F4 lens okay or should I spring for faster?

[IgnitePhotography]

I'm going to be shooting MOSTLY portraits. I was looking at getting a 24-105 f4 IS L for my 7D as my first lens (because it's so versatile).

Will I be okay with that or will I regret that it's a f4 and not a 2.8?

[OsmosisStudios]

The 24-105 is an excellent all-around lens but for portraits you'll want something longer and faster.

[Elmo]

A little difference of opinion. Historically a good FL for a portrait lens is suggested to be about 1.5 times the diag. of the capture area. For a 7D this come out to be about 50mm, for a full frame about 75mm.

As for max f-stop that depend upon the location of shooting. The faster lens (f:2.8) will give you a slightly smaller Depth-of-field allowing slightly more control of the background.

I would give the 24-105 f4 IS L a try and if you find you need more DOF control add a 50 f:1.4 or 1.8 to the setup

[IgnitePhotography]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

The 24-105 is an excellent all-around lens but for portraits you'll want something longer and faster.

Keep in mind this is on a 1.6x camera. I still need longer? I don't think I've ever used longer for portraits before.

Will I need faster if I'm shooting with strobes?

[IgnitePhotography]

Originally Posted by Elmo

A little difference of opinion. Historically a good FL for a portrait lens is suggested to be about 1.5 times the diag. of the capture area. For a 7D this come out to be about 50mm, for a full frame about 75mm.

As for max f-stop that depend upon the location of shooting. The faster lens (f:2.8) will give you a slightly smaller Depth-of-field allowing slightly more control of the background.

I would give the 24-105 f4 IS L a try and if you find you need more DOF control add a 50 f:1.4 or 1.8 to the setup

I like the idea. I think I will definitely have a 50 1.4 and possibly the 85 1.8 eventually. I just need a good all around lens as my first lens so I'm not too confined with what I can do from the start.

[inkista]

The 24-105L IS is a fantastic walkaround lens, but it's really only ok for portraits or available light because of the f/4. Even with strobes, you'll only have so much control over DoF. I'm with everybody else: a fast prime for portraiture is likely to get you a little farther than blowing all that money on a 24-105. Particularly on a crop body.

Where the 24-105 IS shines is as a kit lens for the 5DMkII.

On a crop body, the 24mm is more normal than wide angle. The 105mm reach is what you tend to buy it for if you're on a crop body.

If you want a walkaround lens for the 7D that covers the wide end, then an EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM or EF-S 15-85 f/3.5-5.6 IS USM are probably a better fit.

The L zoom lens folks are more likely to steer you to for general-purpose portrait use would be the EF 24-70 f/2.8L (no IS, though).

I think a 50mm, 85mm, 100mm, or 135mm prime is good for portraits, depending on your working distance and composition. Wider than 50mm is certainly a possibility, but you may have to keep an eye on distortion, depending on the style of portraiture you want to do.