Portrait Photography Lens Question

[acroreef]

Dear Folks,

I have a Sony A7R full frame camera and a 24-70mm lens. My camera allows me to switch, through the menu, to "APS-C Size Capture" mode. Will this then allow the lens to be a more appropriate focal length for portraits (head shots and 3/4 length shots), since the crop factor of 1.5 or 1.6 changes the focal length, correct? If so, any downsides to this? If this works, I will save from having to purchase a 70-200 or 85mm at this time.

Thanks to all who respond.

Dave

[Manfred M]

Short answer - try it and see how it works out for you, as you have nothing to loose and it is not going to cost you anything to try it.

The Sony has a 1.5x crop factor, so on the long end, that will give you the equivalent of a 105mm FF lens.

If you are going to post the images on the internet, you are going to downsample the images anyways, so whether you do this from a crop frame sensor or from a full frame frame, it really isn't going to make a lot of difference. If you are planning to make large prints, then you might see a quality difference between the two settings.

As an alternative, you can shoot full frame and just crop the shot in post as this will effectively give you the same result, with more flexibility. That would be my preferred route, as you have more of the image to work with if your framing was a bit too tight. If you shoot in crop mode, this data will not be available . The only time I would shoot a FF camera in crop mode is if I were using a crop sensor lens.

The question I would have is the 105mm FF equivalent long enough for your shooting style and your subjects. I use a 105mm for a 3/4 shot, although I know a lot of photographers would be using around 85mm. If you want to create a head shot, you are going to almost have to shove the camera into your subject's face at 70mm.

The focal length you shoot with is really going to depend a bit on both you and your subject. I personally like giving my subject more personal space and not crowding them, so I tend to shoot at longer focal lengths than some. Other photographers tend to like standing a bit closer and be a bit more intimate with their subjects. I personally get into 135mm and even longer when doing head & shoulder shots and will usually do head shots at a 200mm focal length. For portraiture work, the 70-200mm lens is my workhorse and the only other lens i will use if my 105mm fixed lens.


1. Head shot - taken at 200mm





2. Medium shot - taken at 102mm





3. Full body shot -taken at 80mm

[george013]

Dear Folks,

I have a Sony A7R full frame camera and a 24-70mm lens. My camera allows me to switch, through the menu, to "APS-C Size Capture" mode. Will this then allow the lens to be a more appropriate focal length for portraits (head shots and 3/4 length shots), since the crop factor of 1.5 or 1.6 changes the focal length, correct? If so, any downsides to this? If this works, I will save from having to purchase a 70-200 or 85mm at this time.

Thanks to all who respond.

Dave

What I've learned in another thread.
Focal length only influences the magnification of the picture and the working distance.
FF or DX, Nikon names, only crop or not. But with a same framing also a change in distance.
Distance influences the perspective (more distortion in the shorter distances).

The question should be: at what distance can I shoot best. That's limited on the short side by the perspective distortion, on the long side by the working distance and some other practical issues.
If you choice for APS-C would result in a longer working distance, then yes, it influences the quality concerning perspective.

George

[pnodrog]

On full frame I would think 70mm is at the low end of what would be considered a portrait lens but should be fine for 3/4 shots. I have seen successful portraits taken with standard 50/55mm lenses but they tend to be a little less flattering.

I see no reason to drop down to the in camera crop but just stand back a bit and leave a generous surrounding area and crop later. Certainly no need to frame tightly.

Ultimately is just matter of preference and style.

[Black Pearl]

Dear Folks,

I have a Sony A7R full frame camera and a 24-70mm lens. My camera allows me to switch, through the menu, to "APS-C Size Capture" mode. Will this then allow the lens to be a more appropriate focal length for portraits (head shots and 3/4 length shots), since the crop factor of 1.5 or 1.6 changes the focal length, correct? If so, any downsides to this? If this works, I will save from having to purchase a 70-200 or 85mm at this time.

Thanks to all who respond.

Dave

Simple answer - no.

Basically all you are doing is cropping the edges off the image before you take it instead of cropping it during processing, you're not actually changing the focal length.

If all you want is a portrait lens without breaking the bank look into getting a cheap mount adapter and pick up an older manual lens with a large aperture.

[george013]

On full frame I would think 70mm is at the low end of what would be considered a portrait lens but should be fine for 3/4 shots. I have seen successful portraits taken with standard 50/55mm lenses but they tend to be a little less flattering.

I see no reason to drop down to the in camera crop but just stand back a bit and leave a generous surrounding area and crop later. Certainly no need to frame tightly.

Ultimately is just matter of preference and style.

The key word is the distance. It's not the focal length that makes a portrait lens a portrait lens. It's the distance associated with it. By stepping back as you mention he's archiving the same. But the camera setting might help with framing.

George

[pnodrog]

The key word is the distance. It's not the focal length that makes a portrait lens a portrait lens. It's the distance associated with it. By stepping back as you mention he's archiving the same. But the camera setting might help with framing.

George

Yes George I agree distance is the key.

As I mentioned I have seen portraits taken close with lenses far too wide to qualify as portrait lenses and the closeness can evoke an intimate feel to the portrait. It relates to the distances we stand from people which is often a reflection of the relationship we have with them. It is an interesting topic and is relevant when trying to understand our response to or photographic style regarding portraiture and subsequent choice of focal length. It certainly is not solely based on having a flattering perspective. Some rather harsh and unflattering but great portraits have been taken of interesting personalities.

