ujwal

<p>I also recently purchased a Xt10 and bunch of decent lenses including the 56mm f1.2, the 18mm f2 and 35mm f1.4.<br>

I do my wedding work with two DSLRs. I used to have two D600 bodies, but i always struggled with getting the AF to be perfect on the eyeball at 200mm f2.8 with the D600 bodies, hence replaced one of the bodies with a D750- which does the job nicely. The AF is now spot on!<br>

The Xt10 was purchased as a "private" camera for family and just to carry one in the backpack- as they had a massive cashback in Australia. After getting the $500 cash back on the bundle and selling the unwanted zooms and 27mm lens. I got the Xt10 for really cheap. Then bought the 56mm f1.2 on ebay (my first X lens). Once I got that combo and tested a few portraits- I was absolutely shocked by the quality of the optics, the AF accuracy (I was using face detect AF) and the stunning JPG I was getting (I only use classic chrome colour profile). I am so impressed by the amazing quality, I bought the 18mm f2 secondhand for $200 and 35mm f1.4 new for $350 after the cashback.<br>

The 18mm f2 is the most underrated lens in history. Its beautiful! The 56mm and 35mm are almost perfect, but 18mm f2 isn't that far behind. Its fast, focuses close, its pretty sharp, good contrast and great colours.<br>

I have used canons for 8 years, them used Nikons for last 3 years- have basically owned every good optics made by them plus some of the best glass made of M43 (including the 75mm zuiko). The 75mm Zuiko and the Fuji 56mm 1.2 are the best two lenses I know of under $2000. <br>

Even for paid weddings, I shoot JPGs(actually I always shoot JPG+RAW to be safe), but I haven't even opened the RAW image once! the JPGs are almost perfect out of the camera. Factory default classic chrome is pretty sweet. Very little levels and contrast correction here and there......and the images are crisp and beautiful. Compare that with Nikon files - JPGs are flat and dull. RAW needs a lot of work to make them shine. Fuji saves me many many hours of lightroom time - and time is money.<br>

I am tempted to sell my Nikon system but I just can't. DSLRs are still not replaceable (at least to me). I must have its super quick AF, simpler and direct UI, reliability and the flash system especially when the weddings finish at 11PM. I don't care about Video, but the super reliable flash system of DSLRs is one important thing that sets them apart for pros who must have super reliable TTL flash system.<br>

So while I shoot the bride and groom getting ready with the Fuji, the candids, the details and daylight ceremony with the Fuji, even bridal portraits and couple shots. But when the going gets tough- the DSLR comes out to save the day. I can't imagine how to shoot dance photos with the mirrorless ...the EVF isn't efficient anymore....and the delay in viewing and locking the AF is just too much. DLSRs don't have problems there, even the D600 can autofocus without a hiccup in total darkness with a flash on the top. </p>

<p>I think larger and brighter viewfinder is worth its weight in gold, in the long run especially if you know if you will be photographing in dark areas like reception halls, concerts, clubs etc., its best to go for a camera with the best viewfinder you possibly can.<br>

But for landscape work, basic video work, macro, tabletop and in studio , I don't think the T5i will have any significant disadvantage over the 7D.</p>

<p>Hi Harry, I purchased this lens here in Sydney about a month ago and I think its a great lens! I bought this to replace my trusty Canon 24-105mm, which died on me in the middle of a wedding shoot! ( the dreaded diaphragm ribbon issue which apparently is downfall of this lens).<br>

I normally weddings, and I need to use F2.8 and the IS or VC is very important point for me. Its a pretty good lens...very much usable at F2.8 and the AF is spot on, quick and bokeh isnt too bad either. The lens is adequately sharp and sharpens nicely with some post processing Very usable at F2.8 ( unless you shoot landscapes ). There is significant vignetting though.<br>

The VR is very useful....just dont rush, let it stabilize and shoot, it will give at least 2.5-3 stop advantage in my use ( only shot 4 weddings so far but looking forward to doing a lot more ). I have basically stopped using my 24L , Sigma 50 and 85mm F1.8 lenses outdoors since I got this lens.<br>

I also have a short - non brick wall review of this lens on my website. <br>

http://halophotos.zenfolio.com/tamron-24-70mm-f2-8-vc-review<br>

Cheers!</p><div></div>

<p>www.halo-photos.com<br>

Halo Photos Sydney Australia</p><div></div>

<p>Mate, I would suggest spending your money on Glass( lenses) not on plastic (bodies).<br /> I'd suggest you get the lens that you will find most useful .....my vote is Canon 85mm F1.8 and buy a decent body( out of production model)....get a Canon 50D instead!<br /> OR<br /> Get a Canon 24-105mm F4L IS and Canon 40D.</p>

