I have nothing to do with hair, in fact I have little of my own, but I always enjoy your videos and the way you explain the characteristics of cameras and lenses from a practical, hands on POV.
Since I recorded this video the 100mm F2 used during this recording broke (focus started sticking near infinity and required a ring crank to get it unstuck) and at first I figured I wouldn’t miss it, but quickly realized how much I actually liked it once it was gone. Now I have another copy and it’s almost always with me. For the size and price it’s absolutely amazing. I rarely grab my EF 135mm F2L anymore because I’d rather bring this at half the size and it’s ALMOST as great.
Andrew, screw the haters! I watched every second of this video, it was awesome. Haven't seen you in a while and glad to see new stuff. Keep sharing your views on EF glass, i love it! And i don't even shoot full frame.
Great list of budget portrait lenses. Thanks for showing example pictures to illustrate your comments. Really cool to see you feature lesser-known lenses like the Canon 100mm f2 and Tamron 70-210mm f4. That Samyang/Rokinon 85mm f1.2 was not on my radar at all, want to research that more. I have a Canon EOS R with the “focus guide” focus assist tool, that 85mm f1.2 looks like a good manual lens to match with that. Another budget portrait lens you might want to check out is the Canon EF 135mm f2.8 soft focus lens. It doesn’t get any attention compared to its big brother the Canon EF 135mm f2L, the “King of Bokeh.” Don’t let the “soft focus” in the name turn you off. That effect is adjustable. It’s an old lens that came out in a time when the soft focus look was desirable and Photoshop wasn’t around. Look forward to watching more photography videos from you.
Thank you! I should add a pinned comment that the 100mm F2 in this video broke a few weeks after recording this. Sort of the gamble involved with older used gear. The focus mechanism is sticking, both with AF and MF, so pulling it out to infinity there’s a rough spot that sort of catches with manual focus and sometimes stops altogether with auto focus. Apparently it’s a common break with this series of lenses and I’ve seen a few videos about how to repair it, I just haven’t had the courage to completely disassemble the lens. I’ve seen that 135 you mention, and actually almost got one out of curiosity. Thanks for the recommendation, I won’t pass on it next time I see it come up. Usually my photography videos do a lot better (on average) than my hair videos, and my hope was that if this thing got some views I’d cobble together a budget to make a second list- I still hope it works out that way. This was a lot of fun to put together.
@@andrewdoeshair Thanks for the reply and update on the 100mm f2 lens. Yeah, I’m torn between getting the 100mm f2, 135mm f2.8 or Tamron 70-210mm f4. Want to get more into telephoto but haven’t decided on which lens to buy. Good to know about the faulty focus mechanism on the 100 f2. One reason I hesitated to buy that lens is because it’s close in focal length to the 85mm f1.8 I already have. So it feels kinda redundant. The 135mm looks cool, although I worry that long of a prime lens would be limiting when shooting in tight spaces. With the 70-210mm I read a Dustin Abbott review saying it’s best to get the Tamron dock and update the firmware on the lens, to get better performance when shooting in servo (continuous) autofocus, which is what you’d use for shooting sports and action. Normally I’d prefer f2.8, but I like how light the f4 is supposed to be.
@@MarcusSortijas yeah if I had an 85 already I’d pass on the 100, but a 135 is still nice to pair with an 85 if you’re shooting with enough space. I think with some patience you could probably find canon’s 135mm F2L for under five hundred bucks, that thing is an absolute legend, and would be nice for sports. I’ve owned Tamron’s 70-200 F2.8 G2 lens (broke after six months, wasn’t a nice experience dealing with Tamron to get it repaired, long story) and I’ve owned the canon RF 70-700 F2.8L but I think dollar for dollar I get more out of this Tamron F4 because I finally realized that the only benefit to a zoom is, well, zooming. Basically if I want that fast aperture look I’ll get it at a fraction of the price, size, and weight with a prime, but if I want the convenience of zoom I’ll get it at a fraction of the cost and weight with an F4 lens. I don’t know I guess I woke up one day and felt like my big heavy expensive zooms were compromising in all the wrong ways for me. I’ve shot a few events/weddings and in those cases the 2.8 zooms were really nice but they’ve never felt “worth it” outside of very specific needs (like when you need to go from 24 to 70 in one second).