So often we discuss equipment choice without reference to the more important decisions regarding what we want to achieve.

[rpcrowe]

I believe that the Minolta Rokkor lenses will fit your Sony A7R. You can find a plethora of prime Minolta Rokkor lenses in focal lengths from 85mm to 135mm on eBay that are priced quite inexpensively.

If I were to pick one lens out of that focal range for portraiture I would lean towards the longer focal lengths and would probably pick 135mm (since you are covered up to 70mm with your present zoom lens). I do like 135mm and up to 200mm for head and shoulders portraiture on my full frame Canon 5D2. I think that focal range is quite flattering as shown by Manfred's head shot at 200mm...

I'd like to point out that Manfred's choices in focal lengths in the above 3 images were quite good. In the medium (102mm) and full length (80mm) shots look great. If he would have used a wider lens, then the portions of the subject's body (arms in medium shot and hands and legs in full length shot) would have looked exaggerated. Using the longer focal lengths kept those body portions looking "normal"...

Obviously - it is the subject to camera distance that determines if any look is exaggerated but, usually focal length determines (to a great degree) he distance from which you will be shooting...

[inkista]

I believe that the Minolta Rokkor lenses will fit your Sony A7R. You can find a plethora of prime Minolta Rokkor lenses in focal lengths from 85mm to 135mm on eBay that are priced quite inexpensively.

Uh.... no. Not unless you're willing to go to the PITAness of an adapted manual-only lens.

The cheap Rokkors to be found are those in MD/MC mount. This would be akin to hunting up vintage Canon FL/FD lenses for an EOS M body in Canon terms. Minolta MD/MC are manual-only, have a shallower registration distance than Minolta AF/Sony A-mount, and while they can be adapted with simple rings for Sony E-mount and they're full-frame, you don't have autofocus, you have to use stop-down metering, manual focus, and aperture control is done via the lens rings, and there's no EXIF info for the lens. IOW, kind of a PITA. Unless you're a vintage enthusiast luddite who adapts lenses for the fun of it (like me), I'm not sure this is a practical solution.

If you were talking about Minolta AF Rokkors for a Sony A-mount dSLT, that's different, but doesn't apply here since the OP's shooting a E-mount A7 mirrorless body.

[DanK]

Basically all you are doing is cropping the edges off the image before you take it instead of cropping it during processing, you're not actually changing the focal length.

Seems to me that this is the answer. You are just cropping, not changing the focal length. It should make no difference whether you crop in the camera or in post.

The key word is the distance. It's not the focal length that makes a portrait lens a portrait lens. It's the distance associated with it. By stepping back as you mention he's archiving the same. But the camera setting might help with framing.

I think this is the rest of the answer.

[rpcrowe]

I wasn't cognizant of the different varieties of Sony mounts... I looked up E mount lenses on eBay and there doesn't seem to be a great choice in lens types. The prices seem pretty high for the lenses that are listed, except for the lenses with adapters (which you mentioned are PITA to use) but which are dirt cheap. I could live with a manual focus and totally manual exposure lens for formal portraiture. If I were in the shoes of the OP, I might try a 135mm lens with an adapter. I have seen these quite inexpensively on eBay...
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...mm&_sacat=3323

There is a Carl Zeiss Jenar 135mm f/4 lens which "might be a neat plaything"

[inkista]

I wasn't cognizant of the different varieties of Sony mounts... I looked up E mount lenses on eBay and there doesn't seem to be a great choice in lens types.

This is why I tell folks looking into mirrorless to go Sony for sensors, but MFT for lenses. [Fuji for haptics and colors].

The prices seem pretty high for the lenses that are listed, ...

Yeah, but some of 'em are autofocusing Zeiss glass. I love my Canon EF 135/2L, but that A-mount ZA 135/1.8.... oh, lordy, lordy is it gorgeous. If they ever come out with that for e-mount...

... I could live with a manual focus and totally manual exposure lens for formal portraiture.

But you, like me, shot film with manual-only gear. For the digital-only youngsters, it may be a different story.

...There is a Carl Zeiss Jenar 135mm f/4 lens which "might be a neat plaything"

If it's a Jena, chances are really good it's much much older in the M42 mount. If you're bound and determined to adapt, then I'd actually recommend the C/Y Zeiss lenses instead, simply because with the Jenas condition can be much worse from the additional decades of storage/usage and they're likely to be uncoated or single coated. The old T* (multicoated) Sonnar 135/2.8 wasn't that expensive back in the day (may be skyrocketing now) and is f/2.8.

Ah. Nope. Still a bargain.

Review here: http://slrlensreview.com/web/reviews...cy-lens-review

[Manfred M]

But you, like me, shot film with manual-only gear. For the digital-only youngsters, it may be a different story.

Especially now that the currentcamera focusing screens / displays have not been designed to get a good, fast manual focus, but assume that everyone is going to use autofocus...

[rpcrowe]

Some purists insist that you MUST use an f/2.0 or f/2.8 lens for portraits to be able to blur the backgrounds. However, I shoot many of my portraits at f/5.6 or even f/8 with a relatively long focal length. I am not a fan of wide open portraiture that may have only one eye in focus.

Here is an example of being able to blur a background using f/5.6 at 165mm on a Canon Crop DSLR...

[acroreef]

Thanks again for all of your helpful responses. Much appreciated!