Wedding lens choice?

[JAC526]

So I am going to a friend of ours wedding tomorrow.

I'm not shooting in any professional capacity...just for fun. Hopefully I'll get some good stuff at the reception that the bride and groom will like.

I have a 24mm and a 50mm fixed length lens as well as a 14-45 zoom kit lens....

I am only going to bring one lens....which one should it be?

I'm leaning towards the kit lens just for the flexibility of zoom.

Thanks,

Joe

 

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

Where is it and what time of day?

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Rent a 70-200mm 2.8.

 

[JAC526]

It is an evening wedding...most of the shots will take place in a standard wedding reception hall environment.

I would love to rent a lens but probably not going to happen.

 

[katerolla]

since the 14-45 zoom kit lens covers the range of a 24mm and a 50mm fixed length lens the choice should be simple
although you didn’t say what f stop the 50 is it might be a better choice for low light
24 might be a little too wide

 

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

Well unless you are close enough to use flash effectively, and you may not want to for the nuisance factor ( if there is in fact also going to be a professional photographer there as well ) I would go with the 50mm. Although if its tight quarters, you may want to go with the 24 ( I am assuming these are fast primes f/1.8 or better )

 

[shootermcgavin]

Do you have a decent flash, your built in flash will be useless... from experience. I used my 60D for an outdoor wedding and it was great there, but once the reception started it was useless I told myself I would never buy a flash but my 580 should be here any day now... I personally like Bitters idea, maybe you can stop at the camera store and ask to use one to see if you want to purchase it... I'm planning on doing that tomorrow.

 

[Big Mike]

I think it will depend on what you want to shoot. If you are just shooting other guests and/or the B&G from close range, then any of those lenses would be fine. If you really don't know which on to take, then bits the bullet and take them all. It would be a perfect time to test out all your lenses. But either way, if it's a typical wedding hall, you'll need to use flash for practically every shot. So if you don't have a flash that can bounce, it will be hard to get creative.

 

[JAC526]

Thanks for all the input.

The camera is a micro 4/3rds so I think I'd have to go with the 24mm if I go prime just b/c of the crop factor? 50mm will be too much.

Unfortunately the wedding is out of town...I'm leaving to drive there in about an hour.

And yes the kit lense f/5.6 maybe f/4? Can't remember.

The primes go down to f/1.4

 

[Robin Usagani]

take the 24

FYI 24 and 35 are the 2 fav. lenses for weddings. If I had to shoot a wedding and I can only bring 1 lens, it is probably my 35L.

 

[JAC526]

Thanks Schwetty....I figured if I was taking a prime it would be the 24.

the only thing I worry about is no autofocus on the primes....do you guys think this is a legitimate issue?

Thanks,

 

[Kerbouchard]

Thanks Schwetty....I figured if I was taking a prime it would be the 24.

the only thing I worry about is no auto focus on the primes....do you guys think this is a legitimate issue?

Thanks,

Uhm, yes. I think most of us assumed you could auto focus with all of your lenses.

Basically, if you want any kind of consistently decent shots, you will need a camera body that can shoot at ISO 1600 with minimal noise, you will need a flash that you can bounce, and you will need a lens that will auto focus quickly with an aperture of 2.8 or greater.

If you can't swing that, just bring your kit lens, use direct on camera flash dialed down to about -2 exposure compensation and go from there.

 

[analog.universe]

Thanks Schwetty....I figured if I was taking a prime it would be the 24.

the only thing I worry about is no autofocus on the primes....do you guys think this is a legitimate issue?

Thanks,

That entirely depends on how comfortable you are focusing manually. My two most used lenses are manual focus only, I chose optical quality over convenience when selecting them, so for me it's not an issue. However, when I was first learning to manual focus I missed a lot of shots. I've since gotten better, but there's always room to grow. Also relevant is what aperture you plan on shooting... Micro 4/3 makes the need for accurate focus slightly less important because of the greater depth of field, and shooting a tighter aperture will also give you additional leeway.

 

[Valtheri]

Tell me, does it matter 18-105mm lens for better lighting of the photos (ISO), or only has the best zoom in. What are the difference between 18-55mm and 18-105mm in detail. Please tell me.