My favorite people lens...

[rpcrowe]

Although I enjoy shooting with my crop sensor A6500 and adapted Russian Helios 58mm f/2 lens, and usually shoot this lens wide open...


And the Canon 85mm f/1.8 is something special, especially on a full frame camera like the 6D2, this was shot wide open.



My favorite people lens for either a crop sensor or full frame camera has always been the Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS. These candid portraits were shot with my 7D2 and the 70-200mm f/4L IS lens. That lens is my versatile workhorse...
110mm f/4

70mm f/4


However, if I were shooting portraits only with the crop sensor A6500, I would take advantage of the IBIS of that camera and select the Sigma 50-100mm f/1.8 DC HSM ART lens as my primary people shooter. That lens is a 75mm to 150mm equivalent, has an f/1.8 constant aperture throughout the zoom range and is compatible with the MC-11 adapter which will give it native Sony lens AF capability.
https://www.sigmaphoto.com/50-100mm-...rt-refurbished

That is a lot of money for a crop sensor lens but, it is a beauty.

[wilgk]

Wonderful images and descriptions of the lenses used.

[Manfred M]

My favourite portrait lens is the f/2.8 70-200mm (Nikkor in my case) and I love shooting it wide open to get that shallow DoF. I sometime go to f/4, but find that the background has to be well in the distance to get the softness I am looking for.

Fortunately for me (except in a financial sense) Nikon did not make the f/4 version when I was in the market for a 70-200mm or I would have likely bought it. I have shot a friend's but find the extra stop makes a lot of distance when I shoot outdoors. In the studio, losing the extra stop makes no difference as I tend to be at f/8 there for a lot of my work.

[rpcrowe]

My favourite portrait lens is the f/2.8 70-200mm (Nikkor in my case) and I love shooting it wide open to get that shallow DoF. I sometime go to f/4, but find that the background has to be well in the distance to get the softness I am looking for.

Fortunately for me (except in a financial sense) Nikon did not make the f/4 version when I was in the market for a 70-200mm or I would have likely bought it. I have shot a friend's but find the extra stop makes a lot of distance when I shoot outdoors. In the studio, losing the extra stop makes no difference as I tend to be at f/8 there for a lot of my work.

The reason I chose the f/4L Canon 70-200mm is that I like it as a carry around - walk about lens. I can actually carry a pair of bodies plus the f/4L version and a mid range zoom at the same weight as a single body plus f/2.8 version and the mid range zoom. I have schlepped the two body and two lens setup throughout China, Venice, Istanbul and Greece.

However, as I get older, I am really appreciating the light weight of the Sony A6500. I am interested in settling on a two lens outfit for this camera that will keep it in the really lightweight category.

I am experimenting with Sony 16mm f/2.8 and the full frame kit lens 28-70mm plus a third fast 30mm f/1.4 Sigma Contemporary which I expect to have the same focus capabilities as the native Sony lenses.

[DanK]

I share your enthusiasm for the 70-200. I am glad I didn't spend twice the money for the f/2.8 and am very glad I don't have twice the weight to carry around. I would rarely use the shallower DOF of the f/2.8. My people photos are mostly candids, and if people are moving around, f/4 is about as low as I can go anyway.

I found your descriptions helpful, but the images--as good as they are--not so helpful in terms of learning about the lenses. At such a low resolution, they don't provide much information, and for the most part, it isn't practical to separate the characteristics of the lens from the differences in aperture and backgrounds. These images just tell me you are good at taking people shots. The exception is the Helios, with its odd bokeh (which I actually don't find appealing).

I have to say that your posts about mirrorless cameras got me thinking again, but because my main interest in them is weight, APS-C is what interests me. It will have to wait. My next photo splurge will be a new printer (a Canon Prograf Pro 1000), which I should have by next week but can't even unpack until we finish some drywall work in the area where I print. I may post about that once I have some experience with it.

[Shadowman]

Looks like a good combo, nice captures.

[rpcrowe]

Dan,
Regarding your comment,
"I have to say that your posts about mirrorless cameras got me thinking again, but because my main interest in them is weight, APS-C is what interests me."

The weight/size of the A6500 and the Helios lens + adapter is really great to carry. My old body needs a beak from carrying multiple pounds of photo gear for fifty plus years. IMO the A6500 is also the ultimate camera to carry on a Black Magic Strap because of its form factor.

[DanK]

Dan,
Regarding your comment,
"I have to say that your posts about mirrorless cameras got me thinking again, but because my main interest in them is weight, APS-C is what interests me."

The weight/size of the A6500 and the Helios lens + adapter is really great to carry. My old body needs a beak from carrying multiple pounds of photo gear for fifty plus years. IMO the A6500 is also the ultimate camera to carry on a Black Magic Strap because of its form factor.

Yup, I've been following your posts about this. On the other hand, by the time I get around to it, there will likely be new models. I'm particularly interested to see whether Canon follows its new FF mirrorless with a higher-end APSC.

[Tom Barry]

I'm finding this thread extremely interesting and informative. For me, one older lens on one older camera is a combo that is my favorite for people pictures: The Canon EF 100mm f/2 USM, used wide open or nearly so, and the original Canon 5D. I like the rendering of the 12 MP full-frame sensor. It just seems more - and I know this is subjective - "realistic" to me. Next best for me is the same camera with the EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 USM IS. I have to pay a little more attention to the background distance with this rig.

[rpcrowe]

I'm finding this thread extremely interesting and informative. For me, one older lens on one older camera is a combo that is my favorite for people pictures: The Canon EF 100mm f/2 USM, used wide open or nearly so, and the original Canon 5D. I like the rendering of the 12 MP full-frame sensor. It just seems more - and I know this is subjective - "realistic" to me. Next best for me is the same camera with the EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 USM IS. I have to pay a little more attention to the background distance with this rig.

I also think that the 28-135mmm is a great focal range for people shooting (I like it on both full frame and crop cameras). I wished that it had a constant f/4 or wider aperture. The aperture is the only reason that I don't use that lens as often as I once did. When I read that Sony had come out with a 28-135mm lens with a constant f/4 aperture, I was quite excited.

UNTIL I LEARNED THE PRICE
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...135mm_f_4.html