What Is 80mm Lens Good For?

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Are you wondering what an 80mm lens is good for? Maybe you have found yourself in the market for a new lens. However, you aren’t sure what to buy. Well, don’t worry, because we’re going to tell you just that!

What Is an 80mm Lens Good For?

80mm lenses are good for casual, everyday, or even portrait photography as they provide a realistic perspective of the subject without distorting facial features or body proportions. This focal length is long enough to isolate the subject from distracting backgrounds and wide enough to include some of the subject’s surroundings.

16-80mm camera lens

The 80mm is a short telephoto lens, which means that it has a slightly narrow field of view compared to what you see with the naked eye, but not nearly as little as a telephoto or zoom lens. The maximum aperture is f/1.8, making this particular lens ideal for low-light shooting.

A Landscape Lens 

Landscape photographers are recognized for their wide-angle lenses; however, you can obtain some great landscape pictures on a crop frame camera with an 80mm lens. The lens will compress the perspective of the environment, allowing you to get some unique landscape images.

There are several methods to utilize a wide-angle lens for landscape photography. This is the most delicate and most common approach to use. So, what are some more applications for it? Another effective technique is to get up close and personal with objects to make them seem larger than life.

The 80mm focal length adds one stop of light to the 100mm macro lens. This additional stop is quite useful when photographing landscapes. You can shoot at f/4 or f/5.6 instead of f/2.8 and still get decent bokeh and crispness.

A Portrait Lens

A lens is a must-have for any photographer, and an 80mm lens is no exception. An 80mm lens is one of the most versatile options you can get. It’s wide enough to capture landscapes and architecture yet still narrow enough to capture portraits.

The 80mm lens is suitable for portraits because it can compress facial features and reduce distortion. It’s also a perfect focal length for fashion photography. The compression means your model’s face will look flatter, which is great for beauty shots where you want to minimize the appearance of wrinkles and blemishes.

The longer focal length means you’ll need more space to get a decent headshot or full-length shot. However, the compression will allow you to capture an image with a sufficient depth of field that still has plenty of detail in the background.

Man trying to prep his camera to shoot

It’s a Macro Lens

This lens is very versatile for nature photography, portraiture, and close-up photography of small objects. The 100mm focal length gives you the added advantage of shooting from a distance without disturbing your subject. It works great for all forms of portraiture, and it can quickly become your new go-to portrait lens for shorter portraits.

In addition to portraits, you can use it for macro photography if you need more working distance than the 60mm allows. This is especially helpful for insects and other things you don’t want to get too close to.

The 80mm is ideal for product and food photography when you can’t back up. Macro lenses offer superior optics to standard lenses. Still, they may also be utilized as portrait or studio lenses because of their long working distances and sharpness and contrast when shot wide open.

Characteristics of an 80mm Lens

An 80mm lens is a short telephoto with a fixed focal length. It is used to capture portraits, close-ups, and general-purpose photography. This type of lens is excellent for capturing sports and wildlife photography.

There are several characteristics of an 80mm lens:

Low Weight

Most 80mm lenses weigh less than 500g, making them a lot easier to carry around all day long. If you plan on shooting with your camera handheld instead of on a tripod, this can be a significant advantage — especially if you’re shooting events or traveling.

Despite the high image quality, an 80mm lens is relatively light, making it easier to handle than large telephoto or zoom lenses. Since you can work longer with such a lightweight device, you will not get tired quickly when working for several days in succession. 

It also means that an 80mm lens is the best choice for amateur photographers or those new to portrait photography.

Excellent Image Quality

The 80mm lens is the sharpest and most detail-rich lens. It is appropriate for any application which requires extreme detail and accuracy in reproduction. The high performance of this lens makes it excellent for landscape, architectural, still life, and portrait photography.

The 80mm focal length is also ideal for reportage photography since it allows you to stand at a distance without causing discomfort or embarrassment to your subjects. The wide aperture of f/1.4 gives the photographer plenty of scope for creative depth of field control.

Fujinon 16-80mm camera lens

Has Fast Enough Autofocus

A lens with an 80mm focal length is probably the most versatile lens you can have in your bag. Being roughly five times the size of the human eye and having an aperture as low as f/1.2 and 80mm lens is one of the best choices for taking photos of people to close up.

If you want to get a good portrait lens that can do double duty, an 80mm prime lens may be just what you need. The 80mm focal length is just about perfect for portraits because it gives a little compression. It also has a field of view similar to what we see with our eyes, so it looks natural.

A good 80mm lens will have fast and accurate autofocus, excellent sharpness, and nice smooth bokeh that will make your subject pop off the background.

Related Questions

What Size Lens Is Best for Portraits?

Portrait photography may be accomplished using a variety of lenses. The most common portrait lens is the 50mm lens, ideal for full-length and waist-level photographs. There are, however, several choices. 

What mm Lens Is Most Flattering?

A moderate telephoto lens (70mm to 200mm) typically gives the most positive photographing of a person. However, if you’re photographing a couple more extensive groups of people, a wide-angle lens is often needed.

What Lens Is Used for Headshots?

For headshots, use a portrait-length lens with a focal length of 50mm. You may use shorter lenses (24-35mm) for headshots, but you must be cautious not to go too near. Prevent photographing close-ups with a wide-angle lens to avoid distorted images.

Conclusion

You can use many different lenses on a DSLR camera, including zoom and macro lenses. These lenses can do many things. However, the primary use of the 80mm is portraiture or capturing images in a tight space.