Wedding shooters. Best wedding lens to use for Canon xti?

[psyopwak]

<p>I am shooting a wedding for a friend and it's not a paid assignment. I have one lens and want to rent two more to have some fun with. The wedding will be outdoors. Need some help from some wedding photographers. Are these decent choices below-<br>

Ef 70-200mm f/4L USM (own it)<br>

EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM rent<br>

EF 85mm f/1.2 L II USM rent</p>

<p>If you like another, please list it. THANKS</p>

[andrew_pyke]

<p>i was going to suggest the last two!<br /> Good choice!</p>

[andrew robertson]

35 f/2. It's cheap enough to buy without any excuses, and good enough that you won't go back.

 

The 85 f/1.2 is a great lens, but for the money I would get the 85 f/1.8, which is about as good, a whole heck of a lot cheaper, and

considering that f/1.2 is paper thin as far as DOF goes, easier to use wide open.

[kc_foo]

<p>Make sure you have a spare body just in case and also a flash.<br>

My 50mm 1.4 is good as well. I use it all the time.<br>

Good luck!<br>

kc</p>

 

[jim_h.2]

<p>The 24-70 is a nice lens particulary with the low light choice, I shoot a fair amount of weddings, and of course I use two bodies and I keep an extra two bodies in the car, you should try and get a backup body if at all possible, If you only use on camera sigma makes a 18-200 lens that would allow you to only have to use the one lens , you can do your group shots easy enough and grab the long ones while they are at the alter, or to do the candid shots, I often use a mono pod when shooting the long shots , or even the close up at times. The sigma cost about 400 bucks but you can rent from murphy camera shop , which they have many stores around the globe, Thye are cheap rental but you must give deposit of the value of the lens and then get it back , so thats a great deal, most places are like that, i dont believe you mentioned a flash , that you are using, do you have a off camera flash,? If not you will definetely need one or you will crash and burn without it. I can tell you were to get a Canon knockoff that has 145 feet flash ability and can be a slave and works well, with the Canon slr . I have the real thing and I also use the knockoff on a flash pole , it really helps to have a lot of light ,</p>

[psyopwak]

<p>Are there good uses for the 70-200. I was thinking about straight down the isle (at a distance), during the actual "i do's"?</p>

[jim_h.2]

<p>Sure you can use the 70-200 if you are back far enough you can use it at 70 easy enough , I always try and get from behingd whille the vowels are going on, try and rememember to shoot head shots from the back of the chucrh and full body shots, of the bride and groom then its imprtant to get the whole wedding party in fairly sharp focus. outside of these shots the lens will be limited , with a 70-200 you have to be back about 30 feet to get a shot of a couple of people, and around 130 or so you will have a lot of shake without a tripod or mono pod, that lens will come in handy at the reception when you are trying to blend , if you are in a well lit venue, I have a few pdf of how to shoot pro weddding and some tips, if you want email me and ill send them to you, they are helpful in keeping the crowd under control and you in charge , people at weddings expect you to be sure of what to do next and they are often backward and need coaxing. If you have good pocket camera , try and pack that with you , for a quick sneak shot, and with you not havind a second body , it wil be some insurance , I always apck my 14meg pocket camera just in case im in the middle of lens change or something, try and remember weddings are fun and you will get a lot of request, and if you shoot one wedding sooner or later you will get a second request and so on, If i can help you with anything let me know , I was right were you are years ago and it turned into a vey lucrative , happy hobby . Thats we are well paid for.</p>

[zml]

<p>Looking at some of my wedding shots, I tend to shoot handheld around 30 and 60 mm (24-70 lens on a FF body, on-camera flash on a rotating bracket.) For formals (tripod, two soft boxes, a reflector or two) I tend to use a FF body with a 50 mm lens. I'd say that a 24-70 lens will work well on a 1.6x crop body: anything shorter than 24 mm requires a lot of care while shooting, esp. indoors, to avoid geometric distortions, crooked wall ornaments, "stuff that gets in the frame" etc.</p>

[peter_j2]

<p>You can shoot a wedding with a 50/1.2 and an 85/1.2 on a couple of full frame bodies without a flash. The 50 is when you are close. The 85 is when you cannot get close.</p>

