Will you use a 50mm 1.4D or 85mm 1.4D for portraits?

  • Thread starter Thread starter LazerLordz
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LazerLordz

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Just a friendly discussion :)

What would make you choose either one? :dankk2:
 
I have them both (50mm f1.2 AIS and 85mm f1.4 AIS) and i use both of them for portraits. If i had to choose, i would go with 85 because of it's great bokeh and of the shallower DOF which i like for portraits.
 
Depends how tight you want them, and if you are using a full frame body. Camera, that is.

I kind of like 1.4 50mm because it works also for location potraits with 5D.
 
The 85mm 1.4 (or 1.8) is more suited for portraits and is pretty much the portrait lens. At the same time I have used my 105 2.8 for portraits because it is sharp as well as the 70-200 2.8 for the same reason. In general, primes are better than zooms for portrait work so that you can control more DOF and either flood or not flood your talent with light.

Primes like the 85mm are just more ideal in a classic sense, but I think that zooms, especially 2.8's are just getting better all the time. VR technology also makes a huge difference.

The 85 in general is great though.

Regarding your question, if you were to use the 50mm for portraits, remember, when dealing with digital SLR cameras you are normally experiencing a crop factor of 1.5x meaning that a 50mm lens is actually 75mm. A 300mm lens is actually 450mm.

So ultimately the 85mm, being a longer lens, will give more DOF, but the length is suited for those head and shoulder portraits... you could frame in a similar fashion using the 50mm but 85 just seems to suit that style better.

Good job choosing the 1.4 models though, although from f/4+ the 1.4 & 1.8 are identical. Going for the 1.8 models will give you the opportunity to have still a fast piece of glass but have both models. I like f/1.4 glass when I can afford it.
 
Thanks for the comments guys, I think I will be leaning towards the 85 because I'm only doing upper-half body shots though.

Totally agree with Jeremy about how the 85 is better for "head and shoulders". The F1.4 will come in handy because I might have to shoot in different ambient light environments, and not have the adequate space for a full bowens setup, and it's not for formal portraiture though.
 
I've used both, but end up using the 50mm 90% of the time. The 85 is beautiful and the bokeh (as mentioned above) is silky and great. I just like the 50 for some reason. Seems a bit sharper when you close it down. The 85 (canon at least) is very heavy as well and can fatigue you quicker if you're using a large body.
 
On a full frame camera--the 85, no question. With a DX sensor the 50 becomes a 75mm, which is a little on the short side and the 85 becomes a 123mm, which is a little long --especially for indoors. What I'd love to see is a 70mm f/1.4 AFS VR lens. To go with my 18mm f/2.0 VR. Ok, gotta wake up now.
 
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