Telephoto Primes for Weddings

[AdamJT]

I was just curious how many of you use telephoto primes during the course of a wedding. It seems the 70-200 zooms are most popular but I am sure some of you use primes for the longer reach shots. What lenses do you use and how often during the wedding?

Could you post a few of your favorite shots?

I am considering getting a longer focal length lens and would like to compare what others are using. The main two that I am considering are the 135 2.0L and the 200 2.8L mostly for cost control reasons versus the 70-200 zooms. Any recommendations?

[ssim]

There are two primes that I use with any sort of frequency at weddings and that is the 135 f/2.0 and the 85 f/1.2. Both are excellent lenses though the 85 does not focus as fast as I would like but it makes up for it in image quality. The high quality zoom lenses provide for very good shots and I have printed some of my shots up to 24X30 from them and they were outstanding. If you are a pixel peeper and you want to look at them from the perspective of trying to find something wrong with them you probably will. If you want to view the images the way a standard wedding image would be seen, in an album up to 8X10 or smaller or on a wall or bookcase display they will work just fine.

The one thing that I particularly like about the primes I mentioned is the sweet bokeh that you can get from them. It really is hard to beat.

[tim]

I personally wouldn't use a long prime, the 70-200 IS is great. I do use a 50mm F1.4 prime sometimes, when I want a small DOF.

[cwphoto]

85mm f/1.2 L for low light and/or extreme narrow DoF look. I find it 10x more versatile than the 135 as it gives you effectively at least two extra stops of hand-hold-ability.

The new 50 looks interesting too.

[Yella Fella]

i gotta try one of these 85mm L's ;)

[AdamJT]

Hi and thanks for the replys.

I know that the 70-200 2.8IS is a great lens and may be my ideal lens too. The only problem is the $$$. i would really like to stay under a $1000 for a lens with some reach. That's why I was looking at the 135 and 200.

Does anyone have a few wedding shots that they may have taken specifically with one of those lenses?

[cwphoto]

135 L here:

http://www.photo.net.au/members/d/5404-1/OQ0J3084.JPG

[cwphoto]

And here:

http://www.photo.net.au/members/d/5432-1/OQ0J3072.JPG

[cwphoto]

Here too:

http://www.photo.net.au/members/d/6115-1/OQ0J3109.JPG

[Yella Fella]

wow that is a nice lens... as much as i love to shoot with primes only, sometimes i feel its restrictive because of the fixed focal part... move on to zooms now just for that flexibility

[Wedding Shooter]

There is no doubt that the 135L os one of Canon's nicest lenses. But I still love the 70-200 2.8 IS L zoom for it's versatility.

[cwphoto]

There is no doubt that the 135L os one of Canon's nicest lenses. But I still love the 70-200 2.8 IS L zoom for it's versatility.

So do I. It gets used a lot more than the 135.

[AdamJT]

Great photos. I really appreciate your coming thorugh with some shots. These are the type of shots that I was thinking of for a fast prime.

[cwphoto]

Great photos. I really appreciate your coming thorugh with some shots. These are the type of shots that I was thinking of for a fast prime.

No worries, I use the 85 a lot more though - a couple of samples below but a lot more (including samples from the 70-200) over here if you have the time to visit: http://www.photo.net.au/members/cwphoto/wedding/

http://www.photo.net.au/members/d/5375-1/McDonald_20061014_114.JPG

http://www.photo.net.au/members/d/5406-1/MC12.JPG

[grego]

Sigma has a 70-200 2.8, for under 1k. Canon's is 2.8 non is, if you are lucky can be found for under 1k. If you have two bodies, primes become easier to use, but if you have one body, during a quick event like a wedding, the zoom becomes of even greater importance. Advantages and disadvantages to all of course.

[AdamJT]

CW - I love that B&W that you posted. Was that all natural light or did you use some flash or other light?

Great stuff!!!

[cwphoto]

CW - I love that B&W that you posted. Was that all natural light or did you use some flash or other light?

Great stuff!!!

What's 'flash'? ;)

Thanks for the kind words.