Quote: (06-07-2012 07:49 PM)Citizen_Boris Wrote:
bunch of lenses
a cheap Sigma 30mm 1.4, and a Sigma 10-20mm ... wide angle
Voigtlander 25mm 0.95... and an SLR magic 12mm 1.6
I'm glad somebody finally mentioned lenses! You are using some expensive equipment with low f-stops (large apertures), which will get shallow depth of field. This is ideal for portraits.
Comparison of Portrait Lenses by F-stop
I got a cheap old 50mm f/1.4 manual lens from Ebay with adaptor. It took some beautiful pictures. But manual focus was slow, which limited the number of pictures I could take at parties where people are busy. The extremely shallow depth of field and lack of viewfinder on my camera meant sometimes my focus was slightly off. And most importantly, my incompetent/drunk friends rarely got the focus right. That means I couldn't get decent photos of myself. So I bought a 45mm f/1.8 autofocus lens. That seems to solve my problems. But the lens cost as much as the camera.
What do you think of fixed lens cameras with large apertures if you are mostly shooting people? That cuts your cost in half. For example, the Olympus XZ-1 review says:
XZ-1 offers similar control over depth-of-field and a more flexible focal length range than most DSLRs or mirrorless cameras with their kit lenses, making it a competitive alternative unless you plan to buy additional lenses.
DPreview