Lens for Christmas?

[ahorne]

I'm trying to figure out what to ask for. I mostly take portrait-type pictures, outdoors. I just got my camera for my birthday in September, so I dont know much about gear. What type of lens should I ask for? I've read some suggestions for what type of lens is good for portraits, but I can't remember where!

I have a Canon Rebel XS.

Thanks!

[zona5101]

50mm
85mm

[Izzy]

The 50 and 85 combination is hard to beat. I would say if you are looking for one lens to do it all I would suggest the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens - about $250

Keep in mind that the 50 will be much better in low light as it has an aperture of 1.4 or 1.8 also the 50 is about $100 no matter where you get it. One has a metal mount and one has a plastic mount like your kit lens, I am not sure which is which. Also the Canon EF-S 18-135mm will not take the same type of picture as the 50. The 50 has a special flavor all its own.

The big deal with the 18-135 I think is that it is a Image Stabilization lens.

As for the 85 - I don't have any experience with it.

Hope this was of help to you

Keep Shooting

[ahorne]

Originally Posted by Izzy

The 50 and 85 combination is hard to beat. I would say if you are looking for one lens to do it all I would suggest the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens - about $250

Keep in mind that the 50 will be much better in low light as it has an aperture of 1.4 or 1.8 also the 50 is about $100 no matter where you get it. One has a metal mount and one has a plastic mount like your kit lens, I am not sure which is which. Also the Canon EF-S 18-135mm will not take the same type of picture as the 50. The 50 has a special flavor all its own.

The big deal with the 18-135 I think is that it is a Image Stabilization lens.

As for the 85 - I don't have any experience with it.

Hope this was of help to you

Keep Shooting

Thanks so much!! I'll probably end up with the 50, we have a kind of small budget (newlyweds in college lol) But REALLY thanks for the thoughtful answer!

[inkista]

The most typical lens recommendation for portraiture is a "fast prime"--i.e., a lens with a maximum aperture of f/2 or larger that has a fixed focal length (i.e., doesn't zoom).

For Canon shooters, the $100 EF 50mm f/1.8 II is the most commonly recommended as a first-time lens because of the low-low cost. But. That cheapness is reflected in the fact that the lens is harder to use for manual focus (very thin MF ring at the end of the lens not the middle of the barrel), no distance scale, and all-plastic build (including the mount). It also lacks USM, so you can hear the AF motor, and it's relatively slow, and can be inaccurate in low light situations.

However, optically, it's terrific and you certainly get your $100 worth, and it opens all the way up to f/1.8 (although it's at its sharpest at f/4).

The USM fast primes, the 50mm f/1.4, and 85mm f/1.8 are definitely a step up in build quality, MF usability, and AF performance. And optically, they are superb, but you might be hard-pressed to tell the difference in images where you managed to nail focus.

The only issue some folks may have with a 50mm on a crop-body camera like the XS is the field of view. The 50mm is good for torso and head shots, but for full-length body shots, you may be working farther back than you like, and you may not be able to use it in smaller rooms for environmental work (i.e., getting the environment/context into a photo--like, say, shooting a group of people around a table). So, others would recommend something like the EF 35mm f/2 or EF 28mm f/1.8 USM instead.

All these other lenses I've mentioned, though, tend to be in the $300-$500 pricerange, so if $250 for the 18-135 IS is sounding spendy, I think your only choice here is the EF 50mm f/1.8 II.

If you find you need more reach than the 18-55 can give you, the standard low-budget response is the EF-S 55-250 IS. It won't be great for indoors/low-light or fast-moving action, but it's a good lens for about $250. dSLR lenses aren't cheap, alas. Anything under $300 is considered "cheap". "Expensive" tends to start around $1000. It's not like real money from Canon marketing's point of view.

[eyalg]

I totally agree with the last reply - a great detailed one.
In any case - if your budget is low like you said, the 50mm f/1.8 is the only way to go.
If you have a higher budget, I couldn't elaborate enough on how much I love the 85mm f/1.8.
It does cost much more, but for head shots it's absolutely amazing.
It's by far the highest 'wow-factor for the money' ranking lens.

[look_yau]

it's for X'mas, just get the most expensive lens you can afford ;0