Need advice on Tamron SP 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD

[diwata]

Hi, I'm new in photography and now thinking of getting Tamron SP 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD lens for portrait shots, wedding particularly. I already have prime lens (50mm f1.8) but I need telephoto for events/weddings photography. My question is, can Tamron SP 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD do a good job? I've read lots of good reviews of this lens but I'm wondering why all the sample shots I found on the internet with this lens are only related to nature, animals, birds and so on. I could hardly find sample shots of this lens related to portrait esp weddings. The lens is already on the top of my list because it's affordable and I can't afford to buy 70-300mm f2.8 yet but will you recommend Tamron SP 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD lens for events/weddings photography? Your professional advise is highly appreciated.

BTW, I'm new in this forum and hope to meet new friends.

Diwata

 

[Derrel]

On an APS-C body, a slowish 70-300mm f/4 to f/5.6 lens is 1) narrow in angle of view and 2) very slow, aperture wise at longer focal lengths and 3) difficult to use for weddings held indoors except for tightly-framed shots.

Weddings often have many people, in close proximity to one another, and also close to the photographer. With a lens at 70mm on a 1.6x camera, you need to be like 25 feet away to shoot a full-length picture of a standing bride and groom, and at 85mm, you must be 34.5 feet away to get an 8.45 foot tall field of view. That means you MUUST be 7 to 12 meters away from the subjects...at that distance, bystanders can easily walk right between you and your subjects.

A 70-300 f/4~5.6 is a "slow" lens, and if the light is dimmer, you will need to use VERY high ISO levels, or flash. Outdoors, in good, bright light, it is handy, but it does lack the ability to do a group shot unless you back wayyyyyyyy up to 7 to 15 meters distant.

 

[diwata]

Thanks a lot Derrel for the reply. Yes, I remember I read on some reviews that this lens is weak on low light. This maybe the reason why I can't find any sample shots of this lens related to wedding. Well, I may have to invest on f2.8 or f1.8 lenses then. Is there any lens that, shall we say a "Must Have" for wedding or event photography? I just don't want to buy a lens then realize later on that it's not the one I need.

 

[jaomul]

Not sure if there is a must have crop Canon wedding lens. However tokina and sigma do an f2.8 starting at 50mm. The tokina is 50-135 and the sigma (which has a few versions) is 50-150mm. I had the tokina(Canon fit), lovely images but nit the fastest or quietest at focussing. Sigma has HSM which is quieter and faster. I can't say how good siggy is but I have just bought one, awaiting delivery, allbeit for a Nikon set up.

 

[diwata]

Wow, I just visited a good photos of events on Flick and I found these lenses were used:
24-70mm f2.8
16-35mm f/4
70-200mm f2.8
85mm f1.4

Do I really need to buy these lenses for events/weddings? Looks like I have to invest a lot of money for these lenses. Is there any lens that can do all or almost all of the job for events or at least a lens I can start with? Thank in advance.