Question about lens for indoor wedding shots
May 21, 2014 15:54:40 #
Beercat wrote:
Update ........
I took 3 pictures, same subject, same frame, camera was on a tripod. I kept the room dark, darker than a mission shoot. I made sure the 3 pictures had exact light compensation and the same sample location for the white balance. Not a bunch of difference between 3200 and 6400 but once I went to 12800 there was a large grain difference and the color tones went completely wacky.
I took 3 pictures, same subject, same frame, camera was on a tripod. I kept the room dark, darker than a mission shoot. I made sure the 3 pictures had exact light compensation and the same sample location for the white balance. Not a bunch of difference between 3200 and 6400 but once I went to 12800 there was a large grain difference and the color tones went completely wacky.
I just read many reviews on the 70D high ISO capabilities. The more conservative reviews agree that there is no noise up to 400 ISO. A bit of noise but still very good up to 1600 ISO. Above 1600 and the quality starts to go down quickly, there appears to be another big jump when you go above 6400.
From my findings I think I'll program the camera to not shoot above 1600 ISO unless I manually do it.
1600 ISO is probably a good bench mark to use when selecting a lens for low light.
May 21, 2014 16:35:14 #
Well I've narrowed it down on the lens question.
The 'kit' lens that I have is a 18-135mm STM 3.5-5.6
The lens that best accommodates what I don't have for weddings would be the Canon EF-S 17-55mm IS USM.
On my cropped sensor this would be 28-88mm, a fine addition and will buy me about 1 2/3 stops of light.
Thank you again for all your advice :thumbup:
The 'kit' lens that I have is a 18-135mm STM 3.5-5.6
The lens that best accommodates what I don't have for weddings would be the Canon EF-S 17-55mm IS USM.
On my cropped sensor this would be 28-88mm, a fine addition and will buy me about 1 2/3 stops of light.
Thank you again for all your advice :thumbup:
May 21, 2014 16:45:08 #
Ob1
Loc: Utah
I have the 5D Mark lll and the 70-200 2.8 L it is all you will need to do the wedding. I have several others 50 mm 1.2 and 85 1.2 but the main lens I always use at weddings is the 70-200 Cannon. I have tried several other brands and they are good but the quality difference is noticeable. Just my 2 cents.
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May 21, 2014 17:03:23 #
Ob1 wrote:
I have the 5D Mark lll and the 70-200 2.8 L it is all you will need to do the wedding. I have several others 50 mm 1.2 and 85 1.2 but the main lens I always use at weddings is the 70-200 Cannon. I have tried several other brands and they are good but the quality difference is noticeable. Just my 2 cents.
Keep in mind I'm using a cropped sensor. That 70-200 is equivalent to a 115-320 on my 70D.
My 18-135mm is the equivalent to a 26-215mm. The optics are fine though I would like something faster to use close up during the ceremony, thus the lens I'm looking at, will hold 2.8 at 88mm on my camera.
May 21, 2014 17:27:36 #
Even though a camera is capable of 12800 ISO, I wouldn't go there. In tests, it hurts the pic quality too much. And, very few lenses have an almost straight line aperture at wide open zoom. But, your camera with your 18-135 should be just fine for weddings. Try a dry run through a relative dark bldg & see how you do. Once again, turn up your exposure comp after about an 800-1200 ISO. Even My 5D III needs this to come thru in low light bldgs.
May 21, 2014 17:41:57 #
ecar wrote:
Even though a camera is capable of 12800 ISO, I wouldn't go there. In tests, it hurts the pic quality too much. And, very few lenses have an almost straight line aperture at wide open zoom. But, your camera with your 18-135 should be just fine for weddings. Try a dry run through a relative dark bldg & see how you do. Once again, turn up your exposure comp after about an 800-1200 ISO. Even My 5D III needs this to come thru in low light bldgs.
That is the plan. Going to go do a dry run at a dark mission. I've set my auto ISO to not go above 1600 and my shutter to not go below 1/60, a safe number when I'm using the 18-135 (219mm on my 70D) with IS on.
If I need to go out of that range I want to be alerted to that fact before I just shoot away.
Thank you
BTW, the 18-135 STM is a solid lens with decent specs. No it isn't a $2000 piece of glass but still an honest lens to use as a walk around ........... IMO
May 21, 2014 19:48:00 #
Beercat wrote:
I figure the 86-150 mm range will work well sitting on the front row area or off to the side a bit.
I figure the 86-150 mm range will work well sitting on the front row area or off to the side a bit.
There are those who will take a shot at me for saying this, but.....
If YOU aren't' 'THE PHOTOGRAPHER', then it would be a lot better if you just sat yourself down and be there for the B&G.
Don't be the guy in the photo halfway down the page.
http://www.digitalweddingforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=376032&page=2&p=4574597&highlight=uncle%20bob#post4574597
And if you *ARE* 'THE PHOTOGRAPHER', then 'Good Luck, and God help you'. 'Cuz you're gonna need it.