<p>You now will have a backup camera your old Xti, a proper lens to cover wedding ( a workhorse lens) and still a few hundred dollars in your pocket that you can spend on marketing. You already have 2 good lenses anyway.<br>

Personally, I am a big fan of out of production bodies ( I never buy current models...because they cost too much!). I was using a Canon 20D until 2 months ago to shoot weddings! Glass retains its value...plastic dont.</p>

<p>Thanks for so such great participation. Loved that Church shot Matthew and Bride getting ready with the girls is great fun shot to have in the album.<br>

But I do agree....too many fisheye shots and wedding album will start to stink like fish...lol. <br>

I also was amazed to see really nice fisheye shots by paw_con on his flickr page...thanks for posting the link mate. That gave me some really good idea about what can be achieved with a fisheye..but 8mm fisheye is too wide for me. <br>

I will stick with cheap 16mm zenitar ...and although the effect wont be as pronounced,20mm is pretty wide for me.<br>

Thank you all again for such good participation.</p>

<p>Hi, I have been shooting weddings in Sydney, Australia for the last 2.5 years and I was curious if a fisheye lens ( I have Zenitar 16mm fishey on my mind) can be used sucessfully in weddings. I have seen a few great wedding photos done with fisheye, but if you are shooting weddings and own a fisheye, do you use it quite regularly? <br>

I just acquired a vintage Canon 1D MkII and I can now finally explore the wider side and Zenit is the cheapest and surprisingly good ( according to most reviews i have read ) and its easy to justify its cost.<br>

If any fellow photo.netter has been using fisheye ( esp. Zenit ) to get some visually striking photographs, I would like to request you to kindly share with us and also the idea behind the shot. <br>

Thank you.</p>

<p>Mate, the bride should invite the photographers to a game of Rock, Paper and Scissors.<br>

Winner should take photos.OR</p>

<p> the alternative is to allow the photographer with best photos in abt 100 shots from a single wedding should be allowed to shoot. provided the bloke also has a backup camera( Point and Shoot camera will also do.</p>

<p>Also, another thought...the bloke with the oldest camera should win....one who bought a 5DmkII yesterday will not be a better shooter than one who bought a 350D a couple of years ago. Experience also counts. </p>

<p>I'd say you dont need a wide angle...the 18mm should be good enough for wide side for a beginning photographer.</p>

<p>What u dont have is a fast lens....that you'd probably want to shoot a portrait or in low light and blur the background. Get an 85mm 1.8 lens and a backup body. Dont use that 70-300mm for weddings....unless u want to shoot outside on a bright day. <br>

Someday you'd probably want a 70-200mm 2.8......Nikons may be too expensive...have a look at new Sigmas...they are fabulous as well.<br>

and you may want to get a more powerful flash as well. </p>

<p>cheers!</p>

<p>Your boss is not a smart man mate, he has probably never shot and printed a photo at high ISOs. Try it ...he would be shocked by the quality of photos you can get even at ISO 1600.<br>

Rebel XTi is good enough to shoot at ISO 1600 and still get a snappy 8x12. I am not saying that I am a very good wedding photographer or such but I use my vintage Canon 20D on weddings regularly and use ISO 1600 regularly when i have to.<br>

You need a fast lens ( if you can afford), otherwise make the best use of ISO capability of DSLR to pick up ambient light. Flash alone may not be good enough esp. when outdoors at night with nothing to bounce that flash from.<br>

Go ahead mate, explore the beauty at ISO 1600 at night. Its fun and results will be great. </p>

<p>I agree with Gerry.<br>

A 20D is probably one of the best cameras Canon ever made it can give amazing photos is very robust, fast AF, it was very good in 2004. Its still good now..i still use mine regularly to shoot weddings.<br>

Canon did not see any reason to replace a 20D so they just updated it and made it a 30D.<br>

If there were no competition from Nikon (the groundbreaking D200 back then), Canon would still be producing a 30D.</p>

<p>Yes you will be able to print 24x36 prints with a 40D.<br>

About 2 years ago, i made fourteen 24x36 prints with canon 30D and they looked surprisingly good! but be sure to start with technically good photos. Printed on a Noritus LPS-24PRO<strong><strong> on silver halide.</strong> </strong><br>