[cabbiinc]

<p>If you don't have 2 bodies the 70-200 probably won't see much use. If it's one camera and one lens I'd tell you to get the 24-70, or even rent a second body. But you won't have many chances to swap lenses in the heat of battle as it were.</p>

<p>If not that then something like a 17-50 f/2.8. You'll have the distortions to deal with, but on a crop sensor body like the XTi you really do need something pretty wide. But again, if I only had one body the 24-70 would be planted on it.</p>

<p>You know if you have a film body you can use that in reserves or with a longer lens. If you do use film, plan on using some fast film.</p>

[jim_krupnik]

<p>Over the couple of decades I have been shooting weddings and other commercial venues with APS-C sensor cameras, along with FF 35, and medium format cameras, only three lenses have become my absolute foundation for APS-C shooting. The "Holy Trinity", if you will excuse the appropriation....</p>

<p>They are the EF-S 10-22, the EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS, and the EF 70-200 f/2.8 IS lenses. There are others, like the EF 70-300 DO IS that I love in all respects, and the EF 50 f/1.4, but if I had to list three lenses that I could not imagine being without, it is the "trinity collection". I have read that other folks think the 70-200 f/2.8 is of limited use there, but I find it to be the ideal lens for more than one third of wedding shots made. I would not be without it. Period.</p>

<p>I shoot weddings, and other commercial work with several camera bodies hanging off of my belt now, but if I had only one camera body, I would still carry these three lenses at all times.</p>

<p>If IE distorts the image, save it to view it. Other browsers don't have the problem, but then again, maybe it is just an IE issue on 64 bit Win 7 systems....</p>

<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3009/2945652177_a04b5811f4_b.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="768" /></p>

<p> </p>

[Ian Taylor]

<p>"Wedding lens"?</p>

[KenPapai]

<p>Ian -- one of the oft-used monikers for the 24-70 2.8L is the <em>Wedding Lens</em> - so yes.</p>

<p>Also -- Chrome blows away IE. (except the new IE9 coming soon has some nice features)</p>

[picturesque]

<p>Before anyone can make a recommendation, one needs to know what lens you have and whether we are talking about a cropped sensor camera.</p>

<p>One thing to know--for an outdoor wedding, one does not normally need fast lenses, other than for focal length itself, because outdoors, the ambient light is brighter, and you don't need the wide apertures. In fact, if you are talking about bright sun, of more importance is a flash that is powerful enough for fill.</p>

[psyopwak]

<p>OK guys...these are great suggestions. I have to say that I am an amateur and the bride and groom know this. Everything they get is free because I want to get more experience and they don't really have the money to pay for a pro shooter. That said, here is what I have to work with-<br /> 1 Canon xti body<br /> 2 EF 50mm 1.8 II<br /> 3 EF 70-200mm f4 NON IS<br /> 4 EF 28-105mm f3.5-4.5<br /> 5 Leica V-lux 1 which is a 10mp point and shoot with a sharp 35- 420mm zoom lens<br /> (this will be my 2nd camera)<br /> 6 Good Giotto tripod<br /> Like I had mentioned, I am thinking about renting-<br /> EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM (for most of wedding shots)<br /> <br /> EF 85mm f/1.2 L II USM (for personal close-up pics)<br /> Any other suggestions? I don't really want to rent a 5D body!<br>

Also, the Wedding will be OUTDOORS.</p>

[picturesque]

<p>William--if you are renting because you think you need better lenses or faster lenses, you don't. If you are renting because you can afford it and want to have some fun, fine, but it will be just opinions as to which one to rent.</p>

<p>The 28-105mm and 70-200mm are just fine for outdoor ceremonies. Used at the smaller apertures you will probably need outside (particularly in bright sun), the 28-105mm is more than decent, despite being a consumer level lens. Actually, just for focal length, what you are missing is the wider angles, and neither of the two lenses you are considering go wide. Perhaps consider a 17-55mm f2.8 IS to rent. That will give you the wide angles.</p>

<p>The 50mm f1.8 you already have will be fine for personal, close-up pictures.</p>

[picturesque]

<p>Also--what flashes do you have? Outside, you need one.</p>

[psyopwak]

