help! lens and general advice needed!

cdub

Hi everyone,

I'm not a pro, but I like to think I know my way around a camera. That said, I have been presented with my biggest challenge to date.

I've been asked to follow and shoot a political leader's visit to my city in a few days. I will be following him to a luncheon, various photo opps, and finally a fundraiser dinner. I took some photos recently that were well regarded by his team and largely because I'm a volunteer, they asked me to take this on. I'll fly solo on this project, and will have access in and above what the media get.

What I need help with is lenses, and also any general advice you can give for any of the unpredictable circumstances that may arise. I'm shooting with a 5D mark II and currently only a 24-105 F4 L IS lens. I'm thinking that at the indoor opportunities, such as the luncheon and the evening fundraiser, I'll need to have a much faster lens - like a 50 1.2 L, or another fast prime. I will certainly rent one for this... Question is, which one? The 135 might make sense, but I might need a wider angle due to proximity...

Can anyone offer any insight? If anyone has ever shot under conditions like this, or fulfilled a shoot like this, I would definitely appreciate hearing any and all advice. Thank you in advance!
:huh

divamum

I recently shot in VERY dark circumstances with the usm 85 1.8 and it performed extremely well. Here's the thread http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=125384 which shows the truly horrendous lighting and what the lens managed to do despite conditions.

Will you not be able to use flash at the dinner etc? I'd have thought if you're allowed, that would be the way to go, but I'm still da n00b - hopefully some of the more experienced journalist and "functions" types can chime in on appropriate protocols and gear.

Congrats on landing the gig!

catspaw

A 50mm will do you very well -- and you'll need the wider angle it gives you for group shots. I suspect it's those group/handshake shots that they want the most from you too. Definitely be clear about those!

Having said that, I *adore* my 85mm but I think it'll crop up too tight for your needs.

divamum

Btw, OP - you may want to investigate both the 50 1.4 and the 1.2 - I've read that many people actually PREFER the image quality on the 1.4, plus the DOF gives you a tiny bit more leeway... I don't have either lens (sob - on my list!) but in researching them, I came across this opinion more than once....

aktse

cdub wrote:

I'm shooting with a 5D mark II and currently only a 24-105 F4 L IS lens.

I wouldn't see why you would need a 50mm unless you going for a very shallow DOF or a room that's candle lit. With the 5dMKII, you're going to do well with high ISO and natural light.

I think it really depends on the shot that you want to get...

I would suggest the 16-35 f/2.8 if you want wide shots of the room.
I would suggest a 70-200 f/2.8 if you are standing a bit further way
I would suggest the 50 f/1.4 (sigma or canon) you're in darkness or need/want the shallow DOF. However, this range is already covered with your 24-105.

As for following a politician around town, check out the photos from Adam Tow. He followed Colorado's Jared Polis around town during week before the election in November and recorded it in this gallery. Polis was elected to the US Congress on November 2008 and he's one of the two freshman featured on the CNN political pages.

Adam shot with two bodies and stuck with a few lenses including the 135mm if I remember correctly. However, he didn't have the high ISO capabilities of the 5dMkII...

ChatKat

New Years
I shot a high end event on New Years Eve and the 24-105 just didn't give me enough light even at 1600 iso on my 5d (original).

I had the 50 1.2 with me but it was not wide enough for the room - an upscale country club. I agree with Aktse re the lens choice. The 24-105 is generally my favorite lens but in low light the wide focal length the 16-35 gives you a bit of play with shutter speed to let it a bit more light and the 2.8 on the 16-35 is a full stop brighter too. I actually added it to the lens collection after the event. You can probably cover the full event nicely with the 70-200 2.8is and the 16-35. I'd have the 24-105 handy for the outdoor stuff and the 50 1.2 in my bag.

Hackbone

The Mark II does very nice at high ISO's. If you are able to use flash and have two set up one on a slave or radio remote and aim at the ceiling to open up the room. Makes a big difference. I think a 17-35 would serve you nicely if the room is tight on the groups.

jeffreaux2

I agree with Kathy,

16-35 and 70-200.

RBrogen

Agree w/Jeff and Kathy . I have 3 of the 4 lenses mentioned (16-35, 24-105 and 70-200) and love them. My only concern with the fludity of this type of gig is that you won't have time typically to swap lenses out so you really need 2 bodies. The 70-200 you'll need much greater distance to achieve AF and these types of events wind up putting you within 5 to 10 feet of the shot so you may run into a problem there (I would do some test shots from close range and see how it works). I shot a similar event and used the 24-105 on the 5D MKII and the 70-200 mounted on my original 5D and that provided me the felxibility I needed in that situation. Good luck and can't wait to see the results.