What lens should I rent for 'club' setting shots

TenThirteen

Hello All -

I was asked last minute to shoot photos for a Birthday Party in a jazz club. I cannot use off camera lighting, but I can use flash. I have a Sigma 550EX flash and plenty of batteries. The place will most likely be crowded and dark :cry All the walls and ceilings are BLUE :huh

I will of course shoot in RAW, and I have a 10-22mm that I will use for some fun wide angle shots. But other than that the only other lens I have that would work in low light is a Nifty Fifty. I was going to rent a Sigma 30mm 1.4 but Tempe Camera doesn't have it available this weekend :cry

Should I get a 50mm 1.4 or would it not be a big enough performance difference? What are your other suggestions? I am open to whatever you think would perform well in the dark! lol

Thanks guys!!

Bryce Wilson

FWIW...I think the 50mm 1.4 would be perfect for this application.

r3t1awr3yd

Do you have flash cable to get the flash off of the body? I used to do that before I went wireless to keep the light interesting. A wide angle and something in between (24-70) make a great combo in lower lighting conditions.

TenThirteen

They have a 24-70 available, that was I was thinking my best choice but I wasn't sure... Bryce - Do you think the 50mm 1.4 would be THAT much of a difference to warrant renting it over using my 1.8 and renting something else?

r3t1awr3yd

Oh, and what body? I always find 50 f/1.8 to be a little long in coffee shops. I borrowed a friend's 35mm f/1.8 once and fell in love

TenThirteen

Canon T2i, 50mm 1.8, 10-22mm Wide Angle, 18-200mm IS and my flash is all I have right now. I am saving up for a used 7D and some GOOD lenses, lol. So now I just rent if I really need something better.

Bryce Wilson

If you have the 1.8 I wouldn't bother renting the 1.4. Go with the zoom, but make sure you bring your fifty with you because you will be able to get some nice non flash shots with it even in Jazz Club lighting.

DoctorIt

While the 50 1.4 and 1.8 are "fast" aperture-wise, they are both painfully slowly focusing lenses. Neither is particularly good for action even pro-level Canon bodies with better AF algorithms. The 24-70L (you are referring to a Canon L, right?) will focus much faster. Then again, manual focus for a club setting may be all you need. Just something to be aware of.

divamum

I use both the 50 1.4 and the 24-70 in poorly-lit performance situations (although not a jazz club). Since you can use flash, I think either will be fine - in fact, I second Bryce and would probably rent the 24-70 and use the 50 1.8 if you need a faster lens. As Erik rightly points out, the AF speed on the nifty fifty is, er, questionable sometimes, but the AF assist on the flash will help enormously with both speed of acquisition and accuracy and should make it much more useable.

Qarik

prime lens is a terrible idea for a club setting. think about space/movement constraints. you will wish you had a standard zoom.

catspaw

ditto on the Canon 50mm 1.4 being awfully slow on the focus, especially in the darker setting of a club.

perhaps the 35mm, depending on how crowded it is, size of rooms, size of club, etc.

Bryce Wilson

Qarik wrote: »

prime lens is a terrible idea for a club setting. think about space/movement constraints. you will wish you had a standard zoom.

I must disagree. While using a prime to photograph performers on stage at a jazz club would indeed be less than ideal, a fast prime used for posed photographs at a birthday party in that setting would be just dandy.

My mind tends to work in film/FX. On DX the 50mm might indeed be a bit long though.

divamum

Since she has the WA lens for those shots, the fast 50 will probably a bonus rather than an impediment.

I'm surprised people find the AF on the Canon 50 1.4 a problem. Mine isn't as zippy as some of my other Canon USM lenses, but I've found it responsive and mostly accurate in all kinds of lighting conditions. It is MUCH faster, quieter and more accurate than the 50 1.8 (although in some ways I like the "look" of the 1.8 better - just my preference - and my copy of the 1.8 was insanely sharp!). But again, even the 1.8 should be useable with the AF focus assist the flash will offer.

TenThirteen

Thanks everyone for the advice, I am going to rent the 24-70L and bring my 50mm and the 10-22mm and I think I should be ok. While I am sure I will snap a few shots, I am not there to take pics of the performers, just the birthday party. I am well used to working with different prime set-ups, so I think I should be able to get some nice shots with the 50. Hopefully! lol

Toshido

Personally I found a 50mm on the 50D with a flash to work great in a small club setting. Whether candids or stage show.
Taken in a small black painted club. I certainly did need the flash's focus assist though.

Stage show:


Candids at your table:


Or dancing: