Portrait lens

Thanks for the info david, i will look out for one to try

The answer is simple, anything will make a great portrait lens. Different focal lengths lend themselves to very different styles of portraiture so I would encourage experimentation.

The only particular characteristic I would look out for is a wide aperture, which allows for more experimentation still.

I think the 50mm f1.7 is as good a place to start as anywhere.

If you are prepared to use a manual focus M42 lens then the Helios 58mm f/2 is a good low cost option !

An advantage is that it will FORCE experimentation with all the exposure and focus settings !!!

Peter

And to back that up I just found the following on the US Forum :-

"..the M42 Helios 44 M ... and that is the lens you should really get imo (that's a multicoated Zeiss Biotar). It's a 58/2.0 double Gauss design and one of THE portrait lenses on film and digital."

Nuff said !
Peter

Ian, you already gave him a fast 50. Job done. Good choice!

If he wants the best he can buy the FA77 down the line.

Thanks for all the help and feed back guys always a very helpful forum this one.

Ian

Just a thought when shhooting a portrait in studio say would you always consider a prime lens the best option moving the camera from point to point as against using a zoom ?.
Ian

I can't think of a single situation in which I would use a zoom. To me they are big, ugly, slow, and generally don't render how I want to see. But hey, different people shoot in different ways.

Moving your shooting position is not the same as changing focal length on a zoom. The first changes your perspective. The second changes your field of view. Different things. There is no such thing as "zoom with your feet".

I shot a session yesterday that we started with no idea how to frame things. I tried a Vivitar 24/2, FA43 Ltd, and FA77 Ltd. If I'd had more physical space I would have tried even longer focal lengths.

The process was a matter of getting the desired depth of field with the optimal field of view. We settled on the K50/1.2. Turned out that 50mm at f/1.4 was perfect.

The smallest aperture I tried was f/2.4. So I guess that would have ruled out any and all zoom lenses!

Working in the studio, I use primes almost exclusively. The zoom lenses are great when I'm out, because they can cope easily with the unexpected, but in the studio, where I can control everything, the primes can't be beaten.

http://www.rockycameras.com/fast-25-35-35-70mm-pentax-k-fit-fast-zoom-macro-lens...

Came across this site recently is this the lens recomended earlier and also has any member used this shop.

Ian

It's a Soligor - you can *just* read the name. I don't think it's anything special, judging from comments about it on the manual focus forums.


Andrew

portrait lenses... in order frommost used to least used here are my fav's

16-45
50 1.4
100mm macro
35 2.4
85mm soft 2.2

Thanks Andrew your more observant tban I am I missed that completly.

Ian