What lense to buy for 6D

[tnnldr7]

Wanting to buy a canon 6d...best, most affordable lens for portraits?

[RobertTheFat]

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@tnnldr7 wrote:

Wanting to buy a canon 6d...best, most affordable lens for portraits?

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If you ask that question in this group, it doesn't matter who answers. All of us will recommend the 24-105mm f/4L as the first lens for someone buying his/her first FF camera.

[Skirball]

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@RobertTheFat wrote:

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@tnnldr7 wrote:

Wanting to buy a canon 6d...best, most affordable lens for portraits?

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If you ask that question in this group, it doesn't matter who answers. All of us will recommend the 24-105mm f/4L as the first lens for someone buying his/her first FF camera.

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Do we ever really agree on anything?  😉

For a first, and assumed only EF lens?  Sure the 24-105 IS is a great choice.  I do think it's one of the best all around options given it's price.  But if I knew that i was getting it for portraiture I'd also give heavy consideration to the 24-70 2.8.  It's not for everyone; you lose IS and some range.  But portraiture means a lot of things to a lot of people, and most natural light portrait photographers are going to want 2.8.  Personally I want less than f/4 anytime I'm doing something other than headshots or family portraits.  I also really like primes for portrait work.  If you (OP) look at primes I'd recommend the affordable Canon 85mm 1.8, or the Sigma 1.4.

[TCampbell]

If you want a lens that can provide a sharp subject but allow the background to fall away to a beautiful blur, then this is achieved using lenses with longer focal lengths and low focal ratios.

The 85mm and up are good focal lengths on a full-frame body.

The 24-105 f/4 will indeed do this. The 85mm f/1.8 and f/1.2 will do it even better. The 135mm f/2 would be even bettter still. For many photographers, the 70-200 f/2.8 is a favorite for portraiture. I don't happen to have the 24-105 f/4... I use a 70-200mm f/2.8.

But there's also the consideration of how far do you want to walk back from your subject to frame the shot. The 135mm prime isn't going to work well indoors unless you have a really large room.

You may want to rent a few lenses to help you decide.

[cale_kat]

My vote goes to the 85mm f/1.8 or any of the excellent 50's.