Lens for Wedding Digital and Film

[iskandar_azaman___kuala_lu]

This question has probably been asked in someway but it's still

bugging me what lens i should buy next.

 

Currently i use film (Canon Elan7) and only have e 28-135mm IS and i

want better quality. I've been thinking of the 24-70mm L but i've been

searching the forums and a whole lot of people say that it's a real

heavy lens. And since i've only got an Elan 7 i'm not sure if it's

going to be suitable with a big lens. I also use a quick flip and a

550ex.

 

I'd like a lens that would also make a nice lens for digital with a

1.6 crop since i'm quite sure i'll upgrade in the near future.

 

I've also been thinking of using primes. 28,50 and 85. But i only have

2 bodies. And i would like some opinions on how you pros work using

primes.

 

Another choice i've also been thinking about is using third party

lenses. A lot cheaper but still....they're not L quality. But really,

what do you pros think of third party lenses like the Tamron 28-75.

 

I was thinking something like 24-70 and an 85mm prime. Would that be

enough for a full wedding?

[iskandar_azaman___kuala_lu]

Oh btw...Al...i cannot afford a Leica. Brand new or Second hand.

[michael mccarley]

Get the battery grip. Balances big lenses very well.

 

The Tamron 28-75 2.8 Di has gotten nice reviews as another option.

[joshchapman]

If you're considering a prime set maybe the 85 and 35 would work for you. I use these lenses to cover concerts, and have been very happy with them. Moderate wide angle and short telephoto make for a good combo, and each can fill in for a 50, if you're attatched to that focal length. Not to mention they're great, <b>sharp</b> lenses in their own right.

[al_kaplan1]

Iskandar, I'll go along wit

h the 35/85 (or 90) combo as a good pair of primes for film use, and I suppose for digital a 28 and a 50 would be close enough. 25 would be better but you can't find too many fast 25mm optics.

 

I never use zooms. I prefer having a seperate body set up for each lens, usually three because I like having a 21mm lens handy in people situations. That also gives me 108 exposures before I absolutely gotta change a roll of film. Usually the body with the 35 runs low first and I swap lenses with the 21 body which gets the least use. It's faster to change lenses, even with a seperate finder, than to reload a body. I also oft times will reload a body that still has a few shots left on the roll just because there's a lull in the action, and that's the best time to change film.

 

In the meantime stop by every yard, garage and estate sale you run across. There are some bargain Leicas and lenses out there being sold by people who have no idea of what they're really worth. Rolleiflexes and Hassselblads too.

[________1]

"...like 24-70 and an 85mm prime. Would that be enough for a full wedding?"

 

Truth be told, you can probably shoot most weddings easily with a 35/50 combo.

[StuartMoxham]

Years ago people shot weddings with a Rollieflex with just a fixed lens maybe not considered ideal today but people managed it. As you have two bodies maybe a 35 on one and a 85 on the other. If you like to shoot with one body then the 28-75 should be pretty good. Get yourself a 50mm while you are at it very useful in low light and sharp too.

[jonathon]

I was going to buy a friend's 16-35mm F2.8L, and tested it for sharpness against my 28-75mm Tamron in the overlapping range below f5.6. The Tamron was a lot sharper. It alarmed me so much I went in to a shop and tested another 16-35 and same thing. Maybe its just way easier to build a 28-xx zoom than a wide angle zoom, but the Tamron was significantly better. I'm gonna see if I can get a 17-40 or the Sigma 18-50 f2.8 to have a play with. The only reson I'd swap the Tamron for a Canon is the 24mm end might just make it wide enough to leave on almost the whole ceremony on a 20D.

[._._z]

<i><blockquote> This question has probably been asked in someway

</blockquote> </i><p>

 

Lotsof goodinfo inthe archives. Readthem.

[iskandar_azaman___kuala_lu]

I have looked in the archives. But i just wanted to see what sorta setup that most people use and whether third party lenses are okay in a wedding situation.

 

I don't have much experience using primes other than the 50mm on my FM2n. So i wanted to know how you set up the lenses and the approach to weddings using the primes. Seems like a 2/3 body set up with 35/80 and a wider angle would do the trick.

 

I just wanted reassurance before i spend my cash on an L zoom or 3 primes. Since i've not worked with primes before i'm guessing i need a bit of practice first.

[bruce_rubenstein]

For everything but the reception, primes are not only good, but often better than zooms. You can get primes, for a reasonable price that are a stop or two faster than expensive zooms that can make all the difference for available light work. You could do the getting ready shots, formals and ceremony with that FM2n with a 28, 50, and 85 or 105. With the 1.6 digital crop a 50/1.4 is very useful. For a true wide angle lens, with the crop, primes get expensive enough to make it worth while to look at the wide (16-40 with Canon?) zoom. An 85mm will make a good moderate long lens.

