How do novices choose the right portrait camera lens?

Lead: Recently, many people have asked me in various ways which lenses to use to take portraits. I think this is also a headache for many beginners or friends who are interested in portrait photography. So in this article, I want to briefly talk about my choice of portrait photography equipment. Although I haven't used all the lenses, I have handled many lenses since I played photography. I think I can still give you a general reference.

Before getting into the topic, I want to emphasize that good creative planning and the quality of models are always the most important in portrait shooting. A good idea and a good model can make up for your technical defects to a certain extent, and many masters can also shoot quite powerful works with their mobile phones. Remember that a good shot can only add icing on the cake to the model, so when you spend a lot of money to upgrade the equipment, you might as well spend some money to hire a good model and think about the shooting theme and model shape.

So in this article, I want to talk about portrait shooting under aps system first, and then discuss the lens selection on Quan Huafu system. Although I personally think that Quan Huafu has an innate advantage in taking portraits, I think that for most people, many SLR cameras purchased for the first time are apsc systems, that is, the so-called half frames, that is, all lens focal lengths need to be multiplied by 1.5 (Canon systems need to be multiplied by 1.6).

Due to the inherent defects of aps system, such as the focal length of telephoto lens will become longer, you need to be farther away from the model, which is not conducive to communication; For example, the focal length of the lens does not match the angle of view of the lens, and the angle of view of the portrait lens on aps is still the first level on the Quan Huafu; For example, the background blur ability is weakened. If the proportion of characters in the same shot is the same, apsc will shrink in background blur ability than the whole picture. But if we only talk about the choice of full-length lens, I believe many people will close this article immediately.

For most friends, taking a portrait while traveling is just a souvenir. Of course, some friends may not be satisfied with taking photos here, hoping to help their beautiful and handsome friends take some artistic photos. On the one hand, friends are very happy, on the other hand, they will have a sense of accomplishment. Then, if your needs stop there, I strongly recommend using the apsc camera, because it can meet all your needs. The fuselage is not specifically recommended here, because any digital SLR camera can complete this task. So what kind of lens should apsc system choose?

If you don't plan to upgrade to full size in the future, I strongly recommend that you use the full-length bull's head on the aps camera (of course, it doesn't matter how much money you have), because the aps camera can't give full play to the power of the full-length bull's head, just like a 10 ton train, but you only equip him with an engine that can pull five tons, then the remaining carrying capacity of your truck will be completely wasted, and these wastes not only the lens, but also your hard-earned money. The reason why the cow head is awesome is not only the improvement of performance, but also the creation of the atmosphere during shooting, which will be greatly discounted in aps.

If the photographer has only one shot like me, then I will definitely choose the title of about 50mm, which has proved to be the most classic one. Then, for apsc camera and original lens, I recommend 35/2 lens. Canon's new 35/2IS is a good choice, which is similar to the head focal length. The 30/ 1.4 of the vice factory is also a good choice to replace the meter, which is regarded as the meter in the digital age.

The reason why I recommend Sima is:

First, it has a large aperture of 1.4, with high cost performance;

Secondly, this lens is especially suitable for portrait shooting. It is said that this lens is specially optimized for portrait shooting. I have used this lens myself, and it works well with my Sony a200 body.

Third, the quality of this lens is good. I used it on my Sony a200, and the full aperture portrait is trustworthy. Of course, it is very important for Sigma to find a lens that will not be out of focus.

Then I want to talk about the head, which is the focal length of 50 mm. This focal length is converted to about 75-80mm on aps, which is closer to the golden focal length of traditional portraits. But the problem is that many people are struggling to choose the original 50/ 1.4 or 50/ 1.8. My point is that it depends on your budget.

If you choose 50/ 1.4, I personally recommend that the deputy factory is suitable for Ma, not the original factory. The original 50/ 1.4 has a long design life, and the full-open imaging is often unsatisfactory, and the purple edge dispersion is relatively heavy, but it has an advantage: it is light in weight, and the image quality is perfect if it is used with a narrow aperture.

Sony's 50/ 1.8 lens is slightly more expensive than Canon's spittoon, but its performance is definitely much better than Canon's, because it has a modern and improved design. So if you want to choose 50/ 1.4, then I strongly suggest that you abandon all the original heads and choose Sigma (except Canon's 50L, which will be discussed later). I have a very good impression of Sima, just as I also recommend 30/ 1.4. On my a900 and 5d3, this Sigma header shows a very high standard and has a full aperture. So in this shot, I never hide my love for Yima. I am a staunch Yima Party.

