I am looking for a portrait and nature prime lens to go on an XSi. I have it narrowed down to the 85 f/1.8 and the ef-s 60 2.8 macro...and why not throw in the 50 1.4 for discussion.
Thanks for the thoughts...
I am looking for a portrait and nature prime lens to go on an XSi. I have it narrowed down to the 85 f/1.8 and the ef-s 60 2.8 macro...and why not throw in the 50 1.4 for discussion.
Thanks for the thoughts...
I own both the 50mm and the 85mm f/1.8 primes, and I find myself using the 85mm about 95% of the time. It's an amazing lens, and the FoV seems to be perfect for portiats on a x1.6 body.
It can be tack sharp wide open if you manual focus, but after f/2.8 you can do whatever because it's razor sharp after that.
Here's two examples of mine; one stopped down a bit, and the other wide-open.
Canon Rebel XT 350D, 85mm, F/3.2, ISO200, 1/800sec
Canon Rebel XT 350D, 85mm, F/1.8, ISO1600, 1/1250sec
All in all, I highly reccomend the 85mm over both the 50 and the 60.
Great pictures...I like the 85 because I think it would fit me better...but am entertaining the 60 for the macro
Thanks for the input!
I'll throw in a second opinion here. I owned the 85 f/1.8 for a brief time, but ended up selling it on ebay. It was a great lens, very sharp. So why did I sell it? It didn't fit my shooting style. I wanted to use the lens indoors and utilize it's wide aperture, but it was simply too long on my 1.6x crop sensor. After the sale I bought the 17-55 f/2.8 IS and came to appreciate the wonderful versatility of a zoom. I later purchased a 70-200 f/2.8 L IS for use outdoors and at weddings. Again, the versatility of the zoom was key.
Only recently have I purchased another prime lens--the 50 f/1.4. Is it a better lens than the 85 f/1.8? Nope. But it fits my needs better. A couple of years ago I wanted a lens that I could take indoor photojournalistic-type portraits. The shorter focal length makes it much more useful to me than the 85mm lens.
The 85 f/1.8 may be a perfect nature lens, but most of the time people want even longer focal lengths for that purpose. It's a great portrait lens, but you need substantial distance for any full-length body shots. Just make sure you know exactly how you want to use the lens so that you make the right choice the first time (unlike me).
As I said, the 85 f/1.8 is a fantastic lens (especially for the money), but it didn't fit me as well as the 50 f/1.4.
You make a good point about indoor shots. That, in part, is where the 60 came into play for me. I am looking for it to be a part portrait plus the capability to snap some action shots of kids...both indoor and out. I have entertained a fast zoom but started to explore primes and think they may be the way to go right now.
I've got a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens and 50mm seems awful tight to me indoors. It could be that my house just isn't big enough but I'd like to check out a Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSMfor that use.
I've got a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II Lensthat I love and it stays on my XSi 99% of the time.
I will say that without a flash, even at ISO 1600,it is unlikely you'll get any real good action shots on a consistant basis indoors with any f/2.8.
T3i, Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8 L, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 430ex (x2), 580ex
13.3" MacBook Pro (late '11 model) w/8GB Ram & 1TB HD, Aperture 3 & Photoshop Elements 9
The 50mm f/1.4 is still a little tight indoors, but it's not nearly as tight as the 85mm! The more I use that 50mm, the more I like it. I took this shot earlier this evening with it.
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Garret, love both images.
I have the 50mm f/1.8 II. I find it a bit tight inside, but I really like the 50mm focal length. There are times outside doing non-portraiture that I wish I had more reach even on a 1.6 crop sensor.
My $0.02, hope I helped a little.
Great input...so it sounds like for outdoor use the 85 is great but for indoors more of a wide angle is needed...makes sense. I too, Rodger, like the extra reach of the 85 (over the kit lens) for outdoor shots.
As a walk-around, would the 85 be a better than the 50?
Anyone have thoughts on the 60's capabilities for either portraits or outdoor fun?