |
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Chris, I meant to respond to this but got caught up in my other (double posted) thread that got a couple more responses :) I'm still *this close* to getting the 50mm f/1.4 for indoor portraits and saving the 85mm for outdoor (and tighter, indoor) shots. I think I can accomplish what I need to with both of these in my bag for now and have my eyes on that 70-200mm f/4L... Since I plan to shoot indoors a bit, still, I can't imagine a zoom lense with anything higher than f/2.8 (freaking expensive and not an option) would do me any good. Also, I still have the kit zoom if I need it :) So my wishlish sorta looks like this... 50mm f/1.4
70-200mm f/4L
100mm f/2.8 Macro
24-70mm f/2.8L Zoom (haha!) Thanks for your helpful response!
April 18, 2006
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Peter K. Burian |
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I own the 70-200mm f/4L and it's a superb lens, with the Canon 1.4x teleconverter or without that accessory. But that's quite a long telephoto on a digital camera (110-320mm equivalent.) If that is what you need, this lens would be a fine choice. Peter Burian
April 23, 2006
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