Having finished the header, the next thing I want to talk about is the traditional portrait golden lens, which mainly refers to the lens within 85-135 mm.

It won't be difficult to choose a lens with this focal length. In principle, if you have more money, you should choose Canon 85L and 135L, Sony Zeiss 85za and 135za and other original products. There is nothing wrong with choosing these lenses. I will focus on them when I talk about the whole picture in the next section. Here, I still hold the same view. If you have no plans to upgrade Quan Huafu at all, there is no need to buy these lenses. Every family.

Sony didn't have a cheap portrait head before. For example, Canon has 85/ 1.8, and Sony has also released a cheap 85/2.8 Quan Huafu portrait lens. Unfortunately, the aperture is a little smaller than Canon's 85/ 1.8, but if the listing price can be above 1000, it is still quite valuable. Similarly, on aps,

Another very worthy choice is hundreds of microlenses from various companies. If you want to have a high-level and high-quality portrait, but you are short of money, Budweiser can undoubtedly become the best substitute. I used Minolta Budweiser lens for a while before buying 85G, which can definitely make people who have been using the dog's head have a leap in subjective experience.

Budweiser lens

It should be noted, however, that because the camera is designed for macro shooting, the image quality of close-range focusing is much higher than that of long-range focusing, and because the macro pan/tilt is extremely sharp, remember never to show the original film to MM when shooting MM. To paraphrase someone on the Internet, the sixth house of makeup will disappear, and the king will not go to court early. These words also apply to the 50-micro lens of each family, which can be the best substitute for the high-quality lens in the first paragraph.

A cheaper solution to replace Cynanchum atratum is to choose the 90 micron of Longteng, the deputy factory. This shot is also one of Longteng's favorites. The quality is not much worse than the original factory, but the price is much cheaper. However, Longtenghuang does not seem to have completely disappeared.

There are also some cold portraits to choose from, that is, each family's 120 lens, that is, 100/2. This focal lens used to be very popular, but now it has been generally replaced by 85 and 135. I used Canon's 100/2, and the full-open imaging quality is better than 85/ 1.8, and the color is better than 85/ 1.8, but in the digital age, color becomes less important. The price of "120" is low, but it can replace the feeling of 85 and 135 at the same time to some extent, and it is also a very cost-effective choice.

Basically, all the previous discussions are fixed-focus lenses, so how to choose zoom lenses?

First, remove those zoom dog heads from your device. All zoom lenses with an aperture of f3.5-5.6 can be photographed as tourist heads here. Unless you are a master, most people can't use such a lens well.

Then the next question is easy to handle. Do you choose the large aperture zoom lens of the vice factory or the original large ternary large aperture lens? Again, if you have no plans to upgrade the whole map at all and are not well off, then choose a subsidiary factory, such as Longteng17-50/2.8; If you plan to upgrade Quan Huafu in the future, Canon 24-70L and Zeiss 24-70za are your best choices. If you are too disdainful to buy the half-frame head of the deputy factory, but you can't afford the big three yuan of the original factory, then the big three yuan of the deputy factory is an excellent choice, such as Sima's 24-70/2.8 and Longteng's 24-70/2.8.

Canon's 2470L lens is relatively old, and now the second generation has been launched, but personally prefer the first generation lens. Although the quality of Bisogni is worse than Nikon, it is softer for portrait shooting, and Jiao Wai seems softer and sharper than the second generation.

As for the telephoto lens, some people will wonder whether to buy a small white lens or a Guo Xuwei lens. My opinion is that if the budget is sufficient, choose a small white lens of 2.8. The blur effect of Guo Xuwei lens of f4 is much worse, and it is more suitable for taking scenery than portraits. Of course, if there is no original story, Longteng and Sigma in the vice factory have a choice of 70-200/2.8. Of course, I think this grade of lenses are basically selected by the original factory, and sometimes it is a matter of face. Of course, the high quality of the original lens is absolutely guaranteed, such as IS white rabbit, which has a full focal length and a full aperture. It is still trustworthy to work with it. It is worth mentioning that Sony users also have a relatively cheap telephoto ternary choice, which is Minolta's second-hand 70-2 10/4. Although the quality of this lens is not as good as that of Canon Guo Xuwei, it is better than that of color and Jiao Wai, and it has a taste of Lycra lens.