Would you prefer this lens only for macro or could you use it for portraits too? I'm kind of stuck between getting this lens or the 50mm 1.4
1456960
I also use it for portraits more than macro and its a great lense much sharper than the 1.4 and I have both.
1456961
I've owned both lenses and the 50 1.4 has a better build quality, the larger aperture will also give you shallower DOF which might help with portraits, and it should focus faster. Unless you plan on doing a lot of macro photography with your lens I'd go with the 50 1.4.
294922
Mindy,I have this lens, and it's my favorite piece of gear I own. It's sharp at 1.4 (no other lens I own is as sharp as this one wide open) and it has sick contrast. I found that the 24/1.4 was too wide and added distortion and the 50/1.4 was too tight. The 35/1.4 is my go-to for any portrait session. It would be great for a newborn session because you could use it to capture the whole nursery, and you could shoot portraits without distorting the baby too much. I wouldn't recommend shooting super close to someone's face with this lens because you will see a little bit of distortion, but take a step back and you're golden. Mindy,I have this lens, and it's my favorite piece of gear I own. It's sharp at 1.4 (no other lens I own is as sharp as this one wide open) and it has sick contrast. I found that the 24/1.4 was too wide and added distortion and the 50/1.4 was too tight. The 35/1.4 is my go-to for any portrait session. It would be great for a newborn session because you could use it to capture the whole nursery, and you could shoot portraits without distorting the baby too much. I wouldn't recommend shooting super close to someone's face with this lens because you will see a little bit of... » Read More Mindy,I have this lens, and it's my favorite piece of gear I own. It's sharp at 1.4 (no other lens I own is as sharp as this one wide open) and it has sick contrast. I found that the 24/1.4 was too wide and added distortion and the 50/1.4 was too tight. The 35/1.4 is my go-to for any portrait session. It would be great for a newborn session because you could use it to capture the whole nursery, and you could shoot portraits without distorting the baby too much. I wouldn't recommend shooting super close to someone's face with this lens because you will see a little bit of distortion, but take a step back and you're golden. « Show Less
714416
Here is a greast site for lens discussions. www.dpreview.com Go to the forum for Canon lens talk. The 50mm 1.8 is a great portrait lens. It's fantastic in low light conditions. Just treat it with utmost care as the build is not great and there have been many of a complaint on how easy it can fall apart. As a previous poster mentioned the EF-S 17-85 is a good choice. It has full time manual focus with IS. As an every day multi purpose lens this is a nice lens. I also have this lens. The only problem I have with it is the low light shots. It is too slow. If used with External Flash it is fine. That's why I bought the prime lens. I just have to use my feet for zoom. You are going to have a lot of fun using AV mode with the 50mm and playing around with WB and ISO. Enjoy!
1652036
It will have no problem as a portrait lens. Though, the focus will be slow as it will hunt for focus sometimes through the entire distance range (due to lack of focus range lock). It can be annoying at times. However, it's relatively a small price to pay for a great macro lens that can also periodically serve as a decent portrait lens.
2075463
It works good at a macro but because it is a zoom with AF, it can be difficult to use it as a 'true' macro lens. I prefer to use this for wildlife and landscapes but I have used it for macro. Use the MF if going to use for macro. I hope this makes sense.
86638
Yes, if you want the best professional quality images for portraits, the 85mm 1.4 is the right lens to use. Unless you are a professional, however, the 1.8 is probably the best value for money and gives excellent image quality also.
1796672
Hi Jorge, it's beautiful. I normally use the 50mm 1:1.2. I'm spoiled and prefer this over any zoom.
1233334
It is good for portraits! Because it's only a 35mm you can stay close to your subject; the width feels perfect to me. F/1.8 is really big too, I try to stay at F/2 to keep the whole face in focus. Excellent bokeh, and tack sharp. Good for product shoots too.
659560
Hi glenn: how the 105 mm compares with the 85mm f/1.4 lens for portrait shots thank you for your advice
477810
It's a very nice portrait lens but how you are going to use a 120mm lens for landscape It depends on you you!! The Lens is a perfect Macro lens and I love to have it with me whenever I use my EM5.
578411
What camera bodies do you currently own and for what type of shooting?? For portrait, people love the 85, some even say they prefer the 100mm. I own the 50L, the only thing I can say is that shooting at f1.2 takes practice, and the auto focus is a bit slower than most other modern day lens with AF.
1569373
This is a fixed focal length lens, which means there is no zoom. The advantage is that it has a much wider aperture range, which makes it more suitable to low-light situations. Also, the wider aperture means it is much better for portraits as shooting at 1.4 or 1.8 will blur backgrounds while the person in the portrait will be in sharp focus. 50mm is usually the choice for portraits, rather than 35mm, but if your camera is a 3/4 sensor then this will be pretty close to actual 50mm anyway.
1356282
It doesn't get super close, but it's really damn sharp. If you want to get closer, I'd suggest Sigma's 28mm f1.8 macro (they also have a 24, a 50, etc.)The macros are reviewed well enough, may not be as optimal in the corners, but for center-frame macro shots, everything else will be bokeh-d out anyway. This is more of a perfect travel lens- sharp as anything corner to corner for the landscape shots, and wide f1.8 for the people shots, while still being practical and relatively distortion-free.
1241575
I have gotten great detail using this lens. However, when I'm taking portraits I prefer my 16 -- 135 mm lens. Nontheless, I think that this lens does very well at the lower limit of 70mm.
1041294
I would recommend 23mm 1.4. The 35mm is a great lens, but 23mm is more useful as general purpose, also AF is faster and quieter. If you are not willing to spend for 23mm's cost, then 35mm 1.4 is next choice. Compare to 23mm 1.4, the AF of 35mm is slower, noisier. Also, 35mm is too narrow as general purpose while it's too short for portraits in my taste. I think 23mm 1.4 and 56mm 1.2 are great lenses to have, if you can afford them both.
858189
Hi, thanks question. I think this lens is good for portraits. My recommendation is AF-S 50mm F1.8G, AF-S 35mm F1.8G. If certain distance is short focus , would be good if necessary zoom can afford. Thanks in advance.
2069807
This is a great portrait lens. I would say a mixture of 50mm and 85mm would do. This is a great lens !