Newbie Lens Advice Needed

ssimmonsphoto

Hi, all. I'm a newbie around here and to weddings in general. I have already learned so much from all of you, but I'm a little overwhelmed with lens choices. I currently have a Canon EF 50mm 1:1.8 II, Canon EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 II, and Promaster AF 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 LD with an XT body. I just bought the 50mm last week and I'm loving it already, especially for the price. I have three weddings in the works for the summer and will be getting the Canon 50D once I have contracts for them signed. Given that I know I want a lens with a lower f/stop than most kits come with, I'm planning to get the body only and then a lens seperately. This is where I'm hoping y'all can give me some help.

Given my current lineup, what would you be in the market for if you were me? I do not plan to ever make my business my sole source of income (teaching is my "day job"), so I'm not looking to spend anything over than $750 and would rather spend much less than that. I also don't plan to upgrade the 50D for a very long time for the same reason.

Thanks so much for your help (especially if you made it this far in my message).

cj99si

Probably a tamron 17-50 2.8.

ssimmonsphoto

cj99si wrote:

Probably a tamron 17-50 2.8.

Thanks for the advice, fellow Mainer. Do you have any experience with the Sigma version of the Tammy? PopPhoto mentioned that the Sigma version is a bit cheaper, but gave it rave reviews otherwise. It's on my want it list now.

jrmyrnsm

ssimmonsphoto wrote:

Thanks for the advice, fellow Mainer. Do you have any experience with the Sigma version of the Tammy? PopPhoto mentioned that the Sigma version is a bit cheaper, but gave it rave reviews otherwise. It's on my want it list now.

I went for the Tammy, and it hasn't come off my camera since I bought it! It has been awesome for engagement photos and I used it for my first wedding a few weeks ago and couldn't have been happier with the quality of the lens and the images I got from it. 100% recommended.

Cygnus Studios

jrmyrnsm wrote:

I went for the Tammy, and it hasn't come off my camera since I bought it! 100% recommended.

Add another plug for the lens from me. I love it for a wide range of uses. Tack sharp and tight from stop to stop. I borrowed both the Tam and the Sigma prior to purchasing the Tamron. They are close, but for the little extra difference, go with the Tamron.

cj99si

ssimmonsphoto wrote:

Thanks for the advice, fellow Mainer. Do you have any experience with the Sigma version of the Tammy? PopPhoto mentioned that the Sigma version is a bit cheaper, but gave it rave reviews otherwise. It's on my want it list now.

The Tamron is sharper. The only downside is the zip(slightly annoying) from the focus motor, but for the price it is what it is.... sigma has a 18-50 version with HSM but I think for some reason its only nikon mount. If your close to Portland check out hunts photo and video try some lenses out. You wont be unhappy with tamron though.

jeffsanjuan

With your 1.6x crop you can use the 50mm f/1.4 USM. With your budget you can even get another prime like a wide one perhaps someone else can suggest.

ssimmonsphoto

cj99si wrote:

The Tamron is sharper. The only downside is the zip(slightly annoying) from the focus motor, but for the price it is what it is.... sigma has a 18-50 version with HSM but I think for some reason its only nikon mount. If your close to Portland check out hunts photo and video try some lenses out. You wont be unhappy with tamron though.

I love Hunts. I actually got my 50mm there and oogled the 50D while I was at it. Perhaps I will head there this weekend to check out the Tammy while in between meetings with brides.

Thanks for the advice so far, everyone. Keep it coming!

baldmountain

ssimmonsphoto wrote:

Keep it coming!

If you are doing weddings you may want to consider a backup camera body. Just incase the 50D dies. Your customers are not going to be happy if you can't take any pictures of their wedding because of an equipment failure.

ChatKat

50d
You need at least two bodies if not a third to do events. And you need backups of everything - lenses, batteries, flashes. This is a once in a lifetime cannot be repeated event. And if you don't have that with lots of memory cards, you also need insurance.

I did an event on New Year's Eve. The job was in a low lit room and they did not allow flash - if I did not have the 50 1.2 it'd have been very very underexposed. And I had to photograph the entertainment...if I did not have the 70 200 2.8is that would have not been photographed at al and what would I have said to the client?

Swartzy

There are always lens wish lists. For a 1.6 crop body as the 50D the BEST bang for your buck is the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8. Fast focusing, sharp from end to end. I have a 40D and it rarely leave that body on wedding days. The colors are true and probably one of my favorite lenses. Yes, primes are great but if you need a first "overall" lens, the Tamron is a no brainer.

In time (well, actually your first time shooting a wedding, you will need a 2nd body..rent one if necessary). Most of us shoot 2 bodies throughout the day...sometimes 3 (that's a bit hard dragging around though).

ssimmonsphoto

baldmountain wrote:

If you are doing weddings you may want to consider a backup camera body. Just incase the 50D dies. Your customers are not going to be happy if you can't take any pictures of their wedding because of an equipment failure.

I have the XT that I'm going to use as a backup. It's not the best, but I managed to shoot one wedding last summer with it. I have plenty of memory cards (3 fast 8GBs and then a couple smaller than that), batteries (for everything), etc. to try and cover all avenues. I know I want to get another flash just in case this one has issues.

ssimmonsphoto

Swartzy wrote:

There are always lens wish lists. For a 1.6 crop body as the 50D the BEST bang for your buck is the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8. Fast focusing, sharp from end to end. I have a 40D and it rarely leave that body on wedding days. The colors are true and probably one of my favorite lenses. Yes, primes are great but if you need a first "overall" lens, the Tamron is a no brainer.

