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Thanks useful information: 5
Im going to be shooting a wedding in febuary and was after a new lens for the occasion.
can anyone recommend a suitable all round lens for shooting that sort of event.
both my cameras are canon eos's the 500D & 60D
so i wanted something that would be suitable for both.
someone suggested the EF 50mm f/1.2L USM ?
It would help to know what other lenses you already have. And a bit more about the wedding. It is indoor, outdoor, midday, afternoon or evening? Do you have speedlights and will be you allowed to use them during the ceremony? Are you the primary shooter or second shooting?
The 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8 would serve quite nicely, with a fast prime if you'll be shooting low light. Depends on your budget though.
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Fundamental question regarding your experience regarding weddings comes to mind ?
That will help determine, and budget, and etc etc etc etc etc
Darren
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As Jules has mentioned the 24-70 and 70-200mm, depends on your budget aswell. What is your price bracket? It's no good us suggesting L lenses and you are looking at a kit style lens. The 50mm is a little on the shoeboxed size, fast yes, but are you shooting portraits inside in low light? The 50mm will limit you to where you position yourself throughout the proceedings, and also for any future use. I would use a zoom over a prime in the instance of a wedding.
I shot my friends wedding the other week, the 24-70mm f2.8 L was very rairly of the camera, but when it did come off, the 70-200mm f2.8 L went on.
For me the Canon 24-70mm f2.8 L is the winner. Can't beat the build quality and IQ + it will outlast the bodies and be suited perfectly to a APS-H or FF body if you go that way in the future.
Sigma do a version of this lens, it's cheaper and still retains very good IQ, from what others who have this lens have told me.
Or if you want a little more reach, go for the Canon 24-105mm F4 L
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OK, if we are being serious about the gear you require to be a professional wedding photographer (if that's what you are)
Two pro bodies
Two speedlights
24-70 2.8
70-200 2.8
50 1.4
100 micro or similar
4 batteries
4 sets of speedlight batteries
at least 64GB of high speed CF or SD cards
Tripod
....
....
Threadstarter
By no means am i a professional far from it just a hobby , doing the wedding as a favor and will be the only photographer so the pressure is ON.
the wedding is been held in the tanawah botanic gardens at buderim on the sunshine coast of QLD at 3.30 pm and the reception will be indoors at the local golf club i believe.
my kit already contains
Canon EOS 500D
Canon EOS 60 D
Tripod
100mm EF 1:2:8 Usm Macro
18-135mm EFS 0.45m/1.5ft
18-55 mm EFS 0.25m/0.8ft
70-300mm EF 1:4-5.6 USM
200-250mm EF-S 1:4-5.6 IS
Im in the process of getting a battery grip and spare battery pack
I also need an external flash and still researching that so any help would be appreciated
my budget is prolly around the $1000 mark . one expensive hobby
hope this info helps with all your questions.
Id say no unless you really have to do it, and you are confident and people photography (I cant tell as youve never posted any)
Apart from your macro lens, you have nothing fast, so with any low light work sans flash, you may be struggling to keep shutter speed up. You will have larger DOF using those lenses (macro aside) so subject isolation may be difficult. I would be looking for either a 70-200/2.8 for versatility, or a prime 50/1.4 (maybe too short) or 85/1.2/1.4 (Not sure Canon do an 85/1.4 but fast 85mm in any case)
Speedlight 580 EXII, multiple battery sets and charger (I wouldn't be doing a wedding unless I had at least 2 strobes) because you will be screwed if your only one happens to fail, overheat etc. It's not common, but can happen to anyone, even when it's new.
As a a question, you say 'favour', are these people very good friends? you have some usable gear, but as above, you will struggle in the low light conditions. Are you and the brife/groom able to get together for a couple of trial shots in an area/situation like you'll be in on the big day, use your gear and see what results you get. Camera settings and your capabilities will be tested, then you can make a better, more educated call on your abilities and your gear. If you all go alright, maybe look at hiring a speedlite and the 24-70mm F2.8 atleast. Your inbuilt camera flash won't cut it, and you'll need fill flash through out the day/evening.
Atleast with the 60D you could video some of their special moments from their big day, but you'll need a fast and large spaced card/s for that aswell.
With a budget of $1000 and no speedlite, you're going to be a bit short of cash for a worthwhile lens. I'd go for a 430EXII first if I were you. Don't use the on-camera flash at a wedding. For a budget fast lens, you might have to look at an EF35 F2.0 or EF28 F1.8. That will take care of your entire budget. I'd be looking at the wide fast primes because you don't have anything fast and wide already. At least your macro lens is a 2.8, so long shouldn't be a worry with the APS-C bodies you have. Fitting the entire bridal party in a single frame is a bit of a must.
Last edited by camerasnoop; 09-12-2011 at 12:29pm.
If your budget is $1000 you can rule out the 50L ($2000) and the 24-70L and 70-200L as well.
