Doing some research on wedding/portrait photography equipment

chrisb2794 · Jul 10, 2007

Would this be a good all around lense for weddings and portraits?

Sigma 24-70 mm f/2.8 EX DF Lens for Nikon

The rest of my bag contains:

Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED VR
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6
Nikkor 18-55 Kit lense (it never sees any use)

What is the best (most versitile lense for weddings and portraits without breaking the bank? I've heard that the 17-55 f2.8 is good, but is it $1200 good?

Big Mike · Jul 10, 2007

Welcome to the forum.

For wedding photography...you will really benefit by having fast lenses...that means for zoom lenses, having a maximum aperture of F2.8. The ultra wide angle is is probably OK though...as it probably won't get used all that much.

The Sigma 24-70 F2.8 is a pretty good lens...but I'd personally find that it's not wide enough on a digital Nikon body. I'd recommend the 17-55 F2.8 or the Tamron 17-50 F2.8 or the Sigma 18-50 F2.8.

The 18-200 VR lens is said to be pretty good for an 11X zoom...but it's too slow for typical wedding work. I'd suggest the 70-200 F2.8 VR for a telephoto...but that's not cheap.

You might also consider having a really fast lens for times when you don't want to (or can't) use flash. Something in the F1.8 or F1.4 range.

chrisb2794 · Jul 10, 2007

Thanks for your response. So, adding the following lenses to my bag would put me in good/better shape?

Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC Macro - $419.99

Nikon 50mm f/1.4 D AF - $329.95

I hear what your saying about the 70-200VR, but I want the biggest bang for the buck. I think that my VR will be a suitable "candids" lens for know. Maybe a $1,700 lens is more down the road.

JIP · Jul 10, 2007

The best kit for a wedding photographer would be (and this is for Nikon) 17-55 2.8, 24-70 28 and, 70-200VR 2.8. I think the lens you named would be a good start but you will eventually need a good protrait lens and a good lens to use for those candids where you don't always have to be right on top of the people you are shooting.