Renting a second Canon body for a wedding

iolair · Jul 13, 2011

I've been asked to shoot a friend's wedding at the end of October (yeah, I know, I know ... first time wedding shooter etc ...) and I only have one camera body so I'm looking to rent a second camera body for the day/weekend as backup and to save swapping lenses so often (and asking my friend to cover the expense, even though I'm otherwise shooting the day for free/experience).

I'm trying to decide which would be the best additional body to rent, and would appreciate some thoughts. The options are really a 60D, 7D or 5DmkII. My regular camera is a 20D.

Regarding lenses of acceptable quality, I have a mix of EF-S (Canon 10-22mm, Canon 60mm Macro) and EF (Canon 28mm 2.8, 50mm 1.8, Jupiter 135mm 3.5) glass.
I'm not sure whether it would be better to go for a full-frame (for better low-light capabilities indoors with the high ISO performance) or crop (so I can use all of my lenses on either camera).

Also these Canon Digital SLR Camera Hire : Camera Rent look good as a rental option - anyone in the UK have experience with them or suggest alternatives.

I think I'm OK for lights - have three "other brand" flashes, stands, a couple of softboxes, and have practiced plenty with bounced flash.

Cheers,

Neil.

Raian-san · Jul 13, 2011

Oh no....I say 5d Mark II and a 70-200mm. You will need another lens as well. Are you getting paid for this?

tirediron · Jul 13, 2011

I agree with Raian; my 70-200 is my go-to wedding lens, especially if it's a church wedding where you can't get too close to the event. If it's an out-of-doors ceremony, or more informal style, than a 24-70 might be a better bet.

NikonME · Jul 13, 2011

I am not sure of the layouts and menus on Canon cameras or how much they differ from model to model, but just make sure that the layout is similar to what you are used to. You do not want to be fumbling around for settings at the wrong times.

Big Mike · Jul 13, 2011

The controls, the menus and a few other things, are quite a bit different on either of those cameras, than they are on your 20D. This could be a problem during a wedding, as you won't have time to flip through the manual. So if you do rent one of those bodies, I'd suggest getting familiar with it before hand. How you do that (without having to rent it for a whole week) I'm not sure....but it's something I'd strongly recommend.
Just this last weekend, I was shooting a wedding and borrowed a 5D, which is actually pretty close to my usual 20Ds...but it still took some time to familiarize myself with it.

As for which body to rent...I agree that getting the 5DII and a 70-200mm would be ideal...but you could certainly get by with any of the camera options. Heck, another option would be to just buy a used 20D, 30D, 40D etc...and then sell it (or your 20D) afterward (if buying it was over your budget in the first place).

fokker · Jul 13, 2011

Big Mike said:
The controls, the menus and a few other things, are quite a bit different on either of those cameras, than they are on your 20D. .

Really? I always thought all the xxD bodies were very similar in operation since they have the exact same control layout which is also the same on the 5D's (talking about the thumb wheel, the finger wheel and the little joystick thing, excuse me not knowing the correct terms). Granted I've only used a 40d, 5d and 5d mk2 and none of the older xxd bodies, but still... IIRC the 5d came out about the same time as the 20d so it would make sense that their controls are the same, and the 5d mk1 is basically identical in operation to the mk2, just with more features (but it's easy to work out how to do the basic stuff on the fly if you're familiar with the control layout).

Big Mike · Jul 13, 2011

Well, they're not vastly different in terms of the major controls...but there are definitely some differences. And the menu systems are different, which can be frustrating.

iolair · Jul 13, 2011

OK, well I can certainly download and study a manual plenty well enough in advance ... especially as I just got a message that the wedding's been postponed until May! I'm a bit of an addict to prime lenses ... although the 2/3 of a stop advantage and IS from the 70-200 (compared to my 135mm 3.5) certainly would make a difference indoors.