I currently have a 28-105usm and the following primes:- 50mm1.8,24mm,and 50mm Macro. My question is;

If I want to take a portrait shot indoors without using flash, I sometimes have a problem using my 28-105 at the 105 end, because of the limitations of a 4.5 F stop. If I were to use my 50mm Macro lens, would I get the kind of distortion usually associated with a 50mm at close distances? Or is this 50mm lens better for close ups because it is a macro, and is less prone to distort facial features?

Any answers much appreciated.

Sarah

-- Sarah Needham (sarah.needham1@orange.net), May 15, 2002

Answers

The fact that your macro lens is capable of focussing closer than a non-macro lens does not affect the perspective in any way.

The "distortion" for portraits is a matter of perspective from the subject. Try this sometime... go up to someone (preferably someone you know who won't be alarmed by your strange behaviour) and stand very close to them. Make a frame with your fingers and look at their face. Notice how their face looks all distorted - the nose seems huge, the eyes seem far away. Now walk further back and look at their face again, framing with your fingers. The apparently bulging nose won't be, because you're further away.

The same thing happens with lenses. Portraits taken with wide- angle lenses mean you must be standing really close to the subject for their face to fill the frame. So their nose looks huge, the hairline falls back, etc. Portraits taken with a telephoto lens mean you must be standing far away from the subject for their face to fill the frame.

Most people find that head and shoulder portraits look best and most natural when you use a lens with an 85mm to 135mm focal length - at least with 35mm film. (things are different with other film size formats) You can take head and shoulder portraits with 50mm lenses just fine - the drawbacks are that a) you must stand much closer to the subject for their face to fill the frame, which can be unsettling for a lot of people and b) the close perspective yields a sort of intimate feeling and may emphasize larger noses, etc.

-- NK Guy (tela@tela.bc.ca), May 15, 2002.

I found the following things useful in understanding this "perspective" stuff: Consider the distance between the tip of your nose and one of your ears. It's probably between 4 and 6 inches. So, your nose will always be 4 to 6 inches closer to a camera set up to take a conventional portrait of you, no matter what lens is used.

Note how close the camera must be to fill the frame for a normal "head and shoulders" portrait with your lens set at 28mm: probably under 24 inches away. That means that your nose might be as close as 18 inches from the film if your ear is 24 inches away. This is a 25% difference in distance, enough to make the nose seem larger just because of its nearness.

With the lens set at 105mm, the camera must be five or six feet away to get the same head-and-shoulders view. The 6 inch difference in nose and ear distance may now be as little as 8% of the total distance from subject to film. That's small enough a difference to be imperceptible.

The 50mm works fine if your portrait will be at least the whole upper body, because the camera will then be far enough away to keep perspective from distorting features.

Once you know these rules, it's fun to break them on purpose...

-- Jonathan Barber (jbarber1@nycap.rr.com), May 15, 2002.

I think it all depends on the portrait. You can get fine shots with either 50 mm, as long as you are interested in "head & shoulders" or environmental portriats. If you move in very close for some sort of partial-face close up, you'll get some distortion (possibly insignificant, though) and you might need better lighting anyway.

Another option is your zoom and a Speedlite--bounce flash off walls or ceiling. If you don't own one, you can always rent.

-- Preston Merchant (merchant@speakeasy.org), May 15, 2002.

Sara, if you are willing to spend about $130US, the vivitar 100mmf3.5 macro has gotten rave reviews for its price. Its no canon, but you will gain 1 fstop as well as 1/1 macro. I have seen portraits with this lens and they are tack sharp.LB

-- louis brown (louisb@cnet.com), May 15, 2002.