Originally posted by Cerebum Hi
I may get the chance to take part in a model shoot in a local orchard. It will be short notice so I want to know what I am grabbing. Thing is, I have never done portraits so I am a bit undecided, lens wise. My best lenses are my 18-135mm, and the following manual primes
Auto Mamiya Sekor 50mm f2
Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolor 50mm f2.8
Super Takumar 50mm f3.5
Auto Yashinon 50mm f1.8
Helios 44-2/44-4
Takumar 100mm f4 macro
They are all sharp, anyone care to suggest which may be best? ......Anyone?
Also, as you can see I have a gap from 58-100mm. Is there a hidden gem? A soligor, pentacon or suchlike that won't cost me a fortune but is still a worthwhile addition?
Thanks
Orchard= outdoor setting. Your DA 18-135mm should be terrific! You cannot predict what your distance will be. There will be numerous other eager photographers, of which you will be seeking to omit an elbow or shoulder. This lens can produce very fine people shots with very good background bokeh. Excellent image quality, especially in the central frame area. It has been shown to be a quite good portrait lens. In model shooting it will allow you to adjust framing for full-body to facial closeup, or in-between, on the fly. If the shoot goes on into the low-sunlight hour, you could then try keeping the FL from 18-70mm, where this lens can keep to f/3.5-4.5 aperture to keep shutter speed up without having to raise ISO too much. Using a more open aperture to blur background will be mostly a good idea anyway, just how much so depends on the degree of tele FL and the background distance. I think this lens will be a very good choice for this somewhat unpredictable situation. Take a fast 50mm lens also, in case you need it if lighting gets low.