Canon 65mm

[bdconrail29]

Hey everyone. I enjoy playing around with lenses and came across the potential to buy a Canon E-65mm 1-5x Macro Lens. I know it's all manual focus and may not be the best for railfanning, but what about portraits? Anyone ever tried it out? Thanks.

[conrailmike]

65mm starts to be a little on the "wide" side as far as "normal" portrait lenses go. Usually, 85mm-150mm tends to be the range most photographers use when shooting portraits.

Not that you can't do it with a 65mm, it's just that the wider the lens, the closer you have to get to your subject and people tend to really freak out if you get close. Also, when shooting with a 65mm remember that f/4 will be a lot different than f/4 at 150 or 200mm, in terms of what you want to be in focus in the shot.

Photo on the right in the link below was 200mm @ f/2.8, notice the nice blur of the background. 65mm @ f/2.8 would have a lot more in focus and thus not giving the isolation of your subject that you normally would want in a portrait.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/conrailmik ... 2209424294

[bdconrail29]

Thanks Mike. What you say makes a lot of sense and I was sort of leaning to a conclusion similar to what you said, except you said it more correctly and clearly, so thanks!

I think instead I'll get a Canon 85mm or 100mm primer. Thanks for your input!

[conrailmike]

Canon makes two great 85mm lenses, the 1.8 and the 1.2 which run around $420.00 and $2,000.00

[bdconrail29]

Thanks. If the faster L-glass is worth the money, I've saved and I'll bite on it. I really want a great lens approximately this size and it won't be one of those "just to have it" lenses. Thanks for any advice.

[B-Town]

I have a Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro for sale. It's great for portraits.