@@andrewdoeshair I had a similar feeling of the 85mm f1.8 and 135mm f2.8 being a good combo for portraits. Glad to see someone else thought so too. Yes, the price of the 135mm f2L has been dropping a lot. Before, it hovered around $1,000 used. Lately I’ve seen it for around $600 used. Under $500 would be a crazy good deal. I am so glad I read your comment about the Tamron 70-200mm f2.8 G2 breaking. I just saw a great deal on a used one for $500 and I’ve never seen it for less than $800. I was super-tempted to buy until I saw your comment. You might have just saved me from the same frustration. I think if I need a 70-200mm f2.8 for a photo shoot, I’ll just rent the Canon IS USM II version. Seems so big and heavy I worry I’d never take it anywhere if I owned it.
I would have a hard time picking between the EF 50mm 1.8 & the EF 40mm 2.8 as a first lens beyond a kit lens. I've also got an EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM as a general purpose walk-around lens for my 5D & 5D Mark II, that or the first EF 28-80 f/3.5-5.6 USM (there are five different versions) both are extremely sharp and come in around $100, so they won't break the bank.
Thanks for all your helpful videos! You're the RU-vidr I feel I have the most in common with, on the same level (or same planet) when it comes to how we think photography, camera, gear etc. A question: Does the Samyang 85mm communicate with Canon 6D? Will my (still) good (but) old 6D beep when my subject is in focus? Thanks Andrew!
Yes it will beep to confirm focus with a 6D! That’s what I mostly use it on. It also brings up in-camera corrections and exif data for a Canon EF 85mm F1.2L ii, which is close enough for this lens, and very helpful, but Lightroom etc thinks it’s a canon lens
@@andrewdoeshair Thanks Andrew, all of that is good to know and quite a game changer for manual focusing! I'll trade in some of my stuff that's collecting dust and get the Samyang. Thanks my man!
If you’re working up close and getting full body shots just know that you’ll be introducing a little or a lot of perspective distortion. I think a good practice is to be aware of it so that you can make sure the camera is at just the right height and just the right angle to keep lines (walls, ceilings, etc) in the image straight, and also to keep your models proportions as accurate as possible. A great practice might be to be aware of the distortion and utilize it to your advantage to exaggerate and sculpt your subject (like if they’re wearing big boots and you want the boots to look massive, shoot from very low looking up, or if they have big sunglasses and dainty shoulders shoot from above looking down and they’ll have gigantic sunglasses and tiny shoulders). Something I’ve had to explain a dozen times to hairstylists who insist that they can’t find a deeper place to shoot, is that you can’t buy a lens that will take a close up photo without looking like it’s close up. The distance itself will sculpt the image in ways that a lens can’t undo. With that said, maybe look for a used Canon EF 17-40mm F4L which is notoriously not the sharpest lens, but it’s decently sharp and is a very very wide full frame lens in a small and lightweight package for like $250-$300 used. Maybe also look into the Canon EF 28mm F1.8 USM as well. If you’re using a crop sensor camera forget those two lenses and look for a Canon EF-S 10-18mm, which will give you a similar field of view as a 16-28mm on a full frame but it’s only like $150 used and is known to be very sharp. As recommended in this video, go see if you can find Christopher Frost reviews on these lenses, and maybe other reviews as well.
Hey Andrew, what settings did you have dialled in when shooting with the 85 1.8 on your subjects in this video? You have the absolute sweet spot that im trying to hit🙌🏻
All of the 85mm F1.8 shots were wide open at F1.8. I stopped down the 50 a little bit for the distortion shot and closed it all the way to F22 for the black and white shot of the busy salon. The 85mm F1.2 was all over the place for various shots because 1.2 is often too shallow so I’m more mindful to play with the aperture than with the 85mm F1.8 which is less often too shallow.
Hey Andrew, I stumbled upon your channel a few weeks ago and I tell you I'm not liking your videos very much. And that's a good thing believe it or not. The reason why I dont like your channel is because it reminds me how much the barbers and hairstylists in my city (Toronto) are not that great. Even the ones that charge >$100 a haircut. Of course as you can probably tell I do find a lot of value in your vids and hope that your channel explodes. This is a long shot question, but you wouldn't happen to be able to recommend any barbers or hairstylists in Toronto or the Toronto Area that adheres to your barbering methodologies and concepts, would you?
