I'm a complete noob to alt. lenses so sorry in advance if this annoys anyone as one of those 'do a search' questions.
I'm looking for a prime to be used mainly as a portrait lens on a 5D. It has to be fast with amazing bokeh. My search led to several different options but the one that stood out most was the Rokkor 58 1.2. Does anyone have other suggestions for a lens to do this job (especially cheaper options)?
It depends on what angle of view you are looking for. A longer lens doesn't necessarily have to be very fast since you'll probably choose a longer distance to your model/subject, and therefore the perspective will make the background "larger", and so will the blur discs be in the final image.
58 mm is quite short, but could probably be very nice, and the fast aperture will do the trick when you need it. A more common ~85 mm could do fine at f/2 and a ~105 mm at f/2.8 or so.
What I want to say is that the shorter the focal length is, the faster a lens you'll want. Also, very fast lenses often need stopping down some for good sharpness, and they aren't always better stopped down than less fast lenses are wide open. Especially in this range (~50-135 mm).
Good point. I should have added my FL preferences as I prefer a wider angle of view than most do for portraits. I'm usually in the 35-85 range, with a lot of time between 35-50, depending on the situation of course. Just looking for a different look in that range with a magical bokeh but I'm always open to other suggestions.
The Rokkor 58/1.2, while an excellent lens, won't work on an (unmodified) 5D. The rear element of the lens protrudes too far into the mirror box, and will hit the mirror on a full frame camera. If you want to use the Rokkor 58/1.2 on your 5D, you'd have to grind down the mirror on your camera (which is doable, but perhaps a bit drastic for someone who is "a complete noob to alt").
Other choices for portrait lenses:
Unfortunately, "fast" and "cheaper options" are hard to find together. There are several other 50/1.2's (Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, ...) in the same price range as the Rokkor that will work on a 5D, though none of them have quite the reputation of the Rokkor. For great bokeh, your best choice may be a longer lens rather than a faster one.
Leica Summicron-R 90/2 (pre-APO, ~$400): very pleasant lens for portrait work, with the distinctive Leica drawing style and colors.
Leica Summicron-R 50/2 (built-in hood versions, ~$200-$300): similar drawing style to the 90/2 but in a wider angle convenient for full-body portraits and lower-light handheld shots.
Zeiss Contax Sonnar 85/2.8 (~$200): Affordable way to get some Zeiss-style contrast and "3D" look.
Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 135/3.5 (<~$75): inexpensive but a solid performer well worth a try (the longer focal length makes up for the slower aperture with respect to bokeh).
ineedakamera wrote:
Does anyone have other suggestions for a lens to do this job (especially cheaper options)?
For cheaper option, consider Jupiter-9 85mmF2 and Pentacon 135mmF2.8. Both are in M42 mount and there are tons of M42->EOS adapters. Less than $150 for both for a fantastic sharpness and bokeh.
Other cheaper alternatives ( less than $200), try Jena Zeiss pancolar 50/1.8 zebra and sonnar 180/2.8 Zebra on the M42 mount. Also biometar 80mm/2.8 and 120mm/2.8 on Pentacon 6 mount.
jaetie wrote:
i know this is vague and i'm asking for a bashing, but between the leica 90mm summicron and nikkor 105mm f/2.5 ai-s, which do you guys prefer and why?
My 105 2.5 ai-s is sharp wide open, has amazing bokeh, i small, light and sexy.
Quality lens, sharp wide open, nice bokeh IMO. Around, $200 maybe?