The Age of the Third Lens

[david_thomas___banned_from]

I currently shoot weddings with a Nikkor 35mm f2 (D100) and sigma

20mm f1.8 (D70) and am delighted with the results. However, I think

my reportage shots are suffering without a telephoto lens. Many

wedding shooters I know think they're unneccessary but I'm not so

sure.

 

I'm def. thinking of buying a D200 with a decent telephoto lens to

really enhance my reportage stuff.

 

PS I like to perminantly attach SLR to lens - stops all the problems

with dust and foreign bodies on the sensor...

[mark_jacoby___raleigh__nc]

I also use the D70 & D100. Have you considered using a zoom in a range such as 70-300 on your third body? It might not be as fast as your prime lens but I have had excellent results in normal lighting.

 

I know Sigma makes a 70-200 2.8 but it might be expensive.

[conraderb]

I agree that - snobbery or not - the quality of your wedding product improves when you have a 20-200 range in your lenses..

[steve george]

I've done a couple of hard-work event shoots (physically challenging and long hours) with the option of zooms or primes and found primes won over zooms, particularly as the day went on - it may be a personal preference thing but with a prime I can see the shot before I look through the viewfinder and it becomes second nature. With a zoom I may set it at the long end, look through the viewfinder and decide framing may be better if it was a bit wider...it just feels a bit less spontaenous. Maybe because my zooms had no easy way of telling if they were at 35mm or 50mm without looking down at them first so it was harder to second-guess the framing?

 

My longest lens for weddings is a 90mm - anything longer feels "too long" and like I'm backing away too much but this is obviously a personal preference thing and as such entirely subjective for each individual.

 

As for foreign bodies...my Sigma 24-70mm literally never came off my D70 from the day I bought it (lens and body at same time) and I still managed to get dust :-)

[christiaan_phleger___honol]

Consider the 135 f2. If you can handle the challenge (ha!) of using your thumb, you can

get the manual focus lens used and still use it with most modes on the D200. With the

conversion factor of digital, it would make a nice long fast lens. I use mine often, and the

choice between that and the 180 is always a hard one, sometimes I bring both.

[wedding-photography-denver]

To add to what you have I would suggest the 70-200 VR. I can't imagine the combo you use as my 'only' options. YMMV.

[jefferson_todd_pals]

I definitely agree with Michael!! My 70-200 VR f/2.8 is an amazing lens!!! If you can stretch

to get this VR (Vibration Reduction) version please do. It does such an amazing job. I can

shoot 1/15sec at 200mm at night and hold a perfectly sharp image.

If not the standard 70-200 f/2.8 is definitely a must!

[Jerry_]

Unless you like acting like a weight-lifter, try looking at a AF 85mm f1.8D Nikkor (or the AF 105mm f2D DC-Nikkor) lens. One on a body, not to remove as you plan, will be almost right for a medium tele for weddings.

[francois_gauthier]

If there was a small good 50-100 F2.8, it would be it... but i can't think of any available zoom small and fast enough for you.

 

So, let's stay with fast primes. 85mm should be about right to complete your 20 and 35. F1.8 would also be fine.

[paul_sokal___dallas__tx]

I use an 85mm 1.8 and a 135mm f2, but have rented and yearn for the 70-200 VR. It's an amazing lens.

[twmeyer]

17-55 f2.8 Nikon. Easy/good.<p>If your zoom lens isn't an internal focus and zoom construction, it's sucking air (and dust) in and out of the camera body everytime you zoom and focus. Sensor cleaning is just part of the digital SLR protocol. Get used to it, and get good at it... t

[david_thomas___banned_from]

Tom, I don't have a zoom lens at present.

[zave_shapiro]

A few years ago I bought a 135mm for my manual focus kit; like most 50mm primes it's a spectacular value for money.

 

You're getting advice from (35 equiv) 85 to 135. I agree with them all. Somewhere in there is a sweet spot for you. I like the mild tele compression, the narrow DOF, and the fact that 135's and smaller are like regular lenses just a bit bigger. Look at Nikon's 85 or 90's, 105's or whatever and you'll find a complement to what you're carrying now.