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Features

Seven Lenses for APS-C Cameras with Great Bokeh

Chris Gampat
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04/19/2016
4 Mins read
Chris-Gampat-The-Phoblographer-Sigma-30mm-f1.4-first-impressions-samples-and-product-21-of-23ISO-4001-30-sec-at-f-2.8-680x510

The rules involving getting really nice bokeh generally have to do with aperture blades; but there is much more than that. For example, fast apertures in regards to the focal length and the distance to the subject can also help determine what your final photo will look like and how nice the bokeh looks.

Oh right! And the larger the sensor, the more bokeh you’ll have at a given aperture and distance.

For what it’s worth though, despite APS-C sensors being seen as small, they’re still very capable with the right lenses. And even though bokeh isn’t the name of the game when it comes to getting really high quality images, it can help lead a viewer’s eyes in an image.

Combing through the site’s Reviews Index, we’ve compiled a number of lenses you’re bound to fall in love with. Now keep in mind, full frame camera lenses will also give you nice bokeh but these lenses were specifically designed with an APS-C sensor in mind.

Samyang 50mm f1.2

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Samyang 50mm f1.2 product images (4 of 7)ISO 4001-125 sec at f - 2.8

In our review, we state:

“This lens is razor sharp, has a decent build quality, a very smooth focusing ring, gorgeous bokeh and has a fantastic price attached to it. If you’re an APS-C camera user, then you’ll be hard pressed to find something better for portraits; but get ready to scale back a bit on post-production.”

Buy Now: Amazon

Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 Art Lens

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 product photos (1 of 7)ISO 2001-60 sec at f - 5.0

In our review, we state:

“See that gorgeous bokeh? It’s pretty, huh?

Indeed, this lens has some really, really nice bokeh and that is only added to with its fast f1.8 aperture throughout the zoom range. As is typical with Sigma’s bokeh, it isn’t distracting–but instead it is super creamy. The reason for this is the 9 aperture blades.

So in real life use, this will mean that your portraits will have a sharp subject and a blurry haze in the background.”

Buy Now: Amazon

Sony 50mm f1.8 OSS (E Mount)

Sony 50mm f1.8 OSS

 

In our review, we state:

“I was extremely impressed with the NEX 50mm f1.8. Of all the lenses I’ve tested so far, it by far has the best image quality for the system. The fact that I was able to use it for a professional product shoot also blew my mind away. Generally, I leave all of that to my 5D Mk II but the fact that I did it with this little camera makes me thrilled for the mirrorless future. Additionally, it also makes me wonder how many people may already be shooting professionally with mirrorless cameras already.”

Buy Now: Amazon

Fujifilm 90mm f2

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Fujifilm 90mm f2 first impressions product images (2 of 9)ISO 4001-60 sec at f - 3.2

In our review, we state:

“The bokeh is creamy as ever here, which makes this an excellent lens for headshots and portraits. In fact, that’s what it was designed for. With all of this said, photographers of all types will love this lens for the bokeh. Professionals will value that they can photograph their clients with a lens wide open and get their perfectly in focus while the enthusiasts will sit there and cuddle with the lens day after day until they can’t do so any more.”

Buy Now: Amazon

Sigma 30mm f1.4 Art

Chris-Gampat-The-Phoblographer-Sigma-30mm-f1.4-first-impressions-samples-and-product-21-of-23ISO-4001-30-sec-at-f-2.8-680x510

In our review, we state:

“Glorious. The bokeh from this lens will have you drooling more than a millennial hipster wanting some bacon and vintage glasses. Indeed, the bokeh from this lens is great, but you’ll only get it to look this good on a full frame camera. On an APS-C camera, you’ll still have some really nice bokeh with the extra compression given by the narrowed field of view.”

Buy Now: Amazon

Fujifilm 56mm f1.2

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Fujifilm 56mm f1.2 first impressions product photos (7 of 7)ISO 8001-60 sec at f - 2.8

In our review, we state:

“If you’re looking for a gloriously bokehlicious lens for the X series, this is the best that you’re going to get your hands on. For starters, it renders a telephoto field of view and at an equivalent of f2 on a full frame camera when shot wide open. When you import than images into Lightroom, you’ll still realize that a lot will be in focus for an f1.2 lens–and that’s when it’ll hit you that you’re dealing with an APS-C sensor design.

To get the most of the bokeh, we recommend getting a bit cosy with your subject and being up close. Because the lens is a 56mm focal length, the distortion will also naturally be kept down.”

Buy Now: Amazon

Tamron 60mm f2

In our review, we state:

“If you can tolerate the focusing issues, the resulting images from this glass will not disappoint. As expected, it makes a fantastic portrait lens, and even proved itself to be quite a lot of fun to shoot with in a studio setting. 1:1 macro is a ton of fun, and I think you’ll find yourself getting uncomfortably close to just about everything around you to capture some interesting shots.”

Buy Now: Amazon

Bokeh canon fujifilm lenses nikon samyang sigma sony
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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