Big Shoot Tomorrow

[sactown024]

Hey everyone,

I made a post about this awhile ago but tomorrow is the day I shoot a family of 12. I just got a Canon 7D and it came with the 18-135 lens, before I bought this camera my plan was just to use the 50mm 1.8 but now I am not sure if I would be better off using the kit lens. This lens is much better than i thought it would be for a kit lens.

I will be shooting outside, it is suppose to be nice and sunny tomorrow and ill be shooting at 11am. What lens would you use? There are kids involved so I dont have a lot fo time to be switching lens back and forth.

 

[thetrue]

Use the kit lens, much better range and with that much light, there's no need to shoot wide open

 

[sactown024]

Thanks, will it be just as sharp?

 

[KmH]

The bokeh quality the inexpensive Canon 50 f/1.8 delivers sucks, because of the 5 straight, sharp edged lens aperture blades it has.

That lens' bokeh is often termed - nervous, gittery, and fraught with CA.

Used within the range of lens apertures that are in it's 'sweet spot', and using an appropriate shutter speed, the 18-135 mm will focus sharply.

 

[sactown024]

what is considered the sweet spots?

 

[Tee]

Generally 2 stops from your widest. However, since you're photographing 12 people, I'd assume you'll be at the f/8 range which is safe and good.

Here's some more info: Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS - Review / Lab Test Report - Analysis

 

[KmH]

what is considered the sweet spots?

It depends on which lens you are referring to.
How long have you had the lenses? Determining the range of a lens' sharp focus 'sweet spot' is one of the first things you would want to know about any lens you have.
Understanding Camera Lenses
Camera Lens Quality: MTF, Resolution & Contrast

But at least 2 stops down from wide open for most inexpensive 50 mm f/1.8 lenses is needed to find the beginnings of sharp focus. Stopping down is not as needed for slow f/3.5-5.6 kit lenses.

The other ends of the sweet spot is determined by the diffraction characteristics of what ever lens you are using. Diffraction Limited Photography: Pixel Size, Aperture and Airy Disks

The reason for that is that wide open, more of the edge area of a f/1.8 lens is used then the edge area of a f/3.5-5.6 lens.

This is all basic, fundamental lens info.

Other information you need to know - Tutorials – Sharpness
Guide to Image Sharpening
Sharpening Using an Unsharp Mask
Local Contrast Enhancement

 

[Derrel]

Use the kit zoom. It'll be fine. Stop down to f/6.3 to f/7.1 to make SURE you have some depth of field!!!