Forget the battery grip, but definitely get spare batteries. I'd suggest picking up the Canon 50mm f1.4 (should be ~$500) and a couple of speedlights (maybe Yongnuo, as the 580s will push you over budget).
Gear aside, what's your wedding/event experience like? If you haven't had much experience, I'd suggest spending the next couple of months doing lots of practice - pretend your Christmas day is a wedding and practice shooting people in different types of light, catching moments and expressions, and learning how to work quickly and efficiently. Practice shooting in low light and using your speedlights effectively.
Weddings can be a really tough gig. Make sure you're as prepared as you can be.
Last edited by Jules; 09-12-2011 at 12:28pm.
The 50 1.2L on a crop sensor will be pretty hard to focus due to the slow AF and the even thinner dof due to crop. When i did my friend's wedding with the 50L on a 5D i had to MF more often than not to get the perfect focus.Originally Posted by mysticaldreamz
Look at the Sigma 30 1.4. and a zoom like the 24-70, 17-55, 17-50.70-200 may be a little bit tight for indoors as well on a crop. 24-70 also will not get you wide angle shots and if the venue is small or cramped, may be an issue.
I'd highly recommend the 17-55 or if money is a little tight, 17-50 f2.8 non vc tamaron + Sigma 30 1.4 + a YN speedlight. That'll still keep you under your budget of $1k for 2 fast lenses and a speedlight.
Last edited by KeeFy; 09-12-2011 at 12:55pm.
Threadstarter
husbands relatives.. and we plan on going up in january to look at both locations etc , do a test run . thanks for everyone's input.
I was nervous before but terrified now...
never done anything like this before other than a formal or 2 .
Yeah, well, I wouldn't do it unless you are absolutely certain you will do a great job, not a ok job, not a good job, but a great job, its not like they or you get two goes at it
There are plenty of very good and experienced photographers here who will not do weddings, so, nothing to be ashamed about admitting you're not ready
Last edited by kiwi; 09-12-2011 at 1:07pm.
Im with Darren, I'd rather you not do it at all than to do it, and make another thread later and complain about how hard it was or what went wrong or could have been better
but, if you will do it - I'd rather rent stuff rather than put out a large amount of money to purchase equipment that you wont be using on a regular basis for professional work anyway, unless you have a lot of disposable income to burn.
if you do rock up on the day nervous as hell, please dont make it visible to the bride - as it will make her nervous and further stressed too. Put on a facade of confidence, and exude that at all times - even when she is having a hissy fit at something or someone or you, you need to be the rock in a raging river and maintain coolness. Because if you lose it too, everything goes down the drain from there, woot!
mysticaldreamz
Like yourself, I have been on that spot - not once, not twice but 3 times so far.
First thing first I HOPE your wedding gig is not happening tomorrow, Sunday or too near of the future!!!
In terms of equipment, you are quite under in that department but I am afraid this is not even what you should be worry about!
But this is a equipment forum so I will stick with equipment. If you need me to share my experiences I can do it in another thread.
My recommendation below is assuming that you are just looking for a solution that:
1) strictly $1000 budget
2) You value your mate's wedding more than your investment/equipment HOing
3) related to #2, you need stuff that works within a budget!
4) You value "hit rate" (successful, usable images) more than anything else.
Ok, you got 2 bodies (good), no extra flash light and the only fast enough lens is the macro. And you got $1000 budget to toy around.
A few really good photographers here have mentioned the fact here - they won't do wedding photo unless they have a backup speed light. It is true, but due to the fact that you only have a limited budget + both of your cameras have a pop-up flash. You probably can get away for using the pop-up as backup (although they probably only have guide number like 1). But you still need at least 1 external flash, but at least it helps your budget.
Yes, you need fast lens(es) (large aperture lens) With $1000 you are really pushing even for a 2nd hand. So I won't even look into the L if I am in your shoes.
You also need a lots and a lots of memory mate! My first wedding has gone thru 4.5K photos, in RAW!
First - what to bring/not to bring in your list (and why - IMO):
You need the 100mm f/2.8 - it will serve the purpose of fast telephoto as well as close up shots for rings and watch etc... (if you into that kind of thing)100mm EF 1:2:8 Usm Macro
18-135mm EFS 0.45m/1.5ft
18-55 mm EFS 0.25m/0.8ft
70-300mm EF 1:4-5.6 USM
200-250mm EF-S 1:4-5.6 IS
18-135 IS - it has IS, it got a good range in terms of focal length and good range is important to 1st time wedding photographer - because it's forgiving! 18-135 doesn't have as good image quality as 18-55 IS but 18-55 (in my opinion) is just not as dynamic and flexible.
IMO, getting the flexibility so I can get higher chance to capture usable images, is more important than individual image quality - in a wedding.
