Shooting Wedding in 6 wks, Recommend Great Lens to use, pls

[PerfectPicture]

Hi All,

In Late August going to Darwin and shooting my cousins wedding
Looking forward to the warm weather and the experience of it all, including the shoots on the day

Can anybody please recommend any Great Lenses for either the Canon 50D & 350D for shooting a Wedding with and in low light like inside a Church, indoors, etc.
that is a Great portrait and people lens to capture the event sharply and
Also that compliments my existing Gear (as in sig).

Was looking at Canon 16-35L F2.8, but too expensive. and any good on 50D?
then the Canon 17-40L F4 lens (but is it good in low-light and portrait/People shots?).
again any good for 50d or 350D?

then l saw the Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f2.8 XR Di-II VC LD Aspherical (IF) Lenses for $474 > HERE and looks Great! can anybody recommend this Lens and is it Great Sharp lens for Weddings, church, indoor and portrait/people lens?
Is it good at 17mm as 50mm?
Any photos or help on this lens or other recommendations would be appreciated?

Thanks Alot


Robert

[PerfectPicture]

ohh .. nearly forgot what is the best way to transport my Kit (as shown below in my Sig) on the plane to Darwin for the week's Trip?

any advise or pre-cautions l should do for the camera/lenses, filters, etc within my bag.
Also can l take my camera gear as carry on luggage on-board? as l don't really want to check it in.
Does the aircraft's pressure do anything to any of the gear?
l heard before in threads of broken filters on-camera breaking!@? not know if that's true or not?

Or recommendation to places to visit in Darwin for some great picture taking opportunities would be greatfully appreciated.

Thank you

Robert

[PerfectPicture]

Any help at all ....

Thanks

[kiwi]

50 1.2

[Ray Heath]

G'day Robert

I've done many weddings with nothing more than Canon EF 24, 50 and 85mm prime lenses of mid range price.

[kiwi]

not wanting to sound pedantic at all, but, ive never seen you post any people pics, are you OK with shooting a wedding ? Need any other help ?

[Alpal]

G'day Robert
You can take your camera gear on as carry on luggage as long as it does not exceed the size limit but tripods will have to go in your baggage. Some great places to see are Kakadu wetlands, Ubirr at sunset, Mindill markets with sunset over the beach, Litchfield NP is a definite must see. The list goes on.
Alan

[TOM]

you're going to need a faster lens than a 2.8. if you don't want to fork out the cash, then look to hire a couple of really nice primes.

[joele]

I haven't shot a wedding as the 'official' photographer but have taken shots as requested (to get some extra shots / different perspective) and I agree hire some 1.4/1.2 primes for the weekend.. As Ray suggests 24/50/85 would be a great combo.. I'm borrowing a friends 24/1.4 at the moment, and its fantastic ;-)

[Ray Heath]

you're going to need a faster lens than a 2.8.

Why?

Nuh, I still disagree guys.

I use primes and greatly prefer them to zooms, but the reality is that an over priced and way expensive 1.2/1.4 is not in practice noticeably "better" than a 1.8/2.8.

Bootom line for me; avoid zooms, but don't get suckered in about the advantages of 1.2, fancy glass, better build quality, bokeh, blah, blah etc.

[joele]

-deleted-

[Scotty72]

<duck>

[PerfectPicture]

not wanting to sound pedantic at all, but, ive never seen you post any people pics, are you OK with shooting a wedding ? Need any other help ?

Thanks Kiwi, l have, most of them OK , just for family, friends, volunteer organisations, etc and the like. l wasn't sure if l should publish those pictures, without maybe letting the parties know.
(not that's its a big deal, but have them listed on other websites or that particular organisations site, etc as well).

There's never enough experience in capturing people and thier hobbies, jobs roles, etc to Their Liking as well. So .. ANY HELP IS GREATFULLY APPRECIATED!

G'day Robert

I've done many weddings with nothing more than Canon EF 24, 50 and 85mm prime lenses of mid range price.

Thanks Ray for sharing that beautiful picture .. l saw on this alot of people using the 50mm f1.8 II Lens and it's very sharp, so might get this one to take up as well.

[PerfectPicture]

G'day Robert
You can take your camera gear on as carry on luggage as long as it does not exceed

the size limit but tripods will have to go in your baggage. Some great places to see

are Kakadu wetlands, Ubirr at sunset, Mindill markets with sunset over the beach,

Litchfield NP is a definite must see. The list goes on.
Alan

Thanks for the heads up mate and the places to visit. l have to google them tomm.
any other locations suggested .. would be great !

you're going to need a faster lens than a 2.8. if you don't want

to fork out the cash, then look to hire a couple of really nice primes.

thanks Tom, money is a bit constrained at the moment, but hopefully can pick up the canon 50mm f1.8 II lens

I haven't shot a wedding as the 'official' photographer but have

taken shots as requested (to get some extra shots / different perspective) and I

agree hire some 1.4/1.2 primes for the weekend.. As Ray suggests 24/50/85 would be a

great combo.. I'm borrowing a friends 24/1.4 at the moment, and its fantastic ;-)

thanks for the tips and lenses to use. maybe a bit out of my price range (for the

moment) but was looking at getting the canon 50mm 1.8 II Lens as well, l hear it's

great for low-light and portrait work as well.

-deleted-

<duck>

can l ask Please why l see both of these (above) .. l'm not stepping on anybody's toes, it's my Cousins Wedding l'm shooting and NOT even as the offical photogrpher. In fact she doesnt even know that l'm into photography as l'm am ... so anything produced .. would be a BONUS for her and Husband and Families attending as well


EDIT : l couldn't reply to all for some reason, had to maunally copy & Paste each reply into notepad to Reply to that post, if l missed any, just let me know

[PerfectPicture]

Can l Please add : l'm just trying to capture some great pictures for her special day .. that's it! l'm not getting paid for it, (i won't even accept it, either!) it's just a special gift from the heart for my Cousin in Darwin (whom l haven't seen in ages) .. In FACT .. she doesn't even know how much l'm into photography as l am! .. l just hope l can capture some half decent shots for her, her husband, families and friends, etc to enjoy the experiences of the day!

Thank you for any tips or techniques involved to help me (and others whom read this) to learn!

Regards,
Robert

[joele]

sorry, i made a post and then deleted it. Nothing to do with you and off topic really, I didn't want to argue about the qualities of various lenses..

[PerfectPicture]

sorry, i made a post and then deleted it. Nothing to do with you and off topic really, I didn't want to argue about the qualities of various lenses..

no probs Joel, l value any input you give. even on how to capture Great Portrait Shots as well.
any help is beneficial

[virgal_tracy]

In terms of lenses I agree with the prime option of 50mm and possibly 85mm also. Not knowing what type of photogrpahy you are really into I would also suggest the sigma 10-20 especially if you plan on doing some sightseeing while you are in NT.

Have a great time.

[kiwi]

Do they have an official photographer - makes a big difference

If they do, dont waste money on new lenses you dont actually possibly need

If they don't, and youre not getting paid (and I think that you shouldnt charge anyway if this is new to you) then I still wouldnt waste mney on lenses you dont possibly need

[james derek]

I did a wedding with a D40 and 18-200. The people loved the shots. I did another wedding with a d300 , 1:4 prime lens's and a 70 - 200 2:8 VR. ...... Get the best gear you can lay your hands on and be very well prepared for ANYTHING!!