 BetterPhoto Member |
Need an advice on Event Photography lenses I have Canon 20D. I want to do Events, Portrait, & especially Wedding Photography. At this moment I’m trying to find out what Canon lens or lenses should I buy that will fulfill all my photography needs perfectly. I want to cover close-up (wedding ring, bouquet); medium close-up (mother & bride together, portraits) to group portrait (3 or more) and telephoto with background blur. I’ve already got Canon 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM lens and kit 18-55mm. I talked to couple of professional photographers @ photography department stores and got two completely opposite opinions. One suggests buying one of the following Canon lenses: The other says that one of these will be great for me: My budget is max $2500.00. Could you please help me to make a wise choice? Any advice and opinion will be greatly appreciated. Raj
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Paul Tobeck |
Lens choice really is more a matter of personal preference. Anyone can tell you this lens or that lens, but you won't really know until you use them on a regular basis. Wedding and event photography is a fast paced and hectic affair, and having only one body restricts you a bit. Precious moments can slip by you while trying to make a lens change. Start simple, get your feet wet, then seriously look at your equipment options when the NEED arises. Don't over-complicate things by carrying too much equipment.
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Jerry Frazier |
Um, I think you should buy them all. What the hell? Then you'll know which ones you like and which ones you dont. You could also buy a prime. But, you knew that.
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Oliver Anderson |
what about 17-40L, 50MM 1.4, 70-200IS. I've got them all and like them.
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Jerry Frazier |
If you are going to shoot weddings and events you need fast lenses. I always recommend that people first buy primes, and then move into zooms later. Of course, everyone wants to do the opposite of that. If you are not used to shooting events, you should learn with primes. Of course, again, nobody ever wants to listen. But, you really should. Zooming is an art. I have friends that have zooms and hardly zoom. I shot a wedding last week and shot alot with my 24-70 zoom and when I looked at the exif data, I shot almost everything at 70mm. It's just how I think. Your feet can auto zoom exactly the same way. Primes make you think about your framing and your positioning. Zooms are good for experienced photographers, but they are not great tools for people who are learning because you have to learn why you are zooming and how it affects the image. You learn that with primes, you never really "get it" if you just use a zoom lens all the time. Anyway, I feel like a lot of people now really don't want to learn about imagery, they just want the fastest path toward making money. While that's natural, it's definitely a key to why so many fail in the business.
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Bob Chance |
The problem with most of the zooms is the speed. And when you are in a situation where the lighting is pretty dim, say during the bride & groom dance when the usually turn the lights down if possible, you're going to wish you had a fast lens. A lot of portrait photographers perfer a lens in the 85 - 135mm range. And if you're using a DSLR with a smaller than full frame sensor, I would recommend the 85mm. Most major camera manufacturers make a prime lens of this focal length at pretty large aperatures. Canon just intoduced thier newest 85mm f/1.2. For those of us that simply don't have 2 G's to blow on a single lens, they still make the f/1.8, which is about $1500 cheaper. I would do as Joe did. Check whatever wedding event pictures you have on file and read the exif data and see what seemed to be the predominant focal length you used for that type of shooting. Then, if you still want a zoom lens that covers that range, buy the fastest one you can. It will not only make it easier to see in dim conditions, it will also make it easier for the cameras auto focus to work without the annoying focus assist beam. Also, the wider aperature will give you a shallower DOF for the portraits. Best of Luck. Bob
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Mark Feldstein |
Hey Rush: Why not rent all three of the lenses you're interested in, take them for a test drive and THEN decide which one(s) suits your purposes. Take it light.
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doug Nelson |
Groups and some events often need wide coverage. You'd need at least a 20mm with the digital multiplication factor to have any really wide coverage. Even then, your 20 would act like a 30-35. I am very skeptical about the wide end of ANY zoom, L or not. Borrow or rent what you are thinking of buying. Shoot through doorways and look very critically for bowlegs at the edges of the frame. If any doubt, go into Photoshop and drag a line from the side margin and check out your image. In groups, this bowlegs effects shows up as people with lopsided, egg heads. I've read of one 20mm known for its lack of distortion. You could use the Nikkor AIS 20mm f2.8 on your EOS digital with an adapter and aperture-priority exposure.
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