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Spare cash, a new lens, what would you advise ?


tonylarcombe

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Ok, I have some spare cash, weddings are flooding in, well, sort of, I've

currently got the 17-40L f4, 50 1.8 and 70-200L f4, what should I have next ?

what would you get next, and what lens would they have to pry out of your cold

dead fingers ?!

 

One thing, it has to be Canon, sorry all you Nikon'ers, and other camera/lens

suppliers, if there are any, but all my gear is Canon and I'd like to keep it

so, call me old-fashioned if you like.

 

Sorry, main camera is a 20D.

 

Thanks,

Tony.

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tony - well, well. I would say that unless you shoot with two bodies all the time, you need a faster standard zoom lens to save you the hassle of switching lenses so much.

 

which lens? the 17-55 2.8 IS comes to mind. the 17-85 is okay, but the 17-55 is better.

 

first, sell the 17-40 and spend the extra $750 to get the 17-55 2.8 IS. unless you need the weather sealing, you will get a faster lens, faster to focus and IS. boom! what else do you want for a mere $1100??

 

now, IMHO, the 70-200 is too long for most purposes at a wedding except for the ceremony if you are too far away, again IMHO.

 

unless you use it a lot, I would say sell it and get the 85mm 1.8 or the 135mm f2. both are great lenses and can produce fantastic bokeh. I shoot with my 17-55 IS on one body and the 85mm 1.8 on the other for most of my weddings and it is great.

 

I used to change between a 16-35 2.8 L, a 247-70 2.8 L and the 70-200 2.8.

 

I sold the 16-35mm 2.8, bought the 17-55 IS and I'm happy.

 

hope that helps.

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Ok, thanks for the advice, I don't remember saying that I didn't have a back-up camera ! I do, but the 20D is my best one, I use a Elan 7E for the back-up, fill it with film (remember that stuff) and keep it handy, I've not used it at all on the last couple of weddings, but it's always at hand. Ideally I'd like to get a second digital, either that or I'll keep the 20D when I update.

 

Conrad, I need to absorb your advice a little more, thanks for all that, let me know if you need a second shooter one of these days, love your work.

 

Tony.

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I'm with Conrad... the 17-55 f/2.8 IS is a wonderful lens. I shoot with that one lens about 90% of the time when i'm shooting a wedding (the other's being the 70-200 2.8 IS and my little 50mm 1.8).

 

If you are shooting weddings (or any other low light situation) it would definitely be up there on my list. And a second camera body is always a good idea too.

 

Have fun shopping!

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Tony,

 

You want to be able to shoot the whole wedding without a hitch if any single piece of equipment goes down, so two of everything vital is the rule.

 

1) Do you have a backup flash unit? If not, a backup flash would be number one.

 

2) Second digital body, maybe a used 20D from a reliable dealer.

 

3) A mid-range zoom, like the EF 28-135mm IS, EF 24-105mm f/4L, or the EF 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. Backup to your 50mm lens.

 

4) A super wide angle lens like the EF-S 10-22mm lens. Backup (sort of) to your 17-40, but mostly just for fun (and don't sell the wonderful 17-40mm lens).

 

 

Jim

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I think you need a longer fast portrait lens like 85mm or 135mm. I don't know much about Canon but am sure they have a high end portrait lens and a 70-200mm f2 isn't what I'm thinking. I just don't think a zoom lens is a portrait lens...I'd go with a Prime good luck...
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