annft212

I did an outdoor portrait shoot yesterday and had really nice results with this lens at f3.5. Thank you for all the great ideas.

I am planning to get a 5-n-1 collapsible reflector and a light stand, primarily for use in outdoor portraits. This will be my first use of reflectors. What size reflector would be best for me to get, perhaps 32" or 42" (if I only get one right now)? Also, what height of light stand would be best for this use, 6 feet, 8 feet, or ??? I really only want to buy one of each at the moment so am looking to figure out what to start with that would be versatile. Thank you in advance for any advice.

Thank you for this reply. Interestingly I also just found a detailed review of the lens online, and they said their tested lens was not sharp at f 1.8. In the review they said it got sharper at 2.8, and much sharper at 4.0. So I see now more about how this works. I am thinking I can use 4.0 for portraits with some nice bokeh but will test it out on that shortly.

Hi all, I just got a new Canon EF 50 mm f 1.8 STM lens. I did a lengthy tripod test on it, keeping the ISO at 200 for every shot, using a 2 second shutter delay so my hands were not on the camera when the lens was open, and took the same shot every time. I also used 2 different cameras, my newish Canon 77D and an older Canon Rebel SL 1, both compact sensor. Both gave me the same results using this lens. At 1.8, the lens was NOT sharp at the focus point. At 2.8, it was quite sharp. At 5.6, 8.0, and even up through 16.0, it was still quite sharp. At 22.0 it degraded again and was not sharp. I don't really care that it is not sharp at f22. I bought this to use in low light and for general portraits (hoping for some nice bokeh), so I am very concerned that it is not sharp at f 1.8. My question is, is this normal for this or a similar lens, or is this particular lens defective? If I need to send it back and exchange for another one, I will do that. Thank you in advance for any thoughts on this issue.

Ok I just pulled the trigger on the 77D. I could not get only the body locally so I had to order it online. Wish me luck :)

Thank you everyone who replied here. I have learned a great deal just from these replies. I am definitely working on skills and studying. I am going to move my topic that is here completely over to the thread I put under Canon as it's now gotten mostly into specific Canon camera model options at this point. BTW I have a tripod (the church I am usually in does not want it used there because it gets too in the way), my zoom lenses are both EF-S f3.5 IS STM, the church has required that they do not want a lot of movement during services, and any movement patterns have to be only in restricted routes which they specify. I have a Canon Speedlite 430-EXIIIRT but cannot use it in there either. I have looked into faster zoom lenses and while I would love to get a few right now I think the budget will have to wait for those. P.S. I am not complaining about the church, I respect everything they do and it's my church! I love taking photographs in there for events.

Thank you to everyone and to wgpinc above about the 77D versus 80D. One issue in the small city I live in is that we have no "real" camera stores or anywhere to rent locally. We used to have a Ritz shop but it closed down at least 5 years ago. I was able to get to a Best Buy that had both a 77D and an 80D on display today. The hand feel of the 77D was much more comfortable for me. Their display cameras had dead batteries or no batteries so I was not able to try anything that needed power. They did not have a 6D, 7D or much of anything else that I wanted to see. Talk about limited stock! I do have to work more on my skills and technique, for sure, so I am studying and working on that too, but I think an updated camera would help. The SL1 is 4 years old and has 9 autofocus points, amongst other significant differences. I have a tripod but that it be impossible to use in the church I am typically in during a service. Running around all over the place is also not an option as the clergy have stated they do not want a lot of extraneous movement going on. I have a Canon EF 40mm f2.8, a Canon EF-S IS STM 18-55mm f3.5-5.6, and a Canon EF-S IS STM 18-135mm f3.5-5.6. I am liking the 77D a lot from what I have read online. I do have Photoshop Elements (going cheap for now) and do post-processing with that. The only thing I was noticing today was that the 80D has the customizable C1 and C2 settings, which could come in really handy. Is it worth getting the 80D versus the 77D, just to have that do you think? The 77D has other advantages.

I just found this Canon EOS thread. I am planning to upgrade from a Rebel SL1 body to either the 77D or the 80D. I mainly take event photos at private parties and inside churches. The lighting inside the churches is often poor, tungsten, and flashes are forbidden. I take a lot of photos of people in colorful outfits in these conditions, and often they are moving (not fast, but moving somewhat slowly or at moderate walking speeds). Any opinions on whether I should go with the 77D or the 80D? I also like to do a lot of outdoor work, i.e. general outside in the woods on hiking trails near lakes kind of stuff, but those are more for personal fun. I am a small person and don't want a full frame. I would to move into some portrait shooting in addition. I have been pretty happy with the Rebel but I am seeing now that its autofocus is not good enough for what I need to do, and in low light it is not that great overall.

The main problem I am having right now is that I am often inside a church, in low light, and people are moving. They don't move fast, but they do move. The lights are also usually tungsten. The use of flash is forbidden. The type of shot I am having the most issues with is the ones (like in a wedding) where I am standing at the head of the main aisle, and people are walking up the aisle towards me. I try to stand at a bit of an angle so as not to be straight on. I am getting some poor autofocus on those. I have a very steady hand so that's not really the problem. I am not sure what the problem is but I started looking at my camera and thought maybe that was it. The lens I use the most is an f 3.5, the 18-135 mm. The zoom range is nearly perfect for what I need but perhaps it is too slow also. I also take a lot of outdoor scenery, in the woods, biking shots etc. but those are more for my personal enjoyment.

Hi all. I am not a total beginner but am still relatively new to this and have a Canon EOS Rebel SL1. I take mainly event photos at parties and church events. I have gotten paid for my work (hurray for that!) so now I am thinking maybe it is time to upgrade the camera, just the body for now. What would people suggest as a good upgrade? I would like to stay in the Canon EOS compact sensor line. I don't want to have to buy all new lenses all at once as the money would be a problem. I have 3 lenses, an EF 40 mm fixed, an EF-S 18-55 and an EF-S 18-135. I have been looking at the Canon EOS 7D online but am not sure I can afford it. Any suggestions would be great.

First I want to thank everyone who replied. This has given me a great deal of insight. Since the event was today, and my friend had no other photographer available, I did the job. I am not sure how this will affect the friendship in the future. But it did put me in the position of acting as a service provider the entire time and I stuck to the role of photographer the entire length of the event. I do think the friendship will not be the same in the future, honestly. I did need the work though and during the job I was asked for my business card a few times and may have gotten some business contacts from this. Oh well, it looks like there was not a simple way through this. Thanks again to everyone who answered, it is all helpful.

I am in an odd situation and would like to know what more experienced photographers would think of this. I am just starting out business-wise but have gotten a lot of positive attention for my photography volunteer work at a local charitable organization including their magazine and web publications, so a lot of people know me as a photographer, unpaid. A friend invited me to a big family catered party, and she invited me 6 weeks ago (it’s a surprise party). Then all of a sudden… with the party being 48 hours away… she emailed me and said she wanted to hire a photographer and offered to pay me to be the photographer. She offered me a fair fee but it just seemed very weird, after being invited as a guest and then this happening all of a sudden. I said no because I was supposed to be a guest and so relax and enjoy myself as a friend... which I won't if I am the photographer... but on the other hand, I could use the work and the income. What would anyone else have done in that kind of situation?