Which lens for motorcycle show?

[mike_connell1]

<p>I'm new to shooting with a DSLR. I have a Canon 30D and these Canon lenses: 50mm 1.8, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6 IS, and 28-135mm 3.5-5.6 IS. Every year, I like to go to Cycle World's motorcycle show in Dallas. This will be the first year that I've got something besides a cheap point-n-shoot with me. This is a big show in a huge convention center. You've got the standard high power lights in the ceiling way up high and some displays will have additional lighting. There is chrome everywhere, so lots of flash bounce back. From my experimentation with my bike, I'd say that 30mm or less focal length is going to be the best working area. 35mm is not out of the question, but that's getting real tight on my 1.6x crop body. Most of the bikes are out where you can walk up to them. A lot are behind ropes, but most builders will let you slip in to take pictures if you ask. </p>

<p>I'm thinking that no flash and a wide, fast lens is in order (correct me if I'm wrong, please!) I'm thinking of purchasing one of the following, in order of preference:</p>

<ul>

<li>Canon 28mm 1.8 (if I can find one!)</li>

<li>Sigma 30mm 1.4 (a little scary, seems like a lot of bad copies out there.)</li>

<li>Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 (I already have a "wide" angle and is 2.8 fast enough?)</li>

<li>Canon 35mm 2.0 (getting a little too narrow.)</li>

</ul>

<p>Any other suggestions? I'm not a pro, so 'L' series are out of the question, at least for now. I don't want to spend a lot on crop specific lenses, in case I decide to go full frame later (yeah, I know I can always sell them.) I love my 50mm 1.8 and I basically want a wider counter part to that. I use the 50mm to take pictures indoors a lot and the new lens would probably replace it for a lot of things.</p>

<p>I'm attaching a picture taken with my old Canon A510, just to give an idea of the environment to expect. Note the flash bouncing off the chrome.</p><div></div>

[Ken Katz]

<p>If you can get close, then your 18-55IS and 50 f1.8 lenses should work fine (no flash, high enough ISO to minimise camera shake and get enough DOF). If you want to buy a new lens, thats fine, but for static subjects, I think a slow IS zoom may work better than the faster f2.8, non IS zoom. The fast 50mm would be good for close-ups of details and blurring the backround.</p>

[mike_connell1]

<p>Interesting thought, Kenneth. I had assumed that 3.5 aperture wouldn't be enough even with IS in low light. I'm not sure how many stops the IS buys me. I'd only used the lens on a tripod outdoors so far. I did get some acceptable test shots just now in dimly lit rooms in my house at 800-1600 ISO. Noisy images of course, but not terrible after running through Noiseware. Sharpness is not great. My lens barrels pretty bad at 18mm. Perhaps that is typical? It's OK at 24mm. I should have added that I'd be handholding, with maybe a monopod. I'm still willing to spend some money to get sharper images and less post processing, probably up to the $500ish range if it makes a significant difference and will give me a lot of use with other indoor use. The 50mm has been really good, but in the small rooms of my house it's a close up lens. I've been using it a lot for macro with extension tubes as of late. </p>

[andrewg_ny]

<p>Mike, also consider "better" use of flash. The worst flash is high-powered, direct flash, such as use of the on-camera built-in flash. By balancing available light and diffused flash, you can take images that don't look too flashy in light that is insufficient for regular 'available light' images. Fast glass can be nice but shooting wide open will also limit your depth-of-field and make focus critical. Consider using your 18-55 in combination with an accessory flash, possibly with some sort of diffuser since you won't be able to bounce off the ceiling at that venue. Keep your shutter speed set fairly low, aperture maybe f/4-5.6, and ISO high enough so that the flash is mixed with the ambient light rather than the main source of light. I'd try ISO 800 first and see how that goes.</p>

[anthony_glover]

<p>Thought i would throw in my two cents.</p>

<p>The lens choices you provided all seem good, however assuming your price conscious shopping online i would go for the canon 28mm F1.8 assuming you don't mind changing lenses and 'sneaker zoom' is O.K</p>

<p>With the sigma there is too much chance of getting a bad copy (Especially shopping online) thats a hassle you don't want.</p>

<p>The 35mm canon is prob not the best idea as you are already rockin' the 50mm</p>