<p>Nadine<br>

Thanks for the input. Well I admit to be in need of help. The only flash I have is the one on the camera itself.<br>

I had picked the two lenses for possible lease, since to my eye, they produced wonderful bokeh (check spelling).<br>

Maybe that is not great wedding photo logic, but I am in need of education here. Should I get some kind of fill flash unit for outside pics?</p>

 

[picturesque]

<p>Absolutely. By outside wedding, do you mean in sunlight or is this at dusk or in a heavily shaded area? If in sunlight or open areas during the day, you are going to need a flash for fill. You can possibly control where you photograph subjects for portraits, but not for the ceremony itself.</p>

<p>The 85mm f1.2 will indeed give you wonderful bokeh. If you can afford the rental and want to play, that's fine. To me, having the wider angles is kind of important, though. But now you need to rent a 580EX, right?</p>

[psyopwak]

<p>Nadine<br /> Hey I guess you are right, is a 580EX a flash that mounts on the XTI? Yes I do need that.<br /> I will look at wide angle lenses. I DO NOT know where the actual wedding will take place, I will find out.<br /> How far will that flash fill in?<br>

Time of day, will be in the early evening. But I am trying to get groom, bride, best man and MOH to commit to day personal shots, maybe intimate type. If family can come early, I want that too.</p>

[picturesque]

<p>OK--early evening could still be really bright (sunlight). It is the brightness that is the problem. If the wedding ceremony is to take place all in the shade, or deep shade or at dusk, in the deep shade, that is a whole other thing, where fast lenses can come in very handy. I still wouldn't go without an external flash, though.</p>

<p>A 580EX or 580EX II is the top of the line Canon flash. Either one will go on the XTi. How far it will reach depends on the ISO you are using and whether you have modifiers on it or are bouncing it. Against sunlight, for about a 35mm angle of view, ISO 100, at the f8-11 you end up with, it only will work for you for fill at about 12 feet.</p>

[psyopwak]

<p>I was just told it will be in a gazebo. I guess I will have to scout out the location before wedding day. Maybe I can get placement of guests and participants.</p>

[jim_h.2]

<p>I had missed that you s aid the wedding was outdoors, I will tell you that I go out of state shooting weddings down south Savannah, the keys etc, and do not let yourself get fooled into thinking that you wont be needing a flash, the one on your camera has a max flash abilty of 45 feet and thats giving it a lot credit at best,Imagine your standing there and the sun is setting in the west and your facing the bride and groom and the sun is behind the couple, you do well as a human to see them and the camera is in the same predictement , so a flash is a must, you have to have light that pierces through enough to let the camera can focus and not ne one big sun blur. SUNLIGHT weddings still must have fill light in almost every case.Here is several shots in the sun and 99 percent was using a flash, the 580 ex and 430ex11 , its kind of like when you drive through a tunnel and you turn on the headlights to see even though the sun is on the end of the tunnel, the flash is your headlight in the tunnel to give you good shots.</p>

[jim_h.2]

<p><a href="http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=885093016/a=16416557_16416557/">http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=885093016/a=16416557_16416557/</a></p>

<p> Here is a link to a free wedding I did with a second shooter , this was a very bright day and off camera flash was used in nearly every shot, it wasnt a swankee wedding , just two nice people who needed a photographer, and they had been friends for years so I shot the photos as a gift.I didnt go all out but keep in mind without a flash it wiuld have much harder to get the shots, i always try and shoot at 100iso if I use a flash, you get more bitrate and fuller color, I try and stcik with a 60 shutter speed in most case, if you skip th external flash, you can still shoot the shutter at 250 and low iso and get nice vivid shots, Try and go to a public park and get unsuspecting shots of people and it will help prepare you for the big day. <a href="http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=885093016/a=16416557_16416557/">http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=885093016/a=16416557_16416557/</a></p>

[fishguyis]

<p>Sorry to post this here but I am not sure how to send a private message. </p>

<p>Jim H, would it be possible to get the PDF(s) you were talking about in one of your earlier posts in this thread, I have to shoot my sisters wedding May 8th and would love any info I can get! <br>

Thanks! <br>

<br /> Mike <br>

<br /> </p>