# portrait lens for a6000



## jamiebonline (May 3, 2015)

hi guys

so i had planned on buying an a7 ii but i am holding off. i need more lenses. i only have the sigma 19 2.8 which i really like and it is good for a style of dramatic portraits i do where the subject is part of the landscape. but i would also like a lens to take care of headshots. how suitable is the 60 2.8 on the aps censor of the a6000 for this, i wonder? i used to shoot with a 50 on my d7000. this has an extra bit of reach so less distortion. or maybe you have another recommendation for a not too expensive prime for the purpose. i don't mind manual focus but i know next to nothing about old lenses from the film days and the appropriate adaptor. your ideas are very welcomed.


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## fjrabon (May 3, 2015)

60mm is my favorite focal length for portraiture on aps-c. Perfect balance between 3 dimensional depth and flattering compression. Enough magnification to really blow out the background if needed, but not so long that you have to shoot at f/11 and get some diffraction for proper depth of field. 

Don't have experience with this particular lens though.


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## jaomul (May 3, 2015)

A 50 on aps-c will work the same on your Sony as it did on your Nikon thereabouts. 60 might give less distortion but it's slower than you're usual 50. Tamron do a 60mm f2 that some like, though not 100% sure it's in Sony fit. If it were me I'd just use the 50


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## fjrabon (May 3, 2015)

jaomul said:


> A 50 on aps-c will work the same on your Sony as it did on your Nikon thereabouts. 60 might give less distortion but it's slower than you're usual 50. Tamron do a 60mm f2 that some like, though not 100% sure it's in Sony fit. If it were me I'd just use the 50


The benefit to the tamron is that it's also true 1:1 macro

There is a version of the tamron for a Sony mount. I have and *love* the Nikon version. No experience with the Sony mount though.


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## jamiebonline (May 3, 2015)

fjrabon said:


> 60mm is my favorite focal length for portraiture on aps-c. Perfect balance between 3 dimensional depth and flattering compression. Enough magnification to really blow out the background if needed, but not so long that you have to shoot at f/11 and get some diffraction for proper depth of field.
> 
> Don't have experience with this particular lens though.



And how do you feel about getting in closer to the subject with the 60? It is equivalent fov to 90 when used on apsc, I think. I wonder if a head and shoulders shot would create much distortion. Were you mainly referring to half body shots? I also thought of the tokina 100 which is also a macro, not so expensive and maybe there is an adaptor. of course that's very different to 60...


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## fjrabon (May 3, 2015)

jamiebonline said:


> fjrabon said:
> 
> 
> > 60mm is my favorite focal length for portraiture on aps-c. Perfect balance between 3 dimensional depth and flattering compression. Enough magnification to really blow out the background if needed, but not so long that you have to shoot at f/11 and get some diffraction for proper depth of field.
> ...


Head and shoulder shots work out great. 90mm on a full frame is pretty standard for indoor head and shoulder portraits.


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## jamiebonline (May 4, 2015)

Thanks


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## TheDrumsTheDrums (May 5, 2015)

Your all set for head and shoulder shots i think.


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## IgsEMT (May 23, 2015)

In our studio, on Nikon gear, go to lens is 50mm 1.4. Since we post process (including crop to specific size for specific look) every image, having extra room here/there only aids. OP, I'm also looking to swap to Sony mirrorless  I understand there are much more options out there especially with mount adapters.
Good Luck.
Joe


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## buggz (Jul 10, 2015)

get a nikon 105mm 2.5. best portrait lens out there for the cash.


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## nipsip (Jul 19, 2015)

Buy a 58mm Minolta f/1.4.


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