<p>as for the Tamron it COULD be good for you, but is it good wide open (did you check?) also the focus in low light will be nowhere near as good as a canon, and in the end getting 'a' shot is better than focus hunting and missing your opportunity.</p>

<p>Unless of course it is good wide open and you only ever shoot slow moving targets with lots of chance to reshoot.</p>

<p>For the event itself i would take the 18-55mm and 50mm and do 'owner and bike shots' (and the kinda don't care shots) with the 18-55mm then take a lot of detail shots with the 50mm @ about f2-2.8. Its sharp enough in the center at that point and the stopping down really improves its contrast. </p>

<p>The 18-55mm IS kit i would avoid for any paint job shots, same with using any on-axis flash. It will really suck the life out of the paint. Here are two examples shot in the same kind of environment you are going to.</p>

<p>Rossi's bike was shot with the 50mm f1.8 @ f3 ish ISO 100 1/125. Unretouched except for the resize, great colour and contrast.<br>

<img src="http://www.designglove.com/upload/rossidownsize.jpg" alt="" /><br>

<img src="http://www.designglove.com/upload/rossicrop.jpg" alt="" /><br>

The comparison is the 18-55mm is kit lens, 1/500 @ 33mm f4.5 IS on ISO 400 kinda flat kinda lifeless and kinda blurry (yes thats in focus with IS on). It's not just the lighting conditions there was a huge gulf between these two lenses in almost every shot.<br>

<img src="http://www.designglove.com/upload/55downsize.jpg" alt="" /><br>

<img src="http://www.designglove.com/upload/55crop.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Two last things, with the 'important' shots, assuming you can get enough shutter speed around f2-2.8 try not dropping past iso200, you will get better tonal range which is great for shooting paint.</p>

<p>Also remember to carefully select your focus points. F2 is a very thin DOF and you might end up with sharp handle bars and a blurry owner.</p>

[mike_connell1]

<p>Thanks for the detailed answer and sample photos, Anthony! That is very helpful. You didn't use flash in any of those, did you?</p>

[anthony_glover]

<p>Nope, i didnt.</p>

<p>If you really want to flash, try a swivel head flash bouncing off a nearby wall. </p>

<p>Or get a mate to come with you and hold a flash at a 45. A good off axis flash might help the peal, candy or ghost (any small flakes) in the paint show up well.</p>

<p>You can get a radio (non e-ttl hard to use) flash trigger and a 430ex for cheap on eBay. or a St-E2 'wireless fancy e-ttl II canon does everything' one for about $250.</p>

<p>If you really want to use direct on camera flash i could suggest some techniques or tools. But you brought a DSLR because you wanted great image quality right? You just wont get the best results with it.</p>

[mike_connell1]

<p>I was just curious. I don't want to use a flash, hence my interest in the fast lenses. Plus, I'm riding there on my bike so the less equipment I carry, the better! :) <br>

I'm a little surprised your 18-55mm looks so dull. I've only used mine for landscapes at f11-16 though. I'll have to play around with it some more. I haven't had it that long. It was an impulse buy when Adorama had them for $120 last month. It gets me wider than my 28-135mm outdoors, which is what I bought it for. </p>

[mike_connell1]

<p>I ended up getting the Sigma 30mm 1.4 today. The local shop had one in stock and I played with it in the store for a while. It's really nice! I didn't see any problems there, but they have a 14 day return policy so I feel safe. I've gotten some good shots in the house in poor lighting. I wish it were wider, but I think it will work fine. It's much better for casual shots in smallish rooms than my 50mm, so I think I'll get a lot of use out of it. I'll keep it on the camera for a couple of weeks and see how it goes. </p>

<p>Anthony, I'll post pics from the show late next month. :)</p>

[george_shihanian]

<p>There probably won't be a wall near enough for you to use a bounce flash. You CAN use your built-in flash or on-camera accessory flash. Tape or velcro a 3/4" wide strip of translucent plastic that you cut out of a plastic milk container to your flash head. Make the plastic about 50% longer than you need to cover the flash head, so the plastic is not pressed against, but bows out noticeably from the flash tube. It will give you a softer direct flash, but a lot of the flash power will still "leak" out around the plastic strip. Works fine for portrait fill-in too.</p>