Portrait lens
see also:
online reviews and articles:
http://www.jensbirch.eu:80/jensbirch/50mm/ - compares 50mm lenses used on Olympus for portraiture
http://www.northcoastphotos.com:80/Lympa_2007_09_29.htm - compares 50mm MF lenses used on Olympus for portraiture
lens bokeh ratings (pdf) which gives some generalisations:
bokeh gets worse if:
wider aperture used in that lens & closer focusing but is this only with the Leica 35mm lens?
distant background with high contrast highlights
zoom lens and not a prime lens
aspherical lenses are worse than spherical
older 50mm focal length lenses tend to have poor bokeh (eg. Nikon, OM, Contax, Konica) but Pentax & Canon EF do better
smaller number of iris blades
Zeiss lenses tend to have poor bokeh except Contax 85mm f/1.4 and Contax 100mm f/2
Bronica medium format (esp. the 150mm S f/3.5) tend to have nice bokeh
Olympus OM 100mm f/2 & Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro non-USM give good bokeh
catadioptric lenses give characteristic circular bokeh patterns
Gary Todoroff's comparison of MF 50mm lenses on the Olympus E330 for portraits
Introduction:
in order to minimise facial distortions while ensuring sharp eyes and a beautifully defocussed background, the classic lens for high quality portraiture is usually one with a focal length in 35mm terms of 70-120mm and a wide aperture, at least f/2.8 but in some cases, even down to f/1.2, although such lenses are big, expensive and more difficult to focus even with AF.
the requirement for a wide aperture usually means most zoom lenses are not as good although a 70-200mm f/2.8 is popular.
the requirement for shallow depth of field usually means a small sensor such as in point and shoot cameras is not as good, while a full frame 35mm or even medium format is closer to the generally accepted goal.
a wide angle lens usually requires one to get closer to the subject which not only can be intimidating but exaggerates and distorts relative size of facial features, making closer objects such as the nose bigger. Wide angles can be used and are often used in more creative, artistic portraits for impact where a faithful representation of the face is not required.
a longer telephoto requires more distance from the subject but can result in flatter facial features and a loss of intimacy as well as potentially sharpness and contrast. Glamour photographers often use these in outdoor shoots to compress the background and remove distracting features or emphasise a distant background feature.
if the subject image size is kept constant by moving in or away from a subject, then the degree of background blurriness is mainly dependent on the f/ratio and NOT on the focal length.
the aesthetics of the defocussed background (bokeh) is usually best with lenses with circular iris diaphragms so the more blades, the better as a general rule.
an internally focusing lens (IF) is an advantage as the front element does not keep moving in and out, distracting the subject.
wedding photographers often need a wider angle lens such as a 50mm f/1.2 for full length shots in addition to the usual portrait lens and perhaps a 24-70mm zoom for group shots and a 70-200mm zoom for close ups at a distance.
for an action portrait shoot such as indoor sports, toddlers crawling or animals, then a fast and accurate AF mechanism becomes critical.
for street photography, the requirements are usually different as you wish to get the subject in context with their environment and this is usually best achieved with a mild wide angle such as a 35mm f/2 in 35mm camera terms. For one lens to do both street photography and portraiture, a 35-100mm f/2.0 or perhaps f/2.8 would be a reasonable proposition but its size may be too intrusive for either of the tasks, and not many such lenses around (see the Olympus ZD 14-35mm f/2.0 or Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC for Olympus).
Portraits with the compact digital point and shoot:
these cameras are very poor for classic high quality portraiture as outlined above BUT they do have a special place and this is in the domain of the "spontaneous" social portrait and the group self-portrait so loved by 21st century adolescents.
the advantages of such a camera are:
it is unobtrusive and deceptively non-threatening
it can be taken anywhere without it being either a burden or a social embarrassment as would be the case with larger cameras
it has an in-built flash and relatively sharp lens with reasonable AF
self-portraits of up to 3 people can be done hand held at arm's length
but what about the background?
well, there is no way you are going to get a nicely defocussed background but all is not lost - most photos are taken indoors with the in-built electronic flash and thus the background is usually very under-exposed so blurring as not needed as much.
during the day using ambient light, its another issue so the photographer has several choices:
include a pleasing background - eg. travel landmarks
ensure the background is non-distracting eg. the ground, sky or wall
but what about the facial distortions and effects of an in-built tiny flash?
red-eyes are not such a problem at such close distances as there seems to be enough parallax between the lens and flash that the light does not reach the same part of the retina that the camera sees, and instead you get a small catchlight which is better than no catchlight.
as long as the subject has good makeup on, then the small light source's adverse effects on creating shiny, specular reflections from oily skin or perspiring skin can be minimised - just take the photos at the start of a party and not at the end!
as long as the subject is relatively good looking without a big nose, big teeth, long face or fat face, then the distortions hopefully won't be severe enough to be sufficiently unflattering to overcome the social value of the photo.
