Equipment advice

[Steel26]

Ok so this fall I am going to be shooting my first wedding. Ive done portrait stuff and I know my way around the camera very well. I am not worried about my performance because of that and they aren't expecting much. The main reason I am shooting is for still candid shots to go into the video.

My main questiong is what equipement will i need for the wedding. you can read what I have right now in my sig. I know that a 18-70 2.8 vr, 70-200 2.8 vr, 12-24mm, 10.5mm fisheye, 100mm macro, d200, 2 4gb flash, sb-600 speedlight ect ect would be optimal but I just dont have that kind of $. I am looking at getting a d80 with the 18-200mm vr, sb-600 speed light, and a couple flash cards. Is there anything that I should get instead of this. Will I be able to do a reasonable job with the lens. The only thing I'm worried about is that it doesn't have the fixed aperture and it doesn't go down to 2.8. But unless I really squeeze i cant get the 18-70 2.8.

I don't know I would just be interested in hearing some pros opinions.

 

[JIP]

First of all it is an 18-55 2.8 not 18-70. If you are going out and buying this new I would have to say DO NOT BUY THE 18-200 it is not a good lens for a wedding and in my opinion not a good lens in general. If you want a good VR lens with some range go with the 24-120 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/277219-USA/Nikon_2145_24_120mm_f_3_5_5_6G_ED_IF_AF_S.html and buy a SB-600 for your camera. Really you could get away with a couple of fast primes like a 24 2.8 for $300 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/66980-USA/Nikon_1919_Wide_Angle_AF_Nikkor.html and an 85 1.8 for $400 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/84151-USA/Nikon_1931_Telephoto_AF_Nikkor_85mm.html and pay about wht you will pay for the 18-300 and get 2 MUCH better lenses.

 

[Steel26]

sry i meant the 28-70mm not vr. I had always heard that the 18-200mm vr was amazing. but you say having a couple good primes is better.

 

[JIP]

It is more that having a faster lens is better and if you are considering spending $700+ on the 18-200 you would be better off using that money on a couple of fast primes if that is the kind of money you are considering spending.

 

[EOS_JD]

Tamron 17-50 f2.8
Sigma 70-200 f2.8
SB600

Primes - Keep the 50mm f1.8 and use when required. Use 2 bodies with the 17-50 on one and the 70-200 on the other.

 

[Garbz]

www.photozone.de The 18-200 is not very sharp, has massive distortion at the wide, and chromatic abberation out the whazoo on the telephoto end. It's a great all around lens. But like all large zoom lenses it can be beaten by everything else. I bought the 18-70mm. It was half the price and is sharper in many areas.

For wedding you will need a fast lens, not VR. VR freezes camera shake. You will need to freeze people. No matter how good VR is, you'll do better with a 80-200mm f/2.8 then a 18-200 f3.5/whatever VR.

 

[RVsForFun]

...I need a lens on the wide end rather than super fast. My lenses have the equivalent of VR (it's called IS in Canons) and it's my opinion that camera shake is more obivious than people shake. Since I rarely shoot wide open, the absolute widest lens isn't as important as usable zoom range, starting at the wide end. I rarely use a super telephoto at a wedding, although I have a 70-200L. I use it for back-of-church shots during the ceremony. Otherwise, the wide zooms are far more useful for me.

I'd say don't worry so much about the telephoto end of a lens collection; get a sharp, CA-free wider zoom for group shots and close-ups of people.

Isn't it interesting the different approaches we all have?

 

[JIP]

...I need a lens on the wide end rather than super fast. My lenses have the equivalent of VR (it's called IS in Canons) and it's my opinion that camera shake is more obivious than people shake. Since I rarely shoot wide open, the absolute widest lens isn't as important as usable zoom range, starting at the wide end. I rarely use a super telephoto at a wedding, although I have a 70-200L. I use it for back-of-church shots during the ceremony. Otherwise, the wide zooms are far more useful for me.

I'd say don't worry so much about the telephoto end of a lens collection; get a sharp, CA-free wider zoom for group shots and close-ups of people.

Isn't it interesting the different approaches we all have?

I think you are saying fast lenses are not necessary and if that is the case you are wrong. Fast=large glass=shaper lenses also fst glass is required for weddings because you never know when you will run into a church that absolutelt not allow flash and with this it is necesarry to use a faster lens to be able to shoot in lower natural light. It is always better to get the fastest lens you can possibly get.

 

[RVsForFun]

While I own the Canon f/2.8 70-200L lens, none of my other lenses are that fast. As a matter of manufacturing, faster/larger glass elements are actually harder to manufacture accurately than smaller ones. As the glass edges get larger, so do the errors. It's one of the reasons faster glass is more expensive. Even though I have the fastest lens in the 70-200mm range that Canon makes, I rarely shoot wide open. Lenses are at their worst (resolution/sharpness wise) wide open and stopped down completely. I'd rather raise the ISO than shoot wide open. BTW, I never shoot flash during weddings, even if allowed; it makes for bad lighting in my experience. For my shooting style, I usually shoot f/8 as I use flash whenever not shooting a natural light ceremony. My cameras focus fine with my f/3.5 lenses, are light weight and have IS.

I think you are saying fast lenses are not necessary and if that is the case you are wrong. Fast=large glass=shaper lenses also fst glass is required for weddings because you never know when you will run into a church that absolutelt not allow flash and with this it is necesarry to use a faster lens to be able to shoot in lower natural light. It is always better to get the fastest lens you can possibly get.

 

[JIP]

I am not saying anything about how you shoot I am just addressing aperture as a measure of the quality of a lens. I understand that ideally you do not want use a flash at a wedding but there are alot of situations where you do not have a choice.

 

[EOS_JD]

www.photozone.de The 18-200 is not very sharp, has massive distortion at the wide, and chromatic abberation out the whazoo on the telephoto end. It's a great all around lens. But like all large zoom lenses it can be beaten by everything else. I bought the 18-70mm. It was half the price and is sharper in many areas.

For wedding you will need a fast lens, not VR. VR freezes camera shake. You will need to freeze people. No matter how good VR is, you'll do better with a 80-200mm f/2.8 then a 18-200 f3.5/whatever VR.

I take it you don't do many weddings?

VR (or IS as I use) is vitally important for many wedding photographers nowadays. Handholding at 1/100th is easily fast enough to stop your subjects but shooting at 200mm you'd get camera shake.....

IS allows me to shoot at much lower shutter speeds than would normally be permitted.

My 70-200 f2.8L IS is glued to one body the whole day. My other IS lens may get switched with a prime though should the needs arise. During a ceremony when the subjects are pretty still, I can still get sharp images at 1/30th sec & 200mm..... Try that without IS.

 

[EOS_JD]

...I need a lens on the wide end rather than super fast. My lenses have the equivalent of VR (it's called IS in Canons) and it's my opinion that camera shake is more obivious than people shake. Since I rarely shoot wide open, the absolute widest lens isn't as important as usable zoom range, starting at the wide end. I rarely use a super telephoto at a wedding, although I have a 70-200L. I use it for back-of-church shots during the ceremony. Otherwise, the wide zooms are far more useful for me.

I'd say don't worry so much about the telephoto end of a lens collection; get a sharp, CA-free wider zoom for group shots and close-ups of people.

Isn't it interesting the different approaches we all have?

Yes we all have different styles. wouldn't swap my 70-200 f2.8L IS for anything. My most used lens at a wedding I think. I shoot wide open a lot too.