So Im pulling my hair out trying to figure out the best portrait lens for my Canon 80D. Ive spent like three days reading forum threads and watching youtube reviews. Everyone keeps swearing by the 50mm f1.8 cause its cheap, but then other people say on a crop sensor like the 80D thats way too tight for indoor stuff and I should get a 35mm instead. My logic was maybe grab a used 85mm for better background blur, but I mostly shoot my kids in our tiny living room so Ill probably be backed into a wall. My budget is around 350 max and I need something before we do family photos next month. Why is this so confusing?
Man I totally feel your pain on this. Shooting kids indoors in a small space is brutal. I actually bought the Canon EF 85mm f1.8 USM thinking I could make it work in my living room and honestly it was a total disaster. Kept backing into the couch and hitting walls, had to sell it a month later. Not as good as expected for tight spaces at all, even though the blur is gorgeous. If you want my advice for your budget, grab the Canon EF-S 24mm f2.8 STM. It's super cheap and gives you the room to breathe indoors. Or look at the Sigma 30mm f1.4 DC HSM Art for Canon EF-S if you want that background blur without backing through drywall. The nifty fifty is way too tight on crop sensors for indoor family stuff, so skip that one for now.
Totally agree with the indoor space warning above. Trying to use an 85mm in a cramped room is just asking for frustration. Since you are on an APS-C body with a 350 buck limit, you have a couple solid choices:
- Canon EF-S 24mm f2.8 STM Gives you that super wide room to breathe indoors, though background blur wont be huge.
- Sigma 30mm f1.4 DC HSM Art Gives you a nice normal field of view and plenty of light for indoor kid shots. Either of those will keep you off the couch!
Re: "Man I totally feel your pain on this...."
- Shooting portraits on an APS-C sensor like the 80D requires careful focal length selection, especially in confined spaces. The crop factor of 1.6x turns standard lenses into tighter telephotos.
- Sigma 30mm f1.4 DC HSM Art provides an ideal 48mm equivalent field of view indoors.
- Canon EF-S 24mm f2.8 STM offers maximum clearance in tight rooms. Testing these focal lengths beforehand prevents spatial issues during family shoots.