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General discussion

Please help with lens choice for wedding day! :)

by smj587 Jun 12, 2008 2:16AM PDT

Hi, I'm relatively new to dslr ownership & photography. I've got a Canon XSi (aka 450D) with the 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS (kit) lens & a Canon 55-250mm f4-5.6 IS lens. My daughter will be a flower girl in a wedding on the fourth of July. The reception will be in the penthouse of a catering hall with great views of the Manhattan skyline and the fireworks display. I would love to be able to take just one lens with me to use all day on photos of the bride and her bridesmaids (and flower girls, of course!), through the wedding, reception and fireworks as well. I don't expect either of the lenses I currently have to do the trick, but I've got a couple of other lenses in mind; Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 28-135mm IS f3.5-5.6, & the Tamron 18-250 f3.5-6.3. In general, I like the idea of getting a "walk-around" lens with a wide range & plan to get one in addition to the 50mm eventually. So basically this question is which would be more versatile/practical for that day.
Alternatively (& much lighter in weight & bulk), I also have a Canon S5 IS camera. The idea of taking the S5 is tempting, since I'll be carrying whichever camera I take in my purse all day long(!), but I'm leaning more towards the XSi because of image quality.
Any helpful suggestions will be appreciated.
Thank you.

Discussion is locked

5 Posts
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questions
by kalel33-20416052469708587370302374692233 Jun 12, 2008 3:06AM PDT

What's the lighting going to be like in the penthouse? If it's lower light then the 50mm 1.4 will be a great choice. If the light will be good throughout, Sigma makes an 18-125mm OS lens that has looked really good so far, but it will need good light. Shoot in AV mode in the lowest aperture you can. Press halfway down on the shutter and check the shutter speed it sets. Most likely you will need to keep increasing the shutter speed until you get around 1/60 speed.

Remember that shooting in RAW will require you post process. The colors and sharpness won't look good until you do some work on it. Here is a good video tutorial that you can look at for a workflow.

http://www.nobsphotosuccess.com/tutorial/introtutwmv/introtutwmv.html

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EDIT
by kalel33-20416052469708587370302374692233 Jun 12, 2008 3:07AM PDT

I meant you will need to keep increasing the ISO until you reach the desired shutter speeds.

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Lighting
by smj587 Jun 12, 2008 3:17AM PDT

I assume the lighting in the penthouse will be typical catering hall lighting -- lower light.
I was just looking at Sigma lenses! I'll look closer at that one.
Thanks so much for taking the time to help. Happy

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well
by kalel33-20416052469708587370302374692233 Jun 12, 2008 3:24AM PDT

If it's catering hall light then the 50mm 1.4 will probably need to be used. Indoors is considered low light for cameras, most of the time. There are two other options: Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 at around $450 or the Canon 17-55mm f2.8, which is the best option, but runs a $1000. The Tamron is very nice, but will lose IS and not quite as fast as the Canon in autofocus. It will focus as fast as your 18-55mm.

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Thanks again
by smj587 Jun 12, 2008 3:38AM PDT

Unfortunately, I can't afford to spend $1000 on a lens at this time. I'm leaning more towards the 50mm right now. Happy

By the way, thanks for suggesting the video tutorial! I just starting watching it.

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