To enlarge the RAW files and get a TIFF, i used Canon DPP and set the output size to 24x36 at 300dpi and it works really good. I also had access to Genuine Fractals but i still preferred DPP ( the outputs i got from DPP actually looked better ). And i edited and sharpened in Photoshop CS3.<br>

Dont worry, start with a really good picture (shot in RAW), use DPP to process and enlarge at the same time and edit in Photoshop and print with the Noritsu LPS-24Pro if its used by any Professional labs in your area. I love that machine!</p>

<p>Hi Tommy,<br>

I think you wont be needing the 50mm. The 24-105 stays on the 5D2 and 40D sticks with the 70-200mm. I would lose the battery grips though. That way you will have 24mm to 320mm range...you will really need that!<br>

whats the point in getting the finest gear when you cant take it to the Galopagos ?<br>

If i had to make a choice, i would keep one camera at home (maybe the 5D2) and keep the 70-200 in the bag with 40D and 24-105mm.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I wanted to capture the bride's dreams, her family and old memories.<br>

took the bride's dress, hanged it on th doorway so that natural light hit it from the left, then i placed a Canon 430EX flash on the floor in Slave mode to light up the National Geogaphic magazines in the bottom right corner of the shelf. Triggered by a 580EX pointed backwards.<br>

Canon 20D with Canon 24-70 2.8 L lens at F4.5, 1/80sec at 24mm ISO 1600 Manual mode, TTL flash.</p>

<div></div>

<p>I think the first option is really the best one if you want to shoot kids+birds.</p>

<p>And still for the birds, the long end of 70-200mm F4 L is going to be short.<br>

So I would like to suggest Sigma 100-300mm F4 EX HSM lens. This lens is really good and you can also add a 1.4X (recommended) teleconverter to it and it will still focus fast! and the combination will still be able to give you sharp photos.<br>

If you will be using the other lens for family ocassions only, then why not get the new kit lens....18-55mm with IS. It has pretty good optics and IS will always be useful.<br>

So, how about Canon 18-55mm IS and Sigma 100-300mm F4 EX HSM lens with 1.4X conveter?<br>

.....and a hide ( you can build one yourself too ) to take the bird photos from.</p>

<p>An 85mm 1.8 would be a good buy.<br>

I think you'll probably need a more powerful flash. You focal lenghts will overlap because your main camera and lens combo cover almost every focal length you will need.But none of your lenses focus close enough for a real close up. I'd say a macro lens will be pretty handy. Tamron 90mm macro lens is ideal portrait length, its super sharp, has great color and contrast and will focus 1:1....great for those ring shots and portrait on your rebel. While you can use 5D with the L lenses.</p>

<p>I'd go for the 24-70 2.8 L.<br>

I have it...and love the results. You wont go wrong with the 24-105 either. For your requirements, both lenses are really good. Personally, I find the range of 24-70 2.8 very well suited for weddings and portraiture and it requires much less post processing than 17-40 L.<br>

I use a 20D and 24-70 2.8L for weddings and portraits and almost everything else.<br>

If I had to choose just one lens in the world to do my work, this is the lens I'd go for.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Hi mate,<br>

I had a 40D, loved it!<br>

As soon as it started showing error message- "cleaning system malfunction" ....i decided...uhuh...canon still havent perfected it. So i sold it.<br>

I am back to my 20D, as reliable as it was when i bought it second hand in 2005 and use a super cheap 350D with grip as a backup. Both haven't missed a beat!<br>

I love my cameras and lenses very much...i always used L lenses with my 40D, 580EX and cameras have never seen any rough treatment ever. Still ....an error message ? Thats not a good sign is it?</p>

<p>Hi Melinda,<br>

You have recived a lot of great advices from a lot of people. Only if your aperture wasnt F18, and ISO 3200, you could have a really good exposure and almost no problem with noise.<br>

For such photos, its usually a bad idea to use P or Auto mode....you probably used Shutter Priority...which also is not a very good idea in dark places. You just have to do it manually for total control. You will have plenty of time....just stay cool take your time.All you have to do is find a good starting point ...say....1/200 at F2.8 at ISO 800 and your flash in "fill" mode.<br>

Then adjust accordingly.<br>

If you want brighter background.....just open the aperture. If thats not possible(if you use a slowerlens)....increase ISO.<br>

If you are already at ISO 1600 by now, start decreasing the shutter till you get a good exposure and still within a reasonable hand holdable speed.<br>

If that's also not possible, use a tripod. If there is no tripod around, lean somewhere or lean the camera on something solid.<br>

There are so many options.<br>

Some pactice beforehand will help you with this.<br>

All the best.</p>