Full frame 35mm Canon 5D / 1Ds cameras:
ideal focal length 70-135mm although perhaps the 135mm is getting a bit long.
autofocus prime lenses:
Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM:
1kg; $A3799 ($A2700 online); min. focus 0.95m; 72mm filter;
takes 0.5sec to AF which is twice as fast as the older Mark I version but only a 1/3rd as fast as the f/1.8 version which focuses in 1/8-1/4 sec.
lens flare markedly reduced cw Mark I version
now has support for e-TTL II focus distance.
sharper and more contrast than the f/1.8 lens at apertures wider than f/5.6
"This lens weighs 2.4 times more, costs 6.2 times more and focuses only about 1/2 as fast as the EF 85mm f/1.8 lens. The greater weight and significantly slower autofocus function than the f/1.8 lens may make it a challenging tool for some action/performance photography applications such as basketball (but may be OK for gymnastics)"
a great portrait and wedding lens, not so good for moving toddlers, animals.
much better for astrophotography than the 50mm f/1.2 (flatter fields and sharper edge to edge)
misfocuses on IR AF but IR red spot accurate, and surprisingly for its aperture, does not show any IR hotspots.
standard focusing screen is not easy to manually focus with lens with apertures wider than f/2, consider getting a Focus Screen Ee S.
astro use: http://astrosurf.com/buil/85mm/test.htm
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM:
$A560 online new
nice sharp lens for the price
much better resolving power than most Canon EF zooms (28-105mm, 24-85mm, 28-135mm) - see here
focuses twice as fast as the f/1.2 lens
http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/lenses/canon_85_18/index.htm
Canon EF 100mm f/2.0 USM (non-L):
$A829; 460g; 58mm filter; min. focus 0.9m giving only 0.14x macro;
EX-12 allows 0.27x macro; EX-25 allows 0.42x macro;
similar image quality to the 85mm f/1.8
a lot of purple fringing at F/2 in bright highlights
"not sharp until stopped down to at least f/2.8 and then with subject at least 2m away"
nice bokeh and smaller than the f/2.8 macro
great lens for indoor sports and portraits & usable for macro with extension tubes
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-100mm-f-2.0-USM-Lens-Review.aspx
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/eos/EF-lenses/EF100mmf2USM/index.htm
Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L:
$A1879; 750g; 72mm filter; min. focus 0.9m;
sharper than the 100mm f/2 or the 85mm f/1.8 at f/2-4 and has better background blurring for same subject size but has less micro-contrast
a great portrait lens, especially for indoor performance photography but getting too long for the cropped sensors for indoor portraits
similar resolving power as the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L see here
http://www.wlcastleman.com/equip/reviews/85_100_135/index.htm
for astro work see:
http://www.astrovalerio.altervista.org/canon-ef-l-135mm-usm/index.html - best moon detail shots are when used with 2x plus 1.4x teleextenders (ie. 378mm f.l.) and stopped down 1-2 stops.
Canon EF 135mm f/2.8 soft focus (non-L):
$A749; 390g; 52mm filter; min. focus 1.3m;
optionally adds 2 degrees of soft focus by adding spherical aberration, although setting 2 is too strong for most situations.
not much demand for this lens now that PS can produce similar results but useful for those still doing 35mm film.
reasonably sharp at f/4 but no USM and does not have the build quality of an L lens.
autofocus zoom lenses:
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L (112-320mm):
$A2600 w/o IS and $A3395 with IS weighing 1.57kg
closest focus 1.4m;
a great general purpose lens but heavy and a bit aperture-challenged for portraiture
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L:
handy at weddings as nice bokeh and 70mm is just long enough for portraits
manual focus lenses:
Olympus OM mount lenses:
see under Olympus at bottom of page
Nikon F mount lenses:
85mm Nikkors:
see under Nikon at bottom of page
100mm Nikkors:
Canon 1D 1.3x crop dSLRs:
ideal focal length is 55-90mm given the 1.3x crop factor although a 100mm would still be reasonable
autofocus prime lenses:
Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L:
expensive; image quality is better at f/2.0 and wider than the f/1.4 lens but maybe worse than the f/1.4 lens at f/2.8-11.
amazing flare control. not only is it free of halation, it is superb for shooting contra-jour. this is a major advantage
more accurate MF scale
CA can be an issue wide open.
great bokeh
build quality may not be as good as it looks - may break more easily than you think.
focus shift can occur at focus < 3m when stopping down the aperture to f/2.8-4
unless you are going to use it mainly at apertures f/2.0 or wider or into the light then you would be better off with the much cheaper f/1.4 lens. If you are doing lots of half-body or full-body portraits then the f/1.2 may be worth it.