In time (well, actually your first time shooting a wedding, you will need a 2nd body..rent one if necessary). Most of us shoot 2 bodies throughout the day...sometimes 3 (that's a bit hard dragging around though).

Sounds like the Tamron will get my money. I managed to shoot my first wedding last summer for a friend and somehow got by with just the XT. It wasn't ideal, but I have access to the XT because of my day job and I made next to nothing on that gig to justify spending more on equipment.

My husband wants me to ask what everyone's opinion of IS is. We see all the kit lenses with it these days. I have another photographer friend who loves having it. Is it worth having a lens with it or not?

Once again, thank you for all of the help so far. You guys are awesome. I have my first consultation this Saturday, so hopefully things click with her and she decides to sign with me.

Scott_Quier

I think I'm going to rain all over your parade, but I have a few things I think need to be mentioned:

• A good resource for all things "wedding photography is the Wedding Photography Resources sticky? Lots of information there.
• I have to second the advice of a couple of posts above - get yourself a second body. In fact, you need to be sure to have a backup for everything in your kit. The group Three Dog Night had a hit called "One", the first line of which is "One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do".
• If you are going to be working for pay, and you're in it for the long-haul (more than a season or two), don't cheap out on the tools, "The equipment doesn't make the photo. The equipment makes the photo possible!" Or, at least easier! You can do just about anything with "consumer grade" equipment, but the more "professional" the equipment the easier it will be to get the job done.

As for specific lens recommendations:

• EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS - hands down, this is the first lens you want. It is stellar sharp. The IS works like a champ. You can, and I have, shoot an entire wedding with just this lens.
• EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS - Yup, this is a heavy and expensive piece of glass, but it is almost as important to have this as it is to have the first lens. The f/2.8 will save your life and the IS is second to none - I've successfully hand-held this on a 30D at 200mm and 1/60 - all because of the IS.
• I would trade in the 50 f/1.8 for the 50 f/1.4 - there is no comparison between these. The 1.8 will hunt like a madman in darker environs - making it almost worthless.
• Get a prime in the 28mm or 30mm range. This and the 50mm will cover you if your shorter zoom decides to go on strike and should have an f/1.4 aperture - nice for those very dark places where you can't use a flash!
• Get a macro lens as well. Either the EF-S 60mm f/2.8 or the EF 100 f/2.8 - there are so many little details that are nice to be able to offer the client and sometimes the only thing that can get them is a nice, very close focusing lens. The 100mm can provide backup for the 70-200, should it decide to go south on you.

As for the IS - yes, no question. If I have the choice between two other-wise equal lenses, the IS gets the nod. If you have it and don't need it you can turn it off. But if you need it and don't have it, you could miss the shot. And the IS on the 17-55 and on the 70-200 is good for at least 2 stops; some say more.

ssimmonsphoto

No raining at all, Scott! That's why I asked. I want to get better at the craft and be the best photographer that I can be. Not only for the business side of things, but also because I love it and actually teach it. So the more I know, the better off I am. I'm definitely working on investing more money in to my equipment as I have it. Fortunately I have already convinced my husband that it's worth the money, so now I'm just working on having the money to actually buy stuff with. Thank you so much for your vouching for the IS. I've played with IS lenses before and am intrigued by then. But wanted to get some input from you guys before I made the jump.

M.MoranPhotography

ssimmonsphoto wrote:

Hi, all. I'm a newbie around here and to weddings in general. I have already learned so much from all of you, but I'm a little overwhelmed with lens choices. I currently have a Canon EF 50mm 1:1.8 II, Canon EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 II, and Promaster AF 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 LD with an XT body. I just bought the 50mm last week and I'm loving it already, especially for the price. I have three weddings in the works for the summer and will be getting the Canon 50D once I have contracts for them signed. Given that I know I want a lens with a lower f/stop than most kits come with, I'm planning to get the body only and then a lens seperately. This is where I'm hoping y'all can give me some help.

Given my current lineup, what would you be in the market for if you were me? I do not plan to ever make my business my sole source of income (teaching is my "day job"), so I'm not looking to spend anything over than $750 and would rather spend much less than that. I also don't plan to upgrade the 50D for a very long time for the same reason.

Thanks so much for your help (especially if you made it this far in my message).

With two bodies, I would suggest either a Sigma 20mm f/1.8 (I hear it works well in the f/2.2-2.5 range), or the Canon 20mm f/2.8 prime lens, should save you a little trouble lens swapping, and in that case of using both primes, you'll always know what your framing will look like.

(and as a bonus, the sigma has a $40 rebate running until the 15th.)

I would also highly recommend a Canon 35mm f/2 for the natural 'portrait' look some wedding photographers yearn for.

And you might also like to keep in mind, the fact that the sigma prime lens has moderate macro capability, and I have used Nikons equivalent of the canon 35mm f/2 for detail shots at weddings, (yours will have a little bit higher magnification ratio) and it was worked very well for me in fulfilling that role :P.