Canon 1.4mm lens or Basic Lighting Kit

[jak5887]

Hi,
I am newer to photography and would like to get into taking portraits of children, teens etc. My sister has asked me to do a newborn shoot of her son at the end of the month (based upon when he arrives!). Currently, I only have a Canon 40D and the kit lens. My question is . . . should I buy the Canon 50 mm, 1.4 lens (a/b $300) or a super basic 3 light kit (a/b $100). Or, should I take the plunge and get an AlienBee 400 - would 1 good light be enough?

Ok - so my list of questions goes on . . . I don't know how to use it but should I also look into a shoe mount flash that I could bounce b/c I wouldn't know how to use it off camera!

Any opinions on better lens versus light?

Here's a link to what I've taken with available light and my camera so far:
Flickr: jak5887's Photostream

[OsmosisStudios]

You'll get more use from the 50/1.4 than from the lights.

[jak5887]

Thanks for your quick response. I was leaning towards that especially b/c I feel like I know how to use it!

[inkista]

Being a newbie, I'd say get a lens. You don't have to shell out on the 50/1.4, you could be perfectly happy with the 50/1.8 II which is only $100. A fast prime with a wide maximum aperture will give you better low light capability, and a thinner DoF for portraiture. It won't guarantee that you can shoot in the dark, but it will be a definite improvement over the kit lens in that regard.

Any three-light setup that sells for $100 probably isn't worth it, imnsho.

Yes, you could also get a flash for on (and off-) camera use, and starting out with just bouncing is definitely the easiest way to get started. I would highly recommend that if you're going to go this path, you get a Canon speedlight (430EX, 430EXII, 550EX, 580EX, or 580EXII) and take a look at Neil van Neikirk's website, or the book based on the website.

Later, when you find on-camera flash too limiting, then going to the Strobist for the off-camera stuff is probably better than just jumping in to flash right off the bat. And you definitely should start with a single light first, rather than jumping into multiple lights. Flash is confusing enough without multiplying the issues. You'll be wanting more lights/gear pretty fast, but in the beginning, simpler is better.

My personal advice to anyone about to embark on learning lighting is that until you are perfectly comfortable shooting in full Manual, and juggling iso, aperture, and shutter speed for exposure, you don't want to start throwing flash into the mix. You gotta learn to juggle three balls before you can juggle five (iso, aperture, shutter speed, flash distance, flash power).

[amellor]

Don't get the f/1.4, get the f/1.8 - it's as good or better than the f/1.4

Canon 50mm f/1.8

So for the price, you can spend less than the f/1.4 and get both.

[jak5887]

thank you so much - - that is very helpful. I appreciate the detailed response.

[jak5887]

Can others weigh in on the 1.4 versus 1.8? I heard and read such conflicting things.

[inkista]

Here are numbers, rather than opinions: dpreview's test data. That's a side-by-side comparison of the two lenses on the same camera body (450D). On a crop body the f/1.8's sharpness performance is actually a little nicer than the f/1.4's. (Don't forget to play with the aperture setting dials to see the performances across the full aperture range). You'll also note the vignetting and distortion numbers are identical.

On full frame, the sharpness performance flips the other way.

Which is probably why you hear so many conflicting reports on how well those two lenses stack up against each other.

The main thing to keep in mind is that image-quality-wise, the two lenses are very comparable. Where the "upgrade" comes in is that the f/1.4 has better build quality, is much more usable for manual focus work (better manual focus ring, distance scale), has USM (but micromotor, not ring-type), and goes an extra two-thirds of a stop wider. So, yes, it's worth the price increase if you need those features.

[SusanH1970]

Good to know, Inkista. I've been debating on buying the 1.4 but I'll hold off for now and wait to get it when I upgrade to FF.