After regularly doing some paid gigs here and there (events, products, family, hairstyles etc) I am being paid to shoot a wedding in a few months' time. Excited but also terrified! lol.
So I am on the hunt for a new lens, or lenses, that will do the job.
I need some input!
FYI: I have a Canon 6D body (full-frame), a 50mm f/1.4 and a 17-40mm f/4.
Options:
1. 24-70mm f/2.8 - an excellent workhorse lens for pros, apparently! I am definitely thinking of this one because of its versatility with the zoom, and also the wide aperture. BUT expensive. BUT I'm pretty sure it's a must-have.
2. 70-200mm f/2.8 IS - also an excellent workhorse lens, built like a tank. Will give me excellent zoom/reach for when I can't get as close to the happy couple, and it will make me less intrusive. Am considering IS over non-IS because of the various reviews I've read and comparisons I've seen. BUT expensive, and heavy. BUT I need the zoom, and, from what I've read, it's one of Canon's best lenses in its line-up.
3. 85mm f/1.2 - was recently suggested to me by a pro-photog friend. Personally I think it's a bit of overkill (it's not like I'm shooting for astronomy!), not to mention its paper-thin depth of focus will be a nightmare for trying to capture constantly-moving people. And it's also ridiculously expensive, and heavy. Which brings me to...
4. 85mm f/1.8 - apparently an excellent alternative to the above, and relatively cheap (~$400-500 where I live). Reasonable focal length, nice wide aperture. BUT is it worth it if I decide to go with #1 and/or #2?
Budget is a slight problem (isn't it always. :P) - I have a bit of money saved up but I just graduated from 8 years of uni and I have been madly applying for jobs!
Any thoughts/input would be very much appreciated. :)
I'd be considering your space or the lack of space you may have to back up if you need to... so perhaps option 1 as it gives you the wider angle but also the ability to zoom when needed. A pro photog friend of mine told me last year, that if he had his time over he'd only go prime lenses for the fact that they give a better quality shot... that said, it's not always feasible to do that and that's why I think your option 1 is probably your best out of those. Although, imagine the awesome shots you could get using an f/1.2 lens *drools*. Your trademark dreaminess would be dreamy as for a wedding....
I'm doing my first wedding this coming Dec. I have the 18-200mm (Sigma) and 85mm f/1.8 (Nikon-love love love this lens) I also have the 35mm f/1.8 (Nikon - I really like this lens also). I have a Nikon and picked up another Nikon on ebay to have as a backup. I'm going to keep checking back to see what others have to say. I need to know also and get some good ideas. Cassandra is right the prime lenses do get the best quality shot. I could see that after doing the engagement shoot using the 85mm. Unreal! Good luck!
If budget is a concern, maybe rent some of the lenses?
A general-purpose zoom is probably a must, either the 24-70mm f/2.8L or the 24-105mm f/4L IS. Pros will use the 24-70, but pros have steady hands and have practiced longer exposures without needing IS. You may find that the 24-105mm gives you more reliably-sharp shots, depending on how good your technique is. People rarely move fast at weddings (especially the ceremony), so you can use a shutter speed of 1/25th or so to freeze motion a lot of the time. A piece of cake with the 24-105mm f/4L IS @ 70mm, a big challenge with the 24-70mm f/2.8L @ 70mm.
A 70-200mm of some variety is a no-brainer as well, but I'd resist the temptation to think of it as a lens that allows you to shoot from further away. Instead think of it as a wonderfully flexible portrait lens that lets you blur backgrounds.
The 85mm f/1.2 is a nice lens but it's hard work. It could give you some stunning portraits, but equally it could be a complete washout -- as you note, focus is incredibly key, and I might suspect the 6D might struggle a tad to keep up with tracking movement. The 85mm f/1.8 is a pretty good lens, but you'll get better background separation shooting with the 70-200mm f/2.8 above about 130mm, so you might choose just to stick with that and have one less thing to carry around (and less chance of missing the moment while you're juggling lenses).
You will also want to look into getting a decent flash, if you don't currently have one (430EX II at a minimum, 580EX II or 600EX if you can stretch).
Personally I would strongly recommend keeping it simple for your first wedding. Three zooms, an ultra-wide (your 17-40mm will be fine), a general-purpose, and a 70-200mm. If you start doing these more regularly, you'll be able to learn when you might find a high-end prime useful (and also learn when to put it on, so you're not constantly finding you have the wrong lens on).
