Ideal Leica M wedding lens combo--35/50 or 50/90??

[pcg]

A followup to my wedding film question from yesterday. It's still a

tossup for me whether to shoot this wedding w/ a 35/50 or 50/90

combo. I have two bodies, an M3 & a new TTL. My leaning is

toward a 50 'cron w/ a 90 Elmarit, though in typical shooting I

almost always use a 35 'cron... Regardless, my instinct is that

the facial "distortion" from the 35 in closeups is going to be less

than appealing & that I can eliminate that possibility by going to

the 50. And then the 90 is a suberb portrait lens... Of course I

could always haul along all the damn lens, but I'd rather simplify

& use two, one on either body.

 

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Again, I'd appreciate any feedback & suggestions! Thanks--

[jacques_balthazar1]

haul along all the damn lenses !

 

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They all fit in your suit jacket anyway.

 

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when you want a few people in focus, and if you want dynamic shots or

view of settings, you'll use the 35mm. You are not going to shoot the

ultimate bride & groom formal with that, so do not worry about

facial "distortion"...

[michael_darnton1]

28/50/90 or 35/90 would be my choice.

[anon_terry]

<i>though in typical shooting I almost always use a 35 'cron</i>

 

<p>Go with what you're used to, especially when shooting a wedding

for the first time. Use the 35 for your primary lens and bring the

90 for portraits. Facial distortion is a non-issue because if you're

doing closeups you'll use a 90 right? The whole point of using an M

is for classic photojournalism, and the 28 or 35 gives a nice feeling

of "being there" without excessive distortion. The extra depth of

field also comes in handy to cover any focusing errors made on the

fly.

 

<p>My other suggestion, and it may be sacrilege but it's important

nonetheless, is to <b>bring a flashgun and know how to use it</b>.

Yes, I know all about how the M is supposed to be an available light

camera and blah blah blah, but the last situation you want to be

caught in is to have the key moment that could be the highlight of

the event and you're stuck without enough light to make your shot.

Even if you think your event is going to be entirely predictable and

out-of-doors in bright sunlight, don't tempt Murphy! Bring a light

source that is under <b>your</b> control, just in case. I

wholeheartedly recommend the Sunpak 383 with an OM-422 Omnibounce.

[patrick2]

get one of these Reporter straps

http://www.optechusa.com/profess.htm#PRO%20STRAPS

scroll down a bit

keep some extra film in the pockets, and take along the extra lens

while having the other two mounted.

I think you'll appreciate the wideness of the 35 for some shots, and

to me it seems the 90 would be good for some portraits/head shoots.

cheers,

[zoeica images]

I would have to say the 35 Summicron is my choice for weddings. But,

in my bag is always a 21/35/50 and 90mm lens.

[anon_terry]

<i>You are not going to shoot the ultimate bride & groom formal with

that</i>

 

<p>I wouldn't even shoot a formal with an M, period. Especially

outdoors in the sun where I would want to use fill flash. For that,

I have a Minolta Hi-Matic 9, an older rangefinder with a very decent

45/1.7 lens, hotshoe, metered manual, and leaf shutter that syncs all

the way to 1/500.

[sl]

I suppose part of the answer depends on how you are shooting the

wedding, candids or formal, or both. First I have never shot a wedding

in my life, but I have done something similiar for 20 years, corporate

open house/parties, which then appear in my magazine every month. When

I started doing this I used a 35/50 combo, then it became just a 28 and

now for several years I use only a 24, which is perfect because of the

large depth of field. If you are doing candids and you have a large

crowd at the wedding a wide lens is the only way to go, just mingle in

with the guests and shoot away. I cannot imagine doing this without a

flash.

[anon_terry]

<b><i>...bring a flashgun and know how to use it. </b></i>

 

<p>Um, that should have been, bring <b><i>at least two</b></i>

flashguns and know how to use them. Like I said, don't tempt

Murphy...

[pcg]

By the way, I will be using an SF-20, coupled w/ the TTL, for fill

flash!

[alan_purves]

Same as before, 35/50/90. 35mm for groups, 50mm for 80% plus of the

wedding. 90mm for portraits. Bring two flashes and extra batteries is

good advise.

 

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Good Luck :-)

[f._william_baker]

When I shoot a wedding it's with 35 & 75 on M4-P & M6. Use Metz 40MZ-

2 for flash. Formals with Hasselbld and/or Rollei TLR. Use 2400

Speedotron and Force 10 for formals. Fuji NPH 400 and Agfa APX 400

with Leica. Fuji 100 and Agfa 100 for formals. Have used F5 with 17-

35, 28-70 and 80-200 but without assistant it's a little heavy for

an'ol' geezer like me. Shoot with what is the least you have to

carry and think about! Good Luck.....

[anon_terry]

<i>By the way, I will be using an SF-20, coupled w/ the TTL, for fill

flash!</i>

 

<p>You're going to run into problems if you try to use the SF20 for

fill flash (assuming you are referring to outdoors fill). It's not

even close to powerful enough to work well with the M's paltry 1/50

sync. If you HAVE to use this combo, I would use as slow a film as

possible, and slap on a ND filter on the lens if necessary.

[roberto_watson_garc_a]

A month ago I had a wedding to shoot, I took 21/28/35/50/90 combo, a

big flash and a small one, my favourite 35 I just couldn't use, all

was done with 28/50, next time I won't bring a third lens, and I'll

stick to the small flash

[chris_chen]

i agree with steve. i used a hassy swc (all speed sync) for the last

wedding, where i was voluntered to take photo's. m equiv. would be

21/24mm. i also used an m6 with 35 cron, but the swc came out

better. too much going on to use a tele, so i didn't; context,

context, context/candid, candid, candid. let the "pro" do the posed

shots.

[sheridan]

Hello Patrick. For an all Leica M wedding photoshoot ..Two M bodies

coupled with 35mm and 50mm lenses ..and Metz.60 which will deliver

ceiling bounce shots. Regards.

[wgpinc]

Hi Patrick,

 

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My brother who is also named Patrick shoots a lot of weddings. He

uses a combo of a Canon Elan II with a 28-135 IS zoom and an M4 with

a dual range 50 summicron. He uses two sunpak 383s when he needs to

add light. I loaned him my Canon 380EX but he didn't like it. He

gets paid well for the weddings he shoots and people like what he

gives them. I have done a few weddings for friends to compliment the

formal stuff they hired done. I usually used my M cameras with 35 50

90 and small strobe when light wasn't available. So much depends on

how comfortable you are with your equipment and how close you like to

work, and what you are trying to accomplish. Good luck!

[kristian dowling]

How about asking the client what sorts of shots they're after. So

who are you shooting for? The clients or yourself? Usually a

client will want wide shots and close ups. 35/90.

[andy_wagner1]

For me it was always a 35/50/90/135. They're small and cover al the

bases. To many weddings where photos weren't permitted during the

ceremony.The 135 covers the distance nicely when you're "sneaking"

that shot from the back of the church, Also nobody hears the M going

off. 90 for portraits, 50 for most shots and the 35 for the big

picture. And yes a good flash because; trust me' Murphy will show up!

Also take the extra body. The whole shootin match should weigh less

than 20lbs.