In addition to macro work, how handy is this lens for portrait and landscape photography?
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.
477811
This lens is very sharp - one of the best 43 lens you can purchase. Useful for portrait if you have room to backup. Remember it is equivalent to 120 mm in 35 mm. It can be useful for nature photography as a medium telephoto. Not typically useful for landscspe. The 12 to 40mm pro f2.8 lens meets your overall needs best. At 40mm it acts close to a macro. Unless you are working at high magnification you don't need the 60mm macro which I own and love. But the 12 to 40mm pro f2.8 zoom which I also own better meets your mentioned needs. BUY from Amazon used..like new. I did and got lens in box with warranty card. This lens is very sharp - one of the best 43 lens you can purchase. Useful for portrait if you have room to backup. Remember it is equivalent to 120 mm in 35 mm. It can be useful for nature photography as a medium telephoto. Not typically useful for landscspe. The 12 to 40mm pro f2.8 lens meets your overall needs best. At 40mm it acts close to a macro. Unless you are working at high magnification you don't need the 60mm macro which I own and love. But the 12 to 40mm pro f2.8 zoom which I also own better meets your mentioned needs. BUY from Amazon used..like new. I did and got lens in box... » Read More This lens is very sharp - one of the best 43 lens you can purchase. Useful for portrait if you have room to backup. Remember it is equivalent to 120 mm in 35 mm. It can be useful for nature photography as a medium telephoto. Not typically useful for landscspe. The 12 to 40mm pro f2.8 lens meets your overall needs best. At 40mm it acts close to a macro. Unless you are working at high magnification you don't need the 60mm macro which I own and love. But the 12 to 40mm pro f2.8 zoom which I also own better meets your mentioned needs. BUY from Amazon used..like new. I did and got lens in box with warranty card. « Show Less
1820408
Ian,Do you mean one can use this 50mm lens for portrait as well as nature/landscape photography? What I can understand from your post is that this lens can be used as a walk around lens. Correct?Thanks.
1650083
Lila - Yes, this macro lens is great for small objects just realize that you have to be close to get the subject and be very still. My wife uses this lens when she is taking pictures of flowers and has caught several bees in the pictures and the detail is impressive. She is a beginning photographer but has produced some great shots with this macro lens. Good Luck!
905051
Yes! It's a wonderful combination--great for macro photography, portraits, and general telephoto use.
1407036
I've never used this lense for landscapes. I generally use it for portraits, which I find it works great for.
943576
It isn't really a macro lens but in the true sense but you can zoom from a distance to get a nice close-up say for portrait. It's a telephoto lens.
726800
Most definitely. It even has a switch on the lens that indicates to the lens that it is not a macro photo. Portraits and landscape photos come out brilliantly!
1241570
This lens is wonderful for portraits. The focal length gives you lots of reach and at 70mm @f4 you have decent bokeh, the only gripe that someone could have about it for a portrait is the fact that it only goes down to f4 which means you dont have that beautiful shallow depth of field that really works nicely in portraits.
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.
878261
Yes, this is such a neat compact lens. I particularly like the macro setting. The zoom all happens inside the unit, it is also weatherproof, which is a plus. If you purchase it from me, and for any reason, like it isn't compatible with your camera, I will be happy to issue you a refund and pay for the shipping. It is compatible with all MFT mount cameras.
1398788
It is a great lens for portraits. That's what I primarily use it for. Another good option is an 85mm.
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.
1891735
I love this lens for portraits. The focus may be a little slower than a dedicated 105mm being that its macro but there's a switch you can hit to keep the lens from searching for focus in the macro regions. That allows it to focus a little faster for portraits and other non macro work.
1891731
This is an excellent portrait lens. It has wonderful 'bokeh' and with the f/2.8 allows for a very narrow DOF if desired. The macro is good as it allows you to get very close without making any changes to the lens. I find the focussing to be quite smooth and quick, especially compared to my 18 - 300mm lens.
1801157
The Macro can give some fun perspectives foreground to background. As for if it is an upgrade the aperture difference alone is an upgrade as it will allow you to take more pictures with only available light instead of using flash. I love this lens and the glass is great.
1023868
This is a fantastic lens, I love it and have it on one of my cameras all the time. But it is not the best for landscape photography, especially on an APS-C camera like the 60D. As Archman below said, I'd look for something with a wide angle in the 10-18mm range. Also concur--rent a couple of lenses if you can locally to see what you like best. Of course, you might pick something that was more than you planned to spend.... Good luck and have fun!
1846646
Erm, as you should already know the high pixel count for this camera makes it ideal for close up and macro work.It is the quality of the lens that you buy that will do the rest, and obviously that needs to be one that is macro compatible as not all lenses are made for macro work :)