Lens choice for a wedding

[martcol]

Shooting a wedding in mid-winter, middle of the day probably a lot of indoors. Can you help with lens choice? I will have 1Ds Mk II for main camera and 10D for back-up.

Lenses:

EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
EF 70-200mm f2.8 L IS USM

EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
EF 50mm f/1.8 II

And I thought:
Speedlite 550EX on the MK II and
Speedlite 420EX on 10D

Thanks

Martin

[robertwgross]

If I had to pick just one lens for this, I would pick the 28-135. That will get nearly all of the job done. Once in a while, you'll have some wide family shot that will need to go wider than 28. I've used 20mm for a few. Either flash is fine. I use my 550EX and then the 420EX for backup.

---Bob Gross---

[WestFalcon]

I have almost the same lenses and they are perfect for a wedding. I like the 580ex flash a lot better than the 550ex but the 550's work better with the Mark II and the 20D than the 10D's. Have plenty of battery power and cards. I shoot jpeg but if you shoot raw, you will need a lot more memory than I take. I take about 5 gig's of memory and that's adequate for my 400-500 shots at high quality jpeg. I use the histogram rather than a light meter for my flash shots. Plan on taking 10-20 hours at your computer editing the pictures too. Good luck Brian.

I take 3-10D's and 2-20D's along with 4 550 or 580 flashes and about 7lenses. The 28-135 is a great candid lens and sharper than many people give it credit. I make 16x20's that are incredible from that lens. I may take too much stuff but I feel better to have a lot of backups.

[slin100]

A 1Ds Mk II will be unforgiving of anything but the best. Your lineup looks good, although I would probably drop the 28-135 because it overlaps with the the 24-70/2.8L.

[martcol]

Thanks for your thoughts everyone.

Bob, I haven't actually used my 28-135 on the Mk II yet but suppose I ought to give it a go.

I was thinking of putting 24-70 on the Mk II as it's a fabulous lens and seems to have made itself my most used "walkabout." I don't fancy changing lenses through the shoot so then I thought I could stick something on the 10D. Perhaps the 28-135 would be the choice there although I was thinking of the 70-200 for candids (it is a bit of a monster though). The 28-135 would be lighter and more discreet. When I point those white lenses