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New portrait lens?

So... I've been wondering in last couple days about getting new lens for my A6000. First choice - some 50mm 1.8, because I've always wanted to take some more portraits. Then I remembered, that with aps-c I have to multiply lens angle if I want to get the "real" 50mm view. 35mm with aps-c give almost ~50mm angle, so it would be perfect. But... what about just the lens? Should I get manual or AF?

15 comments

Damian Thanks for the response!
I was thinking about 35mm instead of 50 because on aps-c 50 is like 85mm

Kazzi 75, 80 for canon. 1.5/1.6 crop.

Daniel Borth 50 mm 1.8 oss most sharp lens for sony apsc . And it has very fast af.
with 16-50 mm is great combo . But it isn't that different from helios ( i have one to and i can get very similar results with both of them ) so if you don't need oss and af helios is great for portraits. And if you buy it you gone love it :)

Daniel Borth and its also good idea to help save tookapic from dying . Tookapic can make your portraits look better and it helps you more than new lens :)

Damian I thought about that sony 1.8 because I wanted some AF lens (I do some sport shots, mostly cycling one), and with the manual it isn't so great. Also kit 16-50 with 3.5 isn't so bright in the forest so... Maybe I will buy the SEL50 1.8 :)
Thanks for all replies

Daniel Borth you can't go wrong with that lens but if you need more wide ( 50 mm is 70 mm equivalent on full frame ,good for portrait ) go with 35 mm 1.8 ( more expensive ) :)

Ian Prince +1 @Daniel for "and its also good idea to help save tookapic from dying . Tookapic can make your portraits look better and it helps you more than new lens".

Read tookapic.com/talks/407-hero-ac... maybe ;)

Gosia I recommend 35 mm/1.8. It's fantastic for portraits "Lucy"
I also have Sigma 60/2.8 but it's difficult to use in tight spaces. 35 mm is more versatile. Another interesting lens is Sigma A 30 mm f/2.8 DN. I hear it has fantastic price/quality ratio.

Kazzi and I'll counter this with Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens, which costs around the same as 35/1.8 and lacks OSS (optical stabiliser), but wins with aperture and sharpness. Those 5mm also makes a difference.

Michał I'm also shooting with Sony A6000 but with primes only. For portraits I use Sigma 60mm 2.8 - not that fast, but makes really good job - check this out: thewirecutter.com/reviews/firs.... There are 19mm and 30mm versions as well - both are pretty good, but 60mm is definately best value for money. I have all those three :) I'm considering replacing mu current Sigma 30mm 2.8 with Sigma 30mm 1.4 - not specifically portrait focal length, but it's equivalent would be 45mm. The reviews of this lens are very promising, it's also reasonably priced but quite big though.

Alternatively I use manual vintage lens. Ashai Takumar 50mm 1.4 is just awesome - you might check vintage-camera-lenses.com/asah.... I use Helios as well, but less often - it's a different style.

Gosia Ashai Takumar looks interesting. Do you have photos shot with this lens here on tookapic?

Michał Sure I have :) I just tag them with #takumar or #asahi-takumar-smc. This lens is also quite good for macro photography with extension tubes like here: "Takumar". I can really recommend this lens, although it's quite pricey compared with other vintage ones.

Gosia Cool! Can you recommend a place to buy this lens and the extension? I'm looking for something to buy actually :) While we're talking... What wide lenses do you have? I have Sigma 19/2.8 and I'd love something wider.

Michał For a vintage lens I think it's easiest to check allegro or ebay. If you have more time, you can visit local flea market. Our toka-expert in vintage lenses is @Paweł - check out his photos, and I'm sure you'll love them!

If you need something wider, then take a closer look to Samyang 12mm 2.0. Check reviews - plenty of them at youtube. My pics at tookapic are tagged #samyang-12mm :) It's quite popular and available in most photo shops, but it would be nice if you'd order it from tookapic official partner: fotoforma.pl/samyang-12-2-0-nc... :)

Kazzi Samyang 12mm - strongly recommended. Kazzi approves (and thinks about buying it, even for micro four thirds).

@Gosia, Sigma has just announced 16mm f/1.4 lens and if they do it at last 70% as good, as their other lenses, it will be a marvelous piece of a lens. We don't know the pricing yet, though. But if You want to see a bigger difference from owned 19mm, Samyang 12mm is a great idea. Don't mind it's not an autofocus lens - with such a wide angle, the depth of field will be huge anyway.