Which Canon lens should I choose for portraits and everyday photography as a beg

[riceadam]

Hi everyone, I’m new to photography and currently using a Canon camera. I’m looking for a lens that’s easy to use, sharp, and suitable for both portraits and daily shooting. Do you have any recommendations that offer good image quality without being too difficult for a beginner?

[Hugh_3170]

Canon used to make a very good f/4.0 24mm to 105mm zoom lens for their EOS mount.  I am guessing that they will have an R-Series equivalent.

The EOS version was used by many of my Canon shooting friends, who praised this lens for its good all round performance.  It was part of Canon's L Series line up of top tier lenses.

[RexGig0]

Hi everyone, I’m new to photography and currently using a Canon camera. I’m looking for a lens that’s easy to use, sharp, and suitable for both portraits and daily shooting. Do you have any recommendations that offer good image quality without being too difficult for a beginner?

Welcome to the forum! You have chosen a most curious place, in which to ask your question! Not many of us, on this Nikon Gear forum, use both Nikon and Canon cameras. I do use both Canon and Nikon cameras and lenses, though my Canon shooting started with DSLRs, and has not yet moved to the RF system.

I used a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS to photograph many people, though usually for the sad purpose of documenting their injuries, in my role as a forensic/evidentiary/crime scene photographer. For happier occasions, I liked to use the EF 135mm f/2L, because some family members tended to be camera-shy. I did not buy an 85mm lens, which is widely-regarded as a favored portrait focal length, until I had significantly shifted to the Nikon system. My wife was, and still is, a dedicated Nikon shooter, so, after I retired from police service, it made fiscal sense to shift toward using her favored system. She was the mentor who had persuaded me to become serious about photography, so, she had the seniority.

I still use Canon EF as a macro and close-range system, so, if you are a Canon EF shooter, I might be able to answer some questions, though my Canon equipment knowledge is somewhat “frozen in time,” with my Canon cameras being a “team” of a pair, each, of the 7D Mark II, 5Ds R, and 5D Mark IV, plus a 1Ds Mark III. My Speedlites are no newer than the 600EX-RT II, and my lenses date from what was available in 2018. Most of my experience has been with the EF 100mm Macro L, mentioned above, the first version of the EF 24-105L, and, in retirement, I really like the non-L EF 35mm f/2 IS.

I liked the EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS enough that I bought a spare, when I had the duty to photograph assault victims. I could do just about everything I need, with just this one, and the EF 35mm f/2 IS. These two have the image quality to “stand up to” the 50MP sensor of the 5Ds R.

For reference, Steve McCurry reportedly used a 105mm lens to photograph the “Afghan Girl.” So, a 100mm to 135mm lens is a valid focal length.

IS = Canon-speak for Image Stabilization.

I am not claiming to be any kind of expert.

[RexGig0]

Canon used to make a very good f/4.0 24mm to 105mm zoom lens for their EOS mount.  I am guessing that they will have an R-Series equivalent.

The EOS version was used by many of my Canon shooting friends, who praised this lens for its good all round performance.  It was part of Canon's L Series line up of top tier lenses.

I used the lens you have described, quite extensively. It is, indeed, an all-around excellent work horse of a lens. I have not used it since 2018, however, when I retired from police service, and set aside my Canon gear, for about five years. I reckon that I needed some time to heal, from having used my Canon gear for forensic/evidentiary/crime scene photography. I shifted to Nikon for mostly nature photography, after I retired.

[David H. Hartman]

Perspective is a function of the distance from the subject to the lens. On the 36x24mm format the classic portrait lenses are 85~90mm for 3/4 length, 100~105mm for head and shoulders and 135mm for a tight head shot. I prefer at least f/2.0 for 85mm and at least f/2.8 for 100~135mm to blur backgrounds if that is desired. This isn't set in stone. Personal preference can guide.

Yousuf Karsh, 1937-87, use 8x10" and maybe 11x14" cameras so given the lens selection and constraints of his camera bellows he used shorter working distance. A shorter working distance gives a more intimate look while while longer is more aloof. Anyway Karsh is my favorite portrait photographer.

If the lens gives pleasent backgrounds a 100~105mm f/2.8 macro lens can be a good choice. If the macro lens is too sharp there are in camera and post processing solution and one can easily make a Harrison & Harrison black dot knockoff by spraying a mist of flat black paint on the inside of a UV filter. This filter gives a bit of diffraction too soften the image a little when a lens is used to wide apertures. Such was used in movies in the '40s and '50s to disguise the age of a male lead.

I'm not a great portrait photographer. I'm too shy. I like to be the fly on the wall and shoot candids.

Best,

Dave

[David H. Hartman]

For daily shooting you can't go wrong with a 24-105mm or 24-120mm f/4.0 lens. I've wanted such a lens since the late '70s. Maybe this year I can afford a 24-120mm f/4.0 for my Z8.

Dave