Which lens is better on a Canon Rebel T5i for makeup videos and portraits: 50mm f/1.8 or 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6?
Asked 1/21/2019
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I use a Canon Rebel T5i for YouTube makeup videos and portraits, and I have two lenses: a 50mm f/1.8 and a 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6. Which one is better for photos and which is better for video? I’d like to understand the strengths of each lens, especially for indoor filming and portrait-style shots.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
3
Either lens will work for shooting still and cinema. I think the issue here is the glass and what you are trying to do. The 50mm lens is great for lower light situations, but you have to physically move the camera to change the field of view you are shooting. If the camera is sitting on a tripod, the 50mm is great.
The 55-200/4.5-5.6 zoom lens is going to be better for outside use. The aperture is really small on this lens, so inside shooting quality is going to be much lower. Plus this is a 200mm telephoto, so unless you are zooming on small parts, this is not real useful.
I personally like using a 28-105 zoom lens as my general purpose lens. I would also get the largest aperture I can afford. If you can find a used or budget f/2.8-4.0 I think you would be much happier with the results.
I would go to the local camera store and try them out before buying.
Originally by user81434. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user81434
7y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
For makeup videos and portraits on a T5i, the 50mm f/1.8 is usually the better choice indoors. Its much wider aperture lets in more light, which helps with image quality in lower light and can give a softer background for portraits. The tradeoff is that it’s a fixed focal length, so to change framing you have to move the camera.
The 55-200mm is more useful when you need zoom flexibility or are shooting outdoors in brighter light. But its smaller maximum aperture makes it less ideal indoors, and the longer focal lengths can feel too tight for typical makeup-video framing unless you want close detail shots.
So in practice:
- 50mm f/1.8: better for indoor portraits and tripod-based makeup videos
- 55-200mm: better outdoors or for tighter, zoomed-in shots
If you want one general-purpose lens for this kind of work, a mid-range zoom with a relatively wide aperture can be more convenient.
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