70-300 USM IS - I believe it's the better lens than the 75-300? (I never use a 70-300 and I only seen sample pics and read about it on forum - sorry) From what I read and heard it has a fast USM, good IS and good IQ. Since it already covered pretty much your 55-200 IS and you 18-135mm covers the shorter range, you just need 2 zooms.
Both the 18-135 and 70-300 (I assume - factoring what you have described) will be good for the outdoor activities that starts around 3pm. But you will start really, really struggle once it pass the 4:30/5pm mark, OR indoor!
With indoor, you need light, lot of light - and you need large aperture!
You will need (at least) a lens with f/1.4 aperture, and you need speed light and preferable with some sort of difusser.
With $1000 in budget, I have the following suggestion:
Speed light:
Yongnuo YN-565EX SpeedLite Flash $179 something in Fotogenic, AP's sponsor! And they are doing a 10% discount! (I never have used it, but again I read it on paper) It is the newest and latest and best Speedlite from Yongnuo. On paper it has the same output power as the more expensive 580EXII. Only 3 things it is lacking is the Master wireless, HSS and Big Price tag! (don't worry about wireless and HSS, you very likely won't need it to survive the wedding) With this price, you probably can buy 2!
A Sigma 30mm f/1.4 - again AP sponsor "AndrewDCG" (sorry, don't know the company name) I think it's at high $300/low $400 mark. I used it
A 2nd hand Canon 85mm f/1.8. (I have used it) Great lens! Good at low light, FAST AF, image are sharp - 2nd hand priced at around mid-$300 and they are everywhere!
I hear someone say Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 -- I have used it - I hate it! I hate both 3 copies I came across! Slow AF would be my 1st complaint but we will just leave it at there
Get 3 16GB SD cards, don't be stingy and get a class 10 card, and on a good brand like Lexar or Sandisk. Trust me it will pay off in the long run (during the wedding). CheapChips (another AP sponsor) can help you.
I guess with above (YN-565, Sigma 30mm and 2nd hand Canon 85mm) should be well within your budget of $1000.
Just another thing:
I never used a 60D but I had a 500D! I hate the 500D for the high ISO performance. I wouldn't use anything above ISO1600 - BUT that is just me. (and I have been scold many time re this)
Since you will be doing a lot of high ISO photos, (assuming it would be a sunny day - I would use ISO 400-800 outdoor, and 1600-3200 indoor), and I also assume the 60D has significant improvement on high ISO performance - I will stuck the fast lens on the 500D and the teles on the 60D. In this case the 500D can use the lowest ISO possible and the 60D can afford to go higher.
Try to shoot raw - for the forgiveness
Don't worry about shutter count - it will be a biatch when post process, but if you values your friend's important moment more, why not?
Personally I wouldn't use Auto White Balance on wedding. But if unsure, use AWB (and shoot raw will help eliminate this problem anyway)
mysticaldreamz, on the side note, I have some materials (written/online) re wedding photography, they are coming from some true masters like Jerry Ghionis.
I dunno where is "Lockrose", but I am in Brisbane. If you happen to drop by Brisbane in on of these weekend, I am more than happy to show you these information so you know what kind of monster you will be encounter.
Tamron 17 to 50F/2.8
Better EF-S 17 to 55F/2.8 IS USM
The EF50F/1.2L is a totally inappropriate suggestion as an answer to that question.
***
As for other advice:
1. Use the Tamron (or Canon) on the 60D as your main working lens.
2. Take the 100/2.8 as your telephoto lens and have it on the 500D.
3. Take the 18 to 55 as your spare lens.
4. You need a Speedlite: better you should have two (just like you are taking the kit lens as a spare lens) - I suggest a Canon, this will work on the60D with the main zoom lens.
5. If funds are tight one can do adequately the favour of recording the wedding with the speedlite and the 18 to 55 kit lens and use the 18n to 135 as your spare – and by knowing how to use the speedlite.
For creative available light: Good knowledge of DoF combined with generally half shot or tighter framing will allow Shallow DoF at F/5.6 across the longer range of the kit lens.
6. Most importantly you need to know the fundamentals of how to use the Speedlite as the Key Light and also as the Fill Light (outdoors).
To achieve this knowledge and experience: the sooner you get a Speedlite and begin practicing and seeking specific answers to the questions that will no doubt arise - the better.
You also need to KNOW the RULES of PHOTOGRAPHY during the Ceremony (Flash and Movement Rules).
WW
mysticaldreamz - listen carefully to what William W says regarding the speedlight. Everyone has agreed that you need one, but more importantly you need time to learn how to use it and the different functions. I have had mine for about a year now and I am pretty comfortable with my ability to bounce flash but I still find myself lacking a bit in outdoor fill light when under the pump. It takes practice and can be harder than you think to get it right as it is basically adding another dimension to the typical aperture/shutter/iso decision.
I think Andylo has hit the nail on the head.
Either that, or hire some good fast zooms and speedlights to use on the day.
All my photos are taken with recycled pixels.
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom, is knowing not to serve it in a fruit salad.
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