Sophie kindly agreed to model for me in this casual test of three portrait lenses (plus an odd fourth choice but certainly worthwhile – The Canon 300mm f2.8L)
These images were taken late one evening about one hour from sunset (in the UK) in a heavily wooded area to get subdued lighting with some background character – The ISO setting ranged from 800 to 1600 on the Canon 5D Mk2 and ISO 800 on the Leica M9 – this was to ensure a fast enough shutter speed in the low light
Careful positioning of Sophie to make use of the interesting light was essential and a monopod for the 300mm Canon lens was also essential
Aperture priority throughout using close to maximum aperture on all lenses – you can see the technical detail by right clicking on the image and choose image properties (apart from the Tele-Elmarit which was at f2.8 and f 3.2 throughout)
Processed in Lightroom and tweaked for levels and colour temperature on the RAW files – cropped where needed for composition
First the Canon 85mm f1.8 – a fantastic compact portrait lens which performs at its best slightly stopped down
Next up is the Canon 135mm F2.0L – again a fantastic lens – a little long for portraits but extremely sharp – great Bokeh and can be used wide open with ease
I stopped down a little as the depth of field is a little extreme at f2
Next we have the Tele-Elmarit 90mm f2.8 on the Leica M9 – a very old lens (1970′s) but with great characteristics for portraiture – a little difficult to get the focus spot on but perseverance and multi shots normally mean one of the series will be spot on
And finally the sports lens – Canon 300mm f2.8L – Large and heavy – extremely sharp if you can nail the focus – wonderful Bokeh at this focal length – not recommended for daily use but incredible results
