topic Re: Which lens to buy for group portraits on the EOS Rebel T5? in Gear Guide

Which lens to buy for group portraits on the EOS Rebel T5?

jk111 — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 13:38:39 GMT

I have a rebel t5 and want to buy a lens that would be good for a group family picture with 15-20 people. I have 85 mm 1:18 but its not good for a big group. I am thinking 50 mm but not sure what one. I have 50mm 0.35 but its not what I want. also not sure if i should go with stm or usm. I have about $275 to spend. thanks

Re: Which lens to buy for group portraits on the EOS Rebel T5?

shadowsports — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 14:51:57 GMT

Greetings,

I think the EF-S 18-55 might be good given your budget. 2 are available. f3.5 micro motor and f4 STM motor. Primary difference is number of aperture blades, magnification .34x vs .25x and motor type. STM will be a little quieter. Costs a little more.

Re: Which lens to buy for group portraits on the EOS Rebel T5?

rs-eos — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 14:31:50 GMT

There are two challenges with large groups of people. First, is getting them all within the frame. An 85mm (which has a field-of-view equivalent as a 136mm lens on your crop sensor camera) would make things very difficult. You'd have to be quite far away.

The second challenge is depth of field. Unless all faces (eyes) are on the same focal plane, you'd need to capture enough depth of field or use a hyperfocal distance. Otherwise, people in say a second or third row would be out-of-focus if you're focusing upon the first row.

A wide angle lens can definitely help on both counts. It will allow for a wider field of view and shorter focal lengths have greater depth of field at the same aperture as compared to longer focal lengths.

However, wide angle lenses can definitely add distortions, especially near edges and corners. Thus, for large groups of people, anyone near corners or edges can end up looking strange. Recommend stepping back a bit further to eliminate placing faces near the edges/corners.

Re: Which lens to buy for group portraits on the EOS Rebel T5?

ebiggs1 — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 15:29:48 GMT

Did you not get a EF-S 18-55 kit lens with your Rebel? That is all you need. You don't need to buy anything new. Nothing you can get for $275 will do a significantly better job. If you do not have the kit lens buy the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/4-5.6 IS STM Lens including tax you should be very near your $275 budget.

Re: Which lens to buy for group portraits on the EOS Rebel T5?

jk111 — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 17:35:13 GMT

I got a EFS 18-55 mm but it is macro 0.25 / 0.8 so maybe I could get the one with f/4-5.6 thank you so much!

Re: Which lens to buy for group portraits on the EOS Rebel T5?

jk111 — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 17:36:32 GMT

thank you for the information I really appreciate it!

Re: Which lens to buy for group portraits on the EOS Rebel T5?

jk111 — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 17:39:34 GMT

thank you so much for the advice!

Re: Which lens to buy for group portraits on the EOS Rebel T5?

zakslm — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 19:40:25 GMT

You may wish to look into the EF-S 24mm F2.8 STM.

It would be my choice for photographing a group that size. But it depends on how close you are to the group and how they are arranged.

I'm not sure what the image magnification is at the closest focusing distrance of .52 ft. is but I think its greater than the image maginifaction at the closest focusing distance of the EF 50mm f1.8 STM (I own both lenses and use them on a Rebel T7). Both the 24 and the 50 are very sharp and I would give the edge to the 24mm for close focusing macro shots.

EF-S 24mm f2.8 STM @ f5.6, 1/30th sec ISO 800EF 50mm f1.8 STM @ f5.6, 1/40th sec, ISO 800

Re: Which lens to buy for group portraits on the EOS Rebel T5?

jk111 — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 21:13:39 GMT

thank you for your information, much appreciated.

Re: Which lens to buy for group portraits on the EOS Rebel T5?

normadel — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 22:16:10 GMT

A 35mm lens is not a wide angle lens on a crop-sensor body like you have. A 28 or 24 would be. But buying ANY single length lens would be too limiting. An 18-55 gives you wide-to-mild telephoto. Another possibility in a zoom is an EF-S 10-22. A used on could be within your budget. An EF-S 10-18 is $300.00 new and used in excellent condition is $128.00 at one dealer i just checked.

Re: Which lens to buy for group portraits on the EOS Rebel T5?

ebiggs1 — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 17:46:19 GMT

"You may wish to look into the EF-S 24mm F2.8 STM. "

The 18-55mm already includes 24mm. The 18-55mm is by far the better choice if budget and versatility is the goal. That's way Canon included it with Rebel kits.

Re: Which lens to buy for group portraits on the EOS Rebel T5?

zakslm — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 20:17:21 GMT

Noted.

I have the kit lens, the 24 and the 50. I was offering my opinion as to what I would use if asked to photograph a group of 15-20 people and also also is a lens that has some close focusing chops . For an indoor posed/arranged group shot, decent sized room or outdoor posed/arranged group shot, my first choice would be the 24 because it's sharper than the kit lens and if I wanted to limit depth of field for some reason, the 24's maximum aperture is f/2.8 making it easier to do so than with the kit lens. If I didn't own the 24, the kit lens might be the lens of choice.

Truth be told, I really like using the 24mm on my T7 and any reason/excuse to do so resonates with me!

Re: Which lens to buy for group portraits on the EOS Rebel T5?

ebiggs1 — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 18:00:20 GMT

"... I wanted to limit depth of field for some reason, the 24's maximum aperture is f/2.8 making it easier to do so than with the kit lens."

Not really a big factor. Let's consider a 24mm lens indoors at f2.8 and the subject is at 5 feet. The DOF is about 1 1/2 feet. The kit lens set to 24mm and the same distance to subject of 5 feet but f4 since the 18-55mm is a variable aperture lens. The DOF would be about 2 feet. Approximations for sure but the DOF advantage would be in inches. Hardly a deal maker or deal breaker. Now you may like using the 24mm and that's fine. Nothing wrong with that.

Re: Which lens to buy for group portraits on the EOS Rebel T5?

zakslm — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 21:42:34 GMT

I’m sure you are correct at 5 feet from the subject. A group of 15-20 folks arranged in 1 or 2 rows at > 10 feet probably should be shot at a smaller f/stop as well to make sure all faces are in focus anyway!

But I do like my 24mm and don’t mind “zooming with my feet” if the space allows!

Re: Which lens to buy for group portraits on the EOS Rebel T5?

ebiggs1 — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 15:17:17 GMT

The numbers say, using the same params but, at 10 feet from subject, the DOF would be approx. 3 feet greater using the 17-55mm making it the more logical choice once again. Remember 24mm is 24mm no matter which lens you use. The determining factor is the aperture. If you select the same aperture on both lenses at 24mm and distance to subject, the DOF is identical.

You said, "... I wanted to limit depth of field for some reason,...". The led me to believe you wanted a more shallow DOF and using the first example, you would gain only about 6 inches of DOF difference. Now I gather you are wanting more DOF to make sure faces are sharp. In that case both lenses are equal in DOF at 24mm.

Again nothing wrong using your 24mm prime but your reasoning is flawed. No doubt it is a nice lens, a very nice lens.

Re: Which lens to buy for group portraits on the EOS Rebel T5?

jk111 — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 23:10:41 GMT

thank you, I will check into this