I'm going to be using a EOS-D30 camera for taking Individual and group pictures. I was wondering which lens would be best for this type of work?

-- Michael Craig (odysseus97420@hotmail.com), December 17, 2001

Answers

70-200 f/4 L or 28-135IS.

-- Jeff Nakayama (moonduck22@hotmail.com), December 17, 2001.

I think you should be looking at the wide end for your choice of lens. Usually a lens that covers up to 28mm will be sufficent for group pictures and 50mm or 85mm for individual. However, for D30 with a 1.6x CCD, you may be looking at a 20mm lens (=32mm for D30) for group picture and 35mm lens (=56mm for D30) or 50mm lens (=90mm for D30) for portraits.

-- Jason Poh (Jasonpgc@yahoo.com), December 18, 2001.

Well, I personally use an EF100 F2.0 for portraits, also recommended is the 85mm. With the digital 1.6 you'd be looking at something in the 50mm range (50 * 1.6 = 80mm) so the EF40 1.4 should yield exceptional results !

-- tony (tony@army.com), December 21, 2001.

Despite the 1.6 factor in D30, it is better sticking to 85mm for portraits and 35mm for group photos. All you have to do is to stand further away from your subjects, if possible. I do not think 20/2.8 is sharp enough for group photos, even when stopped down, when compared to a 35/2.0. And you need shallow depth of view of 85/1.8 (as opposed to 50/1.8) to make your subject stands out from the background. Of course if you prefer zooms then 24-85 or 28-135 IS is OK for both types of pictures.

-- Damond Lam (damondhk@hotmail.com), December 21, 2001.