[r.m.]

I'll just repeat what everyone else has...get a fast prime lens! I can't imagine doing a wedding without one, especially in low light.

[picturesque]

The 24-70mm lens is heavy, but just because others say it's heavy doesn't mean it won't work for you. It is one of the best zooms Canon makes. Have you gone down to a store and tried it out on your Elan, or rented it? That should answer your question about that lens.

 

As for working with primes, it is a personal decision you can make only by actually doing it. I have shot with primes only, and with zooms, and I don't prefer either way--sometimes one is better, other times, the other--it depends on circumstances, but for a primary method of shooting, you've got to try it out yourself to find out if you can make it work for the kind of images you want. When I use primes only, I have one or two bodies and use the 35mm and 85mm lenses primarily, sometimes swapping them out for a wider or longer lens. I initially thought you'd have to have two or more bodies for sure, in order to be quick enough to shoot PJ style, but actually, you can shoot with one body and one lens at a time. You just have to be creative about framing the shot that is happening in front of your lens--as people say, zoom with your feet, or if you can't, make it work somehow with the lens you've got on your camera. I have often read Al's comments about how in the time it takes to operate the zoom ring and autofocus/autoexpose, he's already taken the photo with his manual camera and prime lens, because he already knows in his head how the image will look with x lens so the act of bringing the camera to his eye while probably zone focusing it and shooting immediately--no lag--is almost instantaneous, but you've got to practice a lot.

 

Third party lenses are riskier but in some cases, can be workable. The Tamron 28-75 has gotten a lot of good reviews. My opinion is, if you can afford it, it's always better to get the brand name lens. If you can't afford it, or if the brand name doesn't offer the lens you need, then it sometimes is OK to get a third party lens. Most reviews generally come to the same conclusion. The third party lens is generally softer wide open. As you stop down, it equals the name brand lens. The name brand lens is generally pretty sharp wide open, so you'd have no problem using it wide open, while you might need to stop down one stop most of the time with the third party lens. The third party lens is generally slower focusing and sometimes may have compatibility problems. Is it worth it to you? Only you can answer.

 

If you are planning to get a 1.6 conversion digital camera, you might as well start over with your lens kit. Everything gets skewed. Your 24-70 is no longer a do-it-all lens as it can be with film. If you look at the kits that digital shooters have, the 17-40mm or 16-35mm zoom becomes the primary zoom, and that doesn't cover the same useful range as the 24-70 used to with film. So while you can, of course, use the 24-70 with the 1.6 digital body, you may end up doing more lens switching than you did with film--depends on your style. Sigma's new digital-only 18-50mm f2.8 (a very useful range for a 1.6 crop body) lens has gotten some good reviews--just like the Tamron 28-75mm--but recently, it's been noted that with the 20D only, there is a focus problem when the focus-assist is used. It will be corrected of course, but here is a good example of compatibility concerns. If you're going to be shooting with film for a while yet, I would not even worry about the lens kit when you switch to digital. For sure, you're probably going to have to buy one or more new lenses for digital, unless you are going to 1.3 crop or full-frame bodies. Maybe by the time you switch, full frame is all they make--who knows?.

 

Your 24-70 with 85mm prime would cover most anything at a wedding, except for the few times you might need a longer lens, like during a church ceremony where you are restricted from moving and must stay in the back. You could, of course, rent something. The only other thing is, depending on your shooting methods, you might find the f2.8 maximum aperture limiting on the wide angle side--like if you want no-flash shots during the getting ready session taking place in a small room with dim light.

[al_kaplan1]

Yup, I'm manual all the way. When I get to a location I wander about, making incident readings in various places. I try to pick a shutter speed that allows me to only have to adjust the f-stop after that. I try to always have my focus set more towards infinity on the lens so I always know which way to turn it to bring the subject into focus, no fiddling back and forth. Be careful when buying other brands of lenses. Some turn one way to focus, some the other. Get them to all turn the same way. And if I'm shooting a whole bunch of posed couples or similar size groups I somehow always stand the exact right distance shot to shot so I'm already in focus. You don't even need film to practice these things.

 

It's also a good idea to get in the habit of asking yourself what the correct exposure is BEFORE you use the meter. You'd be surprised at just how good you can get at reading the light with your eye. Someday that meter battery might die on you! Which is why I mostly use a Weston Master V which needs no battery, only dragging out the big Gossen Luna-Pro in very low light situations.