Portrait Lens for Canon 6D

[imran]

hi guys i have just bought my first full frame camera and thinking of buying a good portrait lens. if you guys can shot some suggestions. my current lenses are Tamron 24-70 VC and Tamron 70-300 vc.

[ricktas]

indoor/outdoor? Why I am asking is your primary shooting going to be in a restricted space, indoors. With say a small home studio setup, you will need a lens that can deal with that by offering a wide enough view to accommodate your subject if they want a full length shot. We need to know a bit more about where you will be shooting these portraits to give you good advice.

[Brian500au]

What is your budget?

Canon make a few lenses that would work as a good portrait lens, both in prime and zoom. In the end it can depend on what you want to spend, and to some extent if you want to use the lens purely for portraits, or an all rounder, but primarily for portraits.

The other consideration you need to decide is will the lens be used for outside or inside portrait work (or both).

All the above can make a difference to what to recommend.

For primes on a budget then I would recommend the 85mm f1.8 at around $450, bang for buck this cannot be beaten. If you really are after the grand prix of lens in this range then the 85mm f1.2 will set you back around 2K.

For zooms I would recommend the 24-105 IS F4. You can pick these up around $750 (cheaper on the 2nd market), and once again the grand prix of this range is the 24-70 f2.8 (at around 2K).

There is plenty of other lenses other members will recommend (including some excellent 3rd party alternatives). I use all the above, plus a 70 - 200 when the necessity dictates. The other night i was walking around the city with my wife using a 16-35 for portraits just to get a different perspective.

By the way the two lenses you have now will take excellent portraits on a 6D - you have the whole range covered.

[imran]

Thanks for the reply. i am just confused i have looked around and did some research. first of all i understand 85 1.2 is champ lens but very expensive and cant afford it at the moment. in canon range i was looking at 85 1.8 100mm 2.8 L macro and 135mm l. canon 85 1.8 new in melbourne i can buy for 385 at elizb st. 100mm L macro 780 gray and 135 870 gray not sure what direction to go. i am really into macro photography and i am sure if 100mm is as good as 85 or 135 as a portrait lens. dificult dission at the moment. well budget is not more than 1000.

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indoor/outdoor? Why I am asking is your primary shooting going to be in a restricted space, indoors. With say a small home studio setup, you will need a lens that can deal with that by offering a wide enough view to accommodate your subject if they want a full length shot. We need to know a bit more about where you will be shooting these portraits to give you good advice.
well i am going to use this mostly outdoor i dont have studio. but ofcource will use it indoor too.

[Brian500au]

All three lenses you list will work as a perfect portrait lens but only one will do macro work - problem solved. Could I suggest you invest in the 100mm for outdoor portrait work, and at the same time invest in a $100 50mm f1.8 for indoor portrait work. If you are serious with portrait you will need to pick yourself up a flash also (if you dont have one). It is the difference between an average shot and a great shot.

Best of luck

[ricktas]

I agree with Brian. a 50mm 1.8 is a great lens (and cheap) that you could use both indoors and out quite well. Either an 85 or 100 would be great for outdoors where you have a little more space to use. However I have a Sigma 24-70 2.8 and it is the sharpest lens I own, and great for portraiture as well.

There is no one solution to what you need, you just need to decide what you want from the options provided by members.

[nwhc]

By all accounts the 24 - 70 you have is a really good lens are you happy with it? i would have thought that would be ideal for indoor work? its on my list of next lenses anyways.

[Dachimas]

I love my 24-70 but lately my 85mm 1.8 hasn't come off my 5d when photographing my kids!! I really love the 85 and would love to upgrade to the 1.2...

However, you will get nothing even resembling a macro shot from the 85 without a horrendous crop!

Good luck with the decision...