What Lens to get for Portrait and LandScape


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Limmo

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Jul 25, 2011
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Can any pros out there give some advices and what lens to get for which can be use for both portrait/group photo (wedding) and landscape. Was thinking of getting a Tokina 11-16mm f2.8.

Currently using a canon 600d.

Thanks.
 

Read up on "wide angle distortion". (hint: google) and you will realize why shooting portraits with a UWA lens has certain challenges.

The whole point of a DSLR is "right lens for the job". If you want all-in-one lenses then stick to point and shoots.
 

i doubt you will want to use an UWA lens to shoot portraits; even for groups photos there will be distortion.

For landscape photography, depending on your shooting style, you may need only a wide angle (like Canon 17-40mm which is about 27mm focal length equivalent on your 600D).

You can also consider the Tamron or Sigma 17-50mm.
 

I am actually getting the UWA lens for landscape purpose, but wants to use it for taking group photos or even portrait when requires.
 

I am actually getting the UWA lens for landscape purpose, but wants to use it for taking group photos or even portrait when requires.

Like I said, you should understand what problems you will face if you use UWA for portraits and group photos. Even an 18-55mm kit lens may be better than using an UWA for those cases.

Read up and learn more first, you will understand better.
 

Generally WAs and UWAs are good for landscapes, mid-teles good for portraits. That said, these are NOT limitations -- I've seen great portraits with a fisheye, and I'm sure nice landscapes have been shot with teles.
For groups, you'll generally want to stick in the 28 - 50mm range.
Lo and behold, I seem to have described the kit lens :) Yup, the humble kit lens (18-55 / 18-70) would cover most of your needs. Though if you're an ultra-wide junkie (like me) a good UWA would be a nice addition.
 

The Tokina 11-16 is a great landscape lens..that's a must have lens if you really do landscapes on a crop camera..you'll be surprised how often you will use 11mm…although it is x1.6
As for portraits, this is a horrible lens for it :) I tried it a few times and it didn't do a good job..you got to be VERY careful about the edges because the people WILL get very distorted and look extra FAT…not something very nice for your friends/family to see them get fatter through the lens haha..

So yes, a kit lens is much better at group photos than a UWA will do..
 

Tokina 11-16mm - Landscape
17-55mm/35mm - Portrait
 

Can any pros out there give some advices and what lens to get for which can be use for both portrait/group photo (wedding) and landscape. Was thinking of getting a Tokina 11-16mm f2.8.

Currently using a canon 600d.

Thanks.

certainly possible if you don't go too close and try to fill the frame (from edge to edge) with your subjects :)

16mm from across the table, allow for some space on either side... why not? :) Certainly do-able.

Tokina's 12-24 f/4 is more versatile for this dual-role though.
 

Thanks for all the advise given. Will read up more on lens before making my purchase
 

i'd suggest you to play around with a kit lens (18-55 or 18-135), then you can see if 18mm is wide enough or not (for you). within this range you should be able to use it for your group photo. well, if 18mm is wide enough for you, you can grab the walkaround lens for aps-c like Tamron 17-50, or even Canon 17-55 IS.

but if you need wider than 18mm, then you might consider some UWA lenses for your 600D, like tokina 11-16/12-24 or canon 10-22, or maybe sigma 10-20. you should be able to use this for your group photo, and see if the result good enough for you.

hope it helps :)
 

Limmo said:
Can any pros out there give some advices and what lens to get for which can be use for both portrait/group photo (wedding) and landscape. Was thinking of getting a Tokina 11-16mm f2.8.

Currently using a canon 600d.

Thanks.

I'll recommend either a Canon EF-S 17-85 or 15-85. The latter is one of the more decent suit all needs lenses out there. But bear in mind that it's only for crop-frames, so you can't import over if you go full-frame in future. If u are looking to full-frame, just get a second hand Canon EF 17-40 F4L. It's cheaper in the 2nd hand market nowadays.
 

certainly possible if you don't go too close and try to fill the frame (from edge to edge) with your subjects :)

16mm from across the table, allow for some space on either side... why not? :) Certainly do-able.

Tokina's 12-24 f/4 is more versatile for this dual-role though.
I recommend the 12-24 too, it is more versatile as it is just slightly less wide than the 11-16 but a lot longer at the long end. 16mm may still have quite a bit of distortion in group shots and you may need to go up to 24mm. For landscapes you don't need f2.8 anyway, neither do you shoot group shots at f2.8. For portraits, sure, sacrifice the f2.8 but it's not often you're going to use a UWA for portraits.
 

An UWA can be very useful in wedding as well.

Shot taken using 17mm @F2.8

524160_10150726502698556_576318555_9354103_189622338_n.jpg
 

Thanks all for the advise. Think I will b playing ard with my 18-135 first and do more research.
 

Aikiway said:
I'll recommend either a Canon EF-S 17-85 or 15-85. The latter is one of the more decent suit all needs lenses out there. But bear in mind that it's only for crop-frames, so you can't import over if you go full-frame in future. If u are looking to full-frame, just get a second hand Canon EF 17-40 F4L. It's cheaper in the 2nd hand market nowadays.

I also suggest a 15-85, this lens can do both landscape and portrait. Though f5.6 on the 85mm end is not too good for a nice "bokeh". If you have extra $ then you can pair up with a 50mm 1.4 : )
 

Though f5.6 on the 85mm end is not too good for a nice "bokeh".

The lens may still have nice bokeh at 85mm f/5.6 - after all, bokeh is the quality of the blur, not the amount of blur...
 

I know this is a 1 week old thread... but just happen upon it, lol.

Anyway, I think many forget about this lens - 16-35mm L. This is an excellent landscape lens.

Many mistaken that only UWA take good landscape photos, well, you can use any lens to take landscape photos, not just the UWA, it all depend on the composition and the distance between yourself and the subject you wanted. I survive on a 28mm on my crop camera for landscape for quite sometime before giving in and get myself a Tokina 12-24mm.
 

I recommend the 12-24 too, it is more versatile as it is just slightly less wide than the 11-16 but a lot longer at the long end. 16mm may still have quite a bit of distortion in group shots and you may need to go up to 24mm. For landscapes you don't need f2.8 anyway, neither do you shoot group shots at f2.8. For portraits, sure, sacrifice the f2.8 but it's not often you're going to use a UWA for portraits.

The Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 got me pondering about a question.

Under what context would somebody use f2.8 at such wide angle? Does anyone ever shoot landscape at f2.8? I doubt it.

No one shoots group shots at f2.8 also, as mentioned above.

So... What's the intention of the constant f2.8 in this particular lens?

Sorry, kinda new to photography, so might have missed out on something here.
 

The Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 got me pondering about a question.

Under what context would somebody use f2.8 at such wide angle? Does anyone ever shoot landscape at f2.8? I doubt it.

No one shoots group shots at f2.8 also, as mentioned above.

So... What's the intention of the constant f2.8 in this particular lens?

Sorry, kinda new to photography, so might have missed out on something here.

People seldom use f2.8 on landscape photography, but that does not mean they don't do that. You might want to read up on DOF... sometime when your subject is far enough and you are focusing to infinity you can still get the whole of your subject in focus. And with bigger aperture, more light are coming into your sensor, which can be useful even for landscape photography.

Second UWA lens although are traditionally used for landscape are not limited to landscape photography or used for group photographing. There are many uses for UWA too, some can even use it for portrait, panning, etc. And some use it for their street photography (which a big aperture help alot).
 

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