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4:
middle range lens; need to use at f/2.5 or smaller for best image quality results
very light lens.
"much more robust than it seems, provided you use the canon (rigid) lens hood always: it attaches to barrel, not front of lens, thus protects the very delicate front element housing. one good knock on that housing, and your micromotor is toast."
"the inside wears down. count on having to replace the focus motor after a few years."
very susceptible to flare of all kinds
poor bokeh due to highly corrected spherical aberration which was designed to improve sharpness: below f/4 it tends to produce choppy, nasty interference patterns, which only get worse because with the halation wide open, you are more likely to boost contrast in post.
the Olympus OM 50mm f/1.2 MF lens (not the 55mm f/1.2) gives better wide open performance and is easier to focus manually in low light but its bokeh can be a problem.
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8:
cheap, plastic lens but of surprisingly good image quality stopped down.
Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM:
see under Canon full frame above
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8:
a very nice sharp & relatively compact lens
Canon EF 100mm lenses:
see under Canon full frame above
Canon EF 135mm lenses:
getting a bit long but can take fantastic portraits at f/2.0
see under Canon full frame above
autofocus zoom lenses:
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L (112-320mm):
$A2600 w/o IS and $A3395 with IS weighing 1.57kg
closest focus 1.4m so at 120mm will give a subject area of 22x32cm
a great general purpose lens but heavy and a bit aperture-challenged for portraiture but many use it well for this purose.
manual focus lenses:
Canon APS-C 1.6x crop dSLRS:
ideal focal length is 44-75mm given the 1.3x crop factor although a 85mm would still be reasonable at 136mm equiv.
the usual 100mm portrait lens is too tight for indoor work on a 1.6x crop camera.
autofocus prime lenses:
Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM:
introduced in Nov 2006; $US1600; 72mm filter; weatherproofed;
http://www.photokina-show.com/0140/canon/slrlens/canon50mmusmlens/
don't buy it for its stopped down capabilities as not as good as others here
http://www.slrgear.com/reviews/zproducts/canon50f12/canon50f12_jt.htm
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II USM:
a cheaper alternative to the f/1.4 or f/1.2 lenses
Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM:
see above under Canon full frame
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8:
a very nice sharp & relatively compact lens
autofocus zoom lenses:
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L (112-320mm):
$A2600 w/o IS and $A3395 with IS weighing 1.47kg
a great general purpose lens but heavy and a bit aperture-challenged for portraiture and getting a bit long in focal length
manual focus lenses:
Micro Four Thirds:
see lenses for MFT's
Olympus Four-Thirds dSLRs:
ideal focal length is 35-60mm given the 2x crop factor
autofocus prime lenses:
a brilliant diffraction-limited lens with almost no aberrations
~$A850
Leica 45mm f/2 macro OIS
optical image stabiliser to give 90mm macro equiv.
Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM
equiv. to 60mm; 62mm filter; 0.41kg; a bit wide for portrait but its aperture makes it a useful option.
autofocus zoom lenses:
released in 2005, it is the world's 1st lens to give f/2.0 over the entire zoom range
now this would make a brilliant available light portrait lens with nice bokeh ~$US2500 or $A4400
BUT weighs 1.8kg with tripod lock which is similar to Canon's 70-200mm f/2.8 IS but 1 stop faster.
77mm filter; close focus 1.4m;
Olympus 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5:
gives beautiful out-of-focus background blurring, and a very versatile lens which is much less expensive and lighter than the 35-100mm f/2.0.
Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC:
equiv. to 36-100mm; 67mm filter; 0.46kg;
would be a good lens for both street photography at its wide end and portraiture at its long end.
Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 macro
72mm filter; 0.52kg; £369.99
manual focus lenses:
the range here is immense as there are many legacy M lenses in the 35-60mm range with wide apertures that could be converted for use on the Four-Thirds cameras via adapters, but results wide open are variable, with many (?most) having significant purple fringing around over-exposed highlights such as reflections of light sources.
see my lens tests:
furthermore, most of the older lenses do not have circular apertures for the nice bokeh.