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May 21, 2014 21:37:53 #
GaryS1964
Loc: Northern California
Since you are a pro, will be doing more weddings, you can write it off why not just go for the 5DMKiii and be done with it. Then any of the Canon 2.8L lenses would work great with a reasonably high ISO. Rent any you don't already own until you find the one(s) you use the most then buy them. You can go the refurb route if you want to save a few bucks. Canon offers the same one year warranty on refurbs as they do on new cameras and lenses.
May 21, 2014 22:35:13 #
BigBear wrote:
I shot a wedding earlier this month. Even though you would like a 2.8 lens, you still want to shoot at f/8 or higher to get your DOF which required me to use flash.
I shot with a 50D and a 24-105 f/4, ISO 100 and 580ex set for ETTL.
My shots were so much better than someone shooting the same shots with a 70D and a 50mm 1.8.
I shot with a 50D and a 24-105 f/4, ISO 100 and 580ex set for ETTL.
My shots were so much better than someone shooting the same shots with a 70D and a 50mm 1.8.
ocbeyer wrote:
Nothing keeping you from stopping down the 50 and mounting a flash.
The point I was trying to make is that a fast lens is not necessary if using flash. And most venues don't have enough available light to shoot without losing DOF, so flash is needed with a smaller aperture to get the DOF that is desirable.
I would love to have the 5D mark III, and I would still be using the same lenses with the flash for the same reason I stated above.
May 22, 2014 02:22:10 #
Bram boy
Loc: Vancouver Island B.C. Canada
BigBear wrote:
The point I was trying to make is that a fast lens is not necessary if using flash. And most venues don't have enough available light to shoot without losing DOF, so flash is needed with a smaller aperture to get the DOF that is desirable.
I would love to have the 5D mark III, and I would still be using the same lenses with the flash for the same reason I stated above.
I would love to have the 5D mark III, and I would still be using the same lenses with the flash for the same reason I stated above.
your forgetting a lot of most churches you can't fire a flash in church when the priest is marring a couple it's not allowed and you eill be thrown out
May 22, 2014 03:35:49 #
GaryS1964
Loc: Northern California
BigBear wrote:
The point I was trying to make is that a fast lens is not necessary if using flash. And most venues don't have enough available light to shoot without losing DOF, so flash is needed with a smaller aperture to get the DOF that is desirable.
I would love to have the 5D mark III, and I would still be using the same lenses with the flash for the same reason I stated above.
I would love to have the 5D mark III, and I would still be using the same lenses with the flash for the same reason I stated above.
I'm not a pro however I do take photos of my grandchildren in plays and dance recitals and flash is prohibited. My lenses are not fast. However I bump up the ISO and slow the shutter speed down to around 100 and I have sufficient DOF. Since there isn't much movement during the ceremony and what movement there is is usually slow you might be able to get away with a slower shutter speed. Plus you can shoot when there is no motion.
Many of my shots require PP to fix underexposure but I'm able to shoot a play or dance recital which has less available light than most churches I've been in and get good results. This technique works better with my 5DMKiii than it did with my 7D because the 5DMKiii handles low light better than the 7D.
I don't know what DOF you are looking for but I'm able to get all the participants front to back plus the background scenery in focus. My maximum aperture ranges from 4 to 5.6 unless I'm using my 24-105 which is fixed at 4.
Having said all that, and I don't mean to be rude, but you seem to have a defeatist attitude. If the venue allows flash then problem solved. If it doesn't then you have to make due with the tools you have and given that you seem to have placed a high priority on DOF then a camera that does well in low light seems to be the only variable you can change.
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May 22, 2014 15:02:03 #
GaryS1964
Loc: Northern California
Check out this article. http://digitalprotalk.blogspot.com/2012/04/test-driving-new-tamron-28-300mm-vc.html
May 22, 2014 15:14:09 #
Reading all the discussion hammers home that even the very best, most expensive lens, & camera's available, doesn't come close to the human eye!
Anyway, it's hard to keep good Depth of field with a low aperture. And it's hard to keep the light up in a low light setting w/ a lower aperture. Throw your camera on shutter priority, & your adjusting the settings frequently. Program Auto is a compromise, & some like the aperture priority. And then, flash photography can wash out the colors. Since each setting is different, experience rules, and practice is essential!
And how can you keep a great DOF besides aperture?
Anyway, it's hard to keep good Depth of field with a low aperture. And it's hard to keep the light up in a low light setting w/ a lower aperture. Throw your camera on shutter priority, & your adjusting the settings frequently. Program Auto is a compromise, & some like the aperture priority. And then, flash photography can wash out the colors. Since each setting is different, experience rules, and practice is essential!
And how can you keep a great DOF besides aperture?
May 22, 2014 15:17:30 #
May 22, 2014 16:36:39 #
GaryS1964
Loc: Northern California
GaryS1964 wrote:
Check out this article. http://digitalprotalk.blogspot.com/2012/04/test-driving-new-tamron-28-300mm-vc.html
BTW - Tamron has announced a new and improved version of this lens. No release date or price has been announced.
http://www.tamron-usa.com/news/35mm/28300_A010_feb14.asp
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