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Hassy 150 or 120 for portraits?

jmosier01

Member
I know there are threads on here for the individual lenses mentioned. Would love to hear peoples thoughts on which people feel is better for head and shoulders portraits. I have the 150 f/3.2 HC 9older version), but I'm wondering if maybe the 120 might be a bit sharper.

Thanks for any input!
 

FredBGG

Not Available
I know there are threads on here for the individual lenses mentioned. Would love to hear peoples thoughts on which people feel is better for head and shoulders portraits. I have the 150 f/3.2 HC 9older version), but I'm wondering if maybe the 120 might be a bit sharper.

Thanks for any input!

I think that both are going to be as sharp as you'll need for portraits. You should really base your choice more on the type of perspective you like. I think that for many people they will find portraits with longer focal length more pleasing.

It also depends a bit on what sensor you are using.
 

Wayne Fox

Workshop Member
For head and shoulder portraits on MF, sharpness is something that can be too good. Personally I think the perspective of the 150 would be more pleasing, it should be plenty sharp for this purpose, and also give a little more softness to the background.
 

Shashin

Well-known member
I would go for the 120mm because the close focusing distance. That will give much more flexibility as you will never really be limited on how close you can be. Both focal lengths will make good portrait lenses and you can always crop to give an equivalent longer focal length, harder to do the opposite. With the same framing, you will not notice the difference in DoF, but the 120 will give a little more roundness to the person which I prefer, but neither lens is really short.
 
I opted for the 100 2.2 and a 1.7x converter. I just love the results. I tested it against a 150, and the 100 + 1.7x was sharper. The 100 with ext tubes was also sharper than the 120 (I tested the version 1). Also, the 100 is amazing as a stand alone lens as well. I'm using a P30+ so there is 1.3x magnification compared to full frame.
 

DDudenbostel

Active member
I prefer the 120 because I like working a little closer to my subject. Some people like more distance but I feel I connect with the subject better if I'm closer. Closer focus is also a great feature. Also like the perspective a little better.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
IMHO only: The 150 being a little longer renders a better perspective for human faces (just enough flatter to be more flattering) and has significantly better Bokeh (rendering of out of focus areas in the image) -- and good Bokeh makes for a less distracting background.

My .02,
 

JCVG

New member
I use the 150 on the H4D40 and I think it's the perfect lens for portrait. I've tried the 210 but it's too long. I also have the 120 macro, it's sharper but too slow and I don't use it as my standard portrait lens but more for close up beauty pictures. And the 150 is already a very sharp lens anyway.
 

jmosier01

Member
Thanks for your input guys! I went with the 150 as I wanted more compression and not t mention 1950.00 for an excellent condition lens. I've also though about the 100 with 1.7. For now, I'm still using the 150, but I'll see if I can get my hands on a 120 to try out. All in all there are valid points for both. On 35mm I' always shoot with a 70-200 somewhere between 135 and 200mm. I love what I'm getting out of the 150. I guess since I'm still relatively new to MF, I've just been wondering if the 120 was that much better in the IQ dept.

Thanks all!
 

fotografz

Well-known member
I wasn't sure if you were talking about the V lenses or the H lenses from the initial post. Both have 120 and 150 focal lengths.

In the H system, the HC120/4 is quite a bit larger than the HC150/3.2 ... like most macros the 120 is optimized for close focusing and has a longer focusing throw than the standard lenses. It is quite a hand-full for hand-held work.

A nice Portrait lens set for the H is the 50, 100 and 150 which all take the same filter size so you can get a variable ND to enable faster aperture portraits in brighter shooting conditions.

50 for environmental type portraits, 100 for full length portraits, and the 150 for head and shoulder portraits.

A very interesting addition eventually may be the HTS/1.5 for "controlled focus portraits" ... it can take up to the 100/2.2, and adds a lens factor of 1.5X making it a 150mm with rotating T/S control of OOF areas.

-Marc

Note: the 210/4 is used by quite a few head shot shooters ... it also takes the same filter size as the 50, 100 and 150.
 
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