I am going to move towards model type shots and need a new lens. Are there standard types of lenses to use for situations like these? My tamron isn't doing too good, focus is weird and yellow fringe

any good recommendations?

 

what kind of camera do you have?

im assuming you to be a beginner so here's my advice...

if you have a Canon DSLR, a 50mm 1.8 is a good starting point. it forces you to "zoom" in and out to compose your subject (its a fixed length lens). by doing that it makes you more aware of your subject, and makes you work harder for the shot. in my experience this is a good beginner lens.

a plus factor with the 50mm 1.8 is that its relatively fast and blurs a good amount, perfect for portrait/modelling shots. its also inexpensive (you can find a new one for under $80 or so) so it wont hurt a lot.

below are a couple I shot with that lens:







good luck!

 

I would say you want to use prime lenses, 50mm, 85mm or 135mm. With them you're going to get f stops of 2 or better.

 

yes and no.

yes to prime lenses. no to some of your sizes on a digital body for portrait shooting. Personally you really dont want anything more than an 85mm for that since really that is the equivalent of around a 128 which would be around your 135mm used with a 35mm body. 50mm or even 35mm would be a great lens. 50mm is a 75mm and I happen to have that setup and it is fairly good however and is close of the 85mm prime which is a highly used focal length for shooting portraits at. on the other hand a lot of times I wish I had a 35mm prime lens since that closest to a true 50mm on a digital that you can get.

 

^^^ Yeah, I meant 35, I just got a 135mm and I've been into film camera for 95% of this year. So most of what I'm thinking is for film.

 

If you've got a Nikon, they also have a dirt cheap 50mm f/1.8 lens that is very sharp. I've got 50mm and 85mm f/1.8 primes for my Nikon - the 85mm isn't very useful except for head portraits; the 35mm would be more useful in general along with the 50.

That said, the lens I use the most is my 18-55 f/2.8.

Mike

 

i don't think anybody dislikes the 50mm 1.8. I really like mine although I wish it were a bit wider. I really want the 35mm 1.4 or something similar, but the price difference was a just a LITTLE too much . And I have wayyy too much stuff on my list of things to buy before that.

 

I agree. I was debating between the 35mm and the 50mm and the price was just a no brainer, even if the 50mm forces me to think of my shots more.

 

just picked up a used one for $60 need it tomorrow so didn't want to order it online...I like it so far.

 

On the same theme, I am looking for a bit of lens advice.

I have come to the conclusion that my Canon Digital Rebel Kit lens (EF-S 18-55) needs replacing. It back focuses, and is too soft. I have a 50mm-1.8, and a long 70-210, I also have an old Rebel G kit lens 35-80. The fact that all of these are "full frame" lenses it leaves me with nothing wide.

I am looking at Tamron lenses (I can get a deal) Do I go with a fast 17-50? Or do I go with the slower 18-200 and get a more flexible lens? I am not sure I will get much use out of a really wide 11-18.

 

Fast 17-50 would be my pick.

An 18-200 is going to be merely adequate in terms of sharpness at best and is probably going to be really slow. To get some sharpness you'd have to stop it down even more which would hurt hand held usability on the telephoto end.

A fast zoom can always be stopped down to get more sharpness and still be quicker than the widest 18-200. Plus you get the extra benefit of using it in lower lighting conditions.