Canon 5d Setup?

bethany138 · May 29, 2006

Hi,

I will possibly be purchasing a 5d and lens setup in the near future. Please give your opinions on lenses, etc.

I shoot weddings primarily but I also shoot models and bands (promotional work).

Thanks

Bethany

usayit · May 29, 2006

Whats your budget on the lens? Zooms or primes?

A lens that has been well received for the type of shooting you describe is the 24-70 f2.8 L. It should be make a nice companion to that 5D.

thebeginning · May 30, 2006

what did you shoot before? what lenses do you already have? How much are you willing to spend? It's difficult to suggest lenses without knowing this...you might already have some areas covered.

for weddings, the most popular combo is the 24-70 f2.8L coupled with the 70-200 f2.8L IS. sometimes photogs also like to have a 16-35 f2.8L on hand. that's just for zooms, though. zooms are USUALLY to most used for weddings, as they are so convenient and are very good nowadays. If you want primes for groups or portraits, consider the 35mm 1.4L for shallow DoF, the 35mm f2 for a budget version (it's incredibly good when stopped down to f4 or so), a 50mm prime, or an 85mm prime. since you'd be shooting full frame, the 50mm would be good for small groups and the 85mm would be great for both individuals and headshots. you can get the 85mm 1.8 (extremely good for the price - around $350) or the 'magical' 85mm 1.2L (very shallow DoF, especially on the 5d, but has very slow autofocus and is expensive at around $1300). I wouldn't recommend anything fancy for primes used in weddings. something too wide wouldn't come in that handy, especially on FF, and if you have a zoom that covers it that's pretty much all you'll need. it would also be silly to get a long prime like a 300 or 400mm, unless you know you can't get close to the 'stage' during the ceremony. then you'd probably rent.

for me, the ideal lens setup for weddings would be:

16-35 2.8L
24-70 2.8L
70-200 2.8L IS
35mm 1.4L
50mm 1.4
85mm 1.8

unfortunately that can get pricey...those would probably cost about $6k.

markc · May 30, 2006

Over 99% of what I shoot is either on the 50mm/1.4 or the 85mm/1.8 (both on EOS5/A2e and 10D), so I heartily agree on those recommendations. I haven't used any of the others so I can't comment on them, but I imagine having a big aperture zoom for weddings would be handy.

danalec99 · May 30, 2006

Yeah, what they said above.

If you are someone who'd want to shoot mostly with the available light, you'd want to get a lens which is f2.8 or faster, be it zoom or prime.

For a full frame body, my ideal set up for weddings would be:
35/1.4
50/1.4
85/1.2 II

If I were to get zooms, it would be:
16-35/2.8 and the 70-200/2.8
(Add the L's wherever necessary)

Right now, with the 1.6 crop factor (20D), I cover weddings (and everything else) with 50/1.4 and a 24/1.4.

danalec99 · May 30, 2006

thebeginning said:
85mm 1.2L (very shallow DoF, especially on the 5d, but has very slow autofocus and is expensive at around $1300)

They have the 85/1.2 II out, which is supposedly more responsive. I haven't heard/read the live reviews, yet.

bethany138 · May 30, 2006

Ok... sorry for not enough info. I am basically starting from scratch. I have been shooting with a Sony DSC 717 for about a year. I am actually getting the 5d now. YEAH! WHOO! Anyway... I prefer zooms...but I do a lot of portraits outside of my wedding biz. I love shallow DOF and I am dieing for sharper shots. Right now I have a fairly low budget for lenses....say 1500. I am looking at the 24-70 2.8L and the 50 mm 1.8. What do you think?

thebeginning · May 30, 2006

bethany138 said:
Ok... sorry for not enough info. I am basically starting from scratch. I have been shooting with a Sony DSC 717 for about a year. I am actually getting the 5d now. YEAH! WHOO! Anyway... I prefer zooms...but I do a lot of portraits outside of my wedding biz. I love shallow DOF and I am dieing for sharper shots. Right now I have a fairly low budget for lenses....say 1500. I am looking at the 24-70 2.8L and the 50 mm 1.8. What do you think?

ahh ok. you've done well for your equipment!

if you're starting from scratch, i'd say build a base first, then invest in more expensive 'accessory' lenses. How often do you use certain focal lengths? If you consistently shoot at the long end of the zoom range, the 24-70 will seem too short. 70mm isn't very long on FF. you may want to look around for budget lenses also, which can be VERY good. tamron's 28-75 2.8 is known to be the 'secret weapon' of many pros, because it is so cheap but still very good. I know of several photographers that have sold their 24- 70 for the tamron because they liked the tamron better. it is about $300 I think, so that might be something to look into. the only problem is the rather 'meh' short end. the 50mm 1.8 is a good idea. If I were just starting off with your budget and a 5d, I'd go with something like this:

larger kit, more 3rd party lenses
tamron 17-35 2.8-4 for ultrawide shots
tamron 28-75 2.8 for wide-short telephoto
canon 50mm 1.8 for shallow DoF/groups
sigma 70-200 2.8 EX for candid/longer telephoto work

smaller kit, canon lenses
canon 24-105mm f4L IS for wide-telephoto shots
canon 50mm 1.8 for shallow DoF/groups

both of those kits are around $1500.