Hello PF & Wedding Candid Kit Advice

Serchaing · Mar 29, 2012

Hello PF peoples, I'm a an amateur photog who really just got started last year. I've used an SLR camera before but this is my first DSLR, and the first time I can say I really understand the basics of photography. I'm having fun trying everything out from macro to video. In May my Sister is getting married. She has hired a professional photographer but has asked that I bring my camera along to take candid shots. I own a Canon 60D with the kit 18-135mm IS lens and a 50mm f/1.8 prime. This seems an excellent excuse to rent and try some new gear! I plan to rent the gear once to learn how to use it and again for the wedding if I can't afford it outright. Any advice regarding the following kit for the event or candid wedding technique would be much appreciated.

Here's the gear I'm looking at...http://www.borrowlenses.com/product/canon_flash/Canon_Speedlite_580_EXII
The wedding, weather permitting, will be held outside. I don't have any experience with a big boy flash but figure to use it for fill light and shadow reduction outside. If the weather goes bad it's there for indoors as well. Maybe, the 580 is over the top? I've also heard that RF controlled flashes are coming out. Regardless, I need to learn how to use a proper flash.
http://www.borrowlenses.com/product/canon_standard/Canon_24-70mm_f2.8_L
I think this may be the only lens needed, though the x1.6 crop on 60D remains a question. Is the quality compromised? It becomes a 38-112. Should I find a wider angle lens for candid shots? Don't think I'll be able to afford this lens but I'm dying to try it! I'm looking to use
http://www.borrowlenses.com for rental.

Happy Shooting!

Overread · Mar 30, 2012

Serchaing - I think you copy/pasted the post from a site that used a different format for posting than we do here and as a result your thread was displaying wrong and got autoblocked by our spam blockers. I've reformatted the thread content to display correctly and approved the post.

Big Mike · Mar 30, 2012

Welcome aboard.

I would recommend renting the 580EX flash, it's a great unit....and if you're going to be shooting with flash outdoors on a bright day, you will need all the power you can get.

The 24-70mm F2.8 is a nice lens, big and heavy though. I don't really like the range you'll get on your camera though. It won't 'become' a 38-112mm....but the field of view would be equivalent to what a 38-112mm would give you on a 35mm lens. I would want a wider lens, especially indoors. It might be good outdoors, maybe not long enough. One of my most used lenses for an outdoor wedding is the 70-200mm F2.8.

Serchaing · Mar 30, 2012

Thank you for the reformat

My script blocker was causing havok. I cut and pasted my post to word to save it and ended up with all the strange formatting. Script blocker is now fixed.