Olympus OM lenses:
55mm f/1.2
50mm f/1.2
50mm f/1.4
50mm f/1.8
Nikon F mount lenses:
see under Nikon
Contax Y/M mount:
Carl Zeiss T* 50mm f/1.4
Carl Zeiss T* 50mm f/1.7
Nikon 1.5x crop dSLRs:
ideal focal length is 47-80mm given the 1.5x crop factor although a 90mm would still be reasonable at 135mm. equiv. which means we have to do away with all those nice 100mm Nikkor lenses which were ideal for the 35mm film cameras although can still be used on full frame Canon dSLRs as a portrait lens.
remember, Nikon D40/D40X/D60 cameras will only autofocus on AF-S and AF-I lenses.
see http://www.nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Product/Digital-SLR/25420/D40.html
this is a major problem when looking for a budget end AF portrait lens for these cameras.
comparison tests:
autofocus prime lenses (NB. NONE of these will AF on D40/D40X/D60 cameras):
AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D:
230g;
introduced in 1995 as the D version;
AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D:
introduced in 2002 as the D version;
AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8:
a favourite for macrophotography
AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF:
D version introduced in 1995; 9 blades; 550g; 77mm filter - use the lens hood to minimise flare;
some colour fringing due to the IF.
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/AFNikkor/AF85mm/index2.htm
AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D:
autofocus zoom lenses:
AF Nikkor DX 18-55mm f/2.8
this, along with the 105mm f/2.8 VR micro are the only possible Nikon AF portrait lens for the D40/D40X/D60 and neither of these are ideal portrait lenses.
AF Nikkor 35-70mm f/2.8D:
not quite wide angle enough for a street lens at 53-106mm in 35mm equiv. terms but at least its is a constant f/2.8.
good value for money
http://www.stanford.edu/~chekist/35-70mm/Best%20Portrait%20Lens.html
AF-S Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D IF-ED:
at 120-300mm equiv, getting a bit long but useful.
70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor
to match Canon's popular 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens
105-300mm - very versatile lens & the only Nikon VR that is really useful for portraiture
manual focus lenses:
Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 Ai:
introduced in 1978 to replace the 55mm f/1.2; 52mm filters; 390g;
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/50mmnikkor/index1.htm
Noct-Nikkor 58mm f/1.2 Ai and AiS versions:
initially introduced in 1977 and was the first Nikkor with a hand-ground aspherical front lens which was designed to reduced comatic aberration at full aperture.
AiS version in 1982
52mm filter; 480g;
~10,000 lenses were produced until production ceased in 1999.
85mm MF Nikkors:
see below under full frame
Voigtlander AI-S Nokton 58mm f/1.4 SL II lens for Nikon digital (2007)
87mm equiv. on 1.5x crop
9-blade, 58mm filter
Nikon full frame (FX):
autofocus:
AF-S 85mm f/1.4 G:
595g; 9 blades; 77mm filter; Nano Crystal coat; weathersealing; new optical design; £1499.99 / €1549
introduced late 2010; close focus 0.85m;
this could be one of those lenses, along with the 14-24mm f/2.8G which might persuade a pro to buy Nikon
AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF:
D version introduced in 1995; 9 blades; 550g; 77mm filter - use the lens hood to minimise flare;
some colour fringing due to the IF.
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/AFNikkor/AF85mm/index2.htm
AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D:
AF Nikkor VR 105mm f/2.8 micro
AF-S Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D IF-ED:
at 120-300mm equiv, getting a bit long but useful.
70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor
to match Canon's popular 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens but edges a bit soft on full frame although this may be OK for portraits.
very versatile lens & the only Nikon VR that is really useful for portraiture
manual focus:
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/85mmnikkor/index.htm
Nikkor 85mm f/1.4S:
introduced in 1981 as an AI-S version; 620g; 1st to use Nikon's Close-Range Correction System which allowed high quality close focus to 0.85m; 72mm filter;
very sharp stopped down to f/2.8-4; lens flare requires good lens hood; a bit too soft at f/1.4 on a dSLR.
not as sharp or as nice a bokeh as the AF version wide open;
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/85mmnikkor/85mm14.htm
Nikkor PC-micro 85mm f/2.8D:
tilt-shift macro lens which can focus to 3.9cm for 1:2 macro. Can stop down to f/45.
manual aperture stop down button; 77mm filter; 775g;
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/PC_Nikkor/index5.htm