I am leaning towards the 70-200 for that separation reason - I have a reasonably steady hand, and the IS will help. I am tossing up between hiring and purchasing that one. When I say shooting from further away, I mean I don't want to be that photographer who's in the couples' faces the entire time! I'd like the flexibility of being able to move around and get different angles/perspectives.
I have the 430EX II - I've used it for other gigs and it's been decent!
@pocketmouse have you considered a 70-200 f4? I have just bought a Nikon one, the reviews are fantastic and the canon one is meant to be too. They are half the weight of the 2.8 and a lot cheaper but still very good quality glass. I would read some reviews before you fork out for a 2.8. I held a camera with a 2.8 the other day and I'm quite small so to lug that around for hours might be a back breaker! Popular Photography magazine is a good online resource and there are plenty of online reviews and lab tests. Hope that helps!
70-200 is a fantastic lens and that along with the 24-70 seem to be the lenses of choice for wedding photographers. I love both but the 70-200 is certainly a special lens.
Hi Teresa, I shoot weddings and your 50mm will be great, I can often shoot 90% of a wedding day with a 50mm. In fact when I first started out I only had a 50mm f/1.8 and that was perfectly capable! Now I use the 50mm f/1.2, the 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8 as my main lenses and I get by without using anything else except for my 100mm macro lens occasionally, but that's only because I already had it, the 24-70mm also has a macro feature. Three awesome lenses that will cover a multitude of requirements at any wedding you should ever be asked to photograph! Forget the 85mm lens, especially the f/1.2 version, as much as its an amazing lens, your 50mm will do an almost equivalent job! I actually sold my 85mm as I found I just wasn't using it!
@vokesy Yes! I've done a few unpaid weddings just with my 50mm f/1.4 and they turned out pretty well!
@emmasteil Yeah I'm small too! xD I have read reviews exhaustively and I guess my shooting style suits the f/2.8 more than the f/4. Nothing about the quality of the lenses, just that I think the 2.8 would give me photos that are more in line with the particular style I'm going for. Difficult decision though!!
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I will ask my friend, recently of his own photography studio, his idea.
Best of luck-you will do it beautifully, judging from what can be seen here.
Elle
A general-purpose zoom is probably a must, either the 24-70mm f/2.8L or the 24-105mm f/4L IS. Pros will use the 24-70, but pros have steady hands and have practiced longer exposures without needing IS. You may find that the 24-105mm gives you more reliably-sharp shots, depending on how good your technique is. People rarely move fast at weddings (especially the ceremony), so you can use a shutter speed of 1/25th or so to freeze motion a lot of the time. A piece of cake with the 24-105mm f/4L IS @ 70mm, a big challenge with the 24-70mm f/2.8L @ 70mm.
A 70-200mm of some variety is a no-brainer as well, but I'd resist the temptation to think of it as a lens that allows you to shoot from further away. Instead think of it as a wonderfully flexible portrait lens that lets you blur backgrounds.
The 85mm f/1.2 is a nice lens but it's hard work. It could give you some stunning portraits, but equally it could be a complete washout -- as you note, focus is incredibly key, and I might suspect the 6D might struggle a tad to keep up with tracking movement. The 85mm f/1.8 is a pretty good lens, but you'll get better background separation shooting with the 70-200mm f/2.8 above about 130mm, so you might choose just to stick with that and have one less thing to carry around (and less chance of missing the moment while you're juggling lenses).
You will also want to look into getting a decent flash, if you don't currently have one (430EX II at a minimum, 580EX II or 600EX if you can stretch).
Personally I would strongly recommend keeping it simple for your first wedding. Three zooms, an ultra-wide (your 17-40mm will be fine), a general-purpose, and a 70-200mm. If you start doing these more regularly, you'll be able to learn when you might find a high-end prime useful (and also learn when to put it on, so you're not constantly finding you have the wrong lens on).
I am leaning towards the 70-200 for that separation reason - I have a reasonably steady hand, and the IS will help. I am tossing up between hiring and purchasing that one. When I say shooting from further away, I mean I don't want to be that photographer who's in the couples' faces the entire time! I'd like the flexibility of being able to move around and get different angles/perspectives.
I have the 430EX II - I've used it for other gigs and it's been decent!
@vokesy Yes! I've done a few unpaid weddings just with my 50mm f/1.4 and they turned out pretty well!
@emmasteil Yeah I'm small too! xD I have read reviews exhaustively and I guess my shooting style suits the f/2.8 more than the f/4. Nothing about the quality of the lenses, just that I think the 2.8 would give me photos that are more in line with the particular style I'm going for. Difficult decision though!!