What is a good lens for weddings?

[Emily_Ann]

I have a Canon 40D. My main lens is the Canon 28-135mm, and am wanting to add another lens to my kit.
What lens would you recommend for shooting indoor weddings?

 

[Iron Flatline]

That lens covers a long range on a 1.6x sensor. Unfortunately it's not particularly fast, meaning it has a relatively small aperture, esp. at the long end. Try out at a 50mm 1.4.

 

[bigtwinky]

There are a bunch of threads on this same subject that were posted in a few days ago. Try doing a search for "wedding lens" or something similar.

Alot comes down to budget, but wedding photography, specially indoors, requires fast glass, typically f/2.8 and under

Canon 24-70, 70-200, 17-55 are typically well used wedding lenses.

 

[UUilliam]

lens' for weddings vary, i hear of people shooting a wedding with just a 50mm or with a 28-125mm or with 75-300mm etc... even 28mm L series
as a wise man once told me,
"It isn't the lens that matters, once you learn to use all your lens' to their maximum potential you can use any lens for almost any purpose."

got that from a "what lens to use for weddings" topic on a nother forum i used to be part of not long ago, it was such a great little forum
but the guy who told me the above quote said that he just grabs a random few lens' when he goes to shoot a wedding, there is no set lens that he uses for it, and his results are 99% of the time, stunning

 

[JustAnEngineer]

Canon Wedding Lens Recommendations

How about the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM?

 

[CxThree]

I use my 17-55 F2.8IS and 70-200mm IS for the ceremony shots. Most churches are no flash allowed locations, so F2.8 is what I want. The 17-55 is good for the group shots afterwards too.

 

[JerryPH]

I do 30% of my indoor shots using the 85mm F/1.4 at apertures between F/1.4 and F/2.8. I use all the other lenses at higher ISO and F/2.8 for indoor weddings.

In reception halls I use off camera flash, ISO 800 and apertures at F/2.8 or numerically smaller.

It is just too dark not to have a camera with clean high ISO and fast glass at a wedding. Kit lenses... sorry, out of the question. To slow, and too poor a quality.

I suggest you do both a search here AND do a google. You will have enough material to spend a month reading it.

 

[gsgary]

here we go again, try looking at the 85mmF1.2

 

[bigtwinky]

Is this a normal trend on the forums when summer time hits? Being the wedding season and all, it seems that every day, we get the same "wedding" posts.

People getting their dSLRs at christmas, post up how to use it, then which lens, then how to shoot a wedding.

I guess the next step is seeing the same posters in the Buy/Sell section?

 

[CxThree]

Maybe there should be a wedding sticky post?

 

[KmH]

Nah, more people have to learn to use the search function,:lmao: and many never bother with the stickies either.

Everyone comes on here like they're the only person who has ever asked the question when in reality, as mentioned, many questions get asked several times a week, if not a day. :lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:

 

[CxThree]

True, but what's easier and more realistic? Post a sticky, or train the world?

 

[Mike_E]

You have to match the lens to the venue. If you are shooting in a large church a 28-70mm f/2.8 is the place to start.

Smaller rooms and you'll need to start at around 17/18-50/55mm.

Don't get anything higher than f2.8 if you can help it.

With larger rooms a 70/80-200mm f2.8 is good.

With smaller rooms you will have little use for one providing you are able to walk. (as it turns out Brides, their mothers and all of their girlfriends are all interested in the clothes they were wearing and if you shoot nothing but interesting light studies of their eyes and or other minutia they get ticked at you and call you bad things behind your back) ((but if you have done your due diligence then you will have asked a lot of reciently married women a lot of questions about what they liked and didn't like and a lot of older women the same thing. ))

 

[benjikan]

I would suggest a good zoom lens like the Tokina 16-50 or Tamron 28-75. Or any of the camera brand wide angle to short telephoto lenses. You don't want to be caught having to change lenses to get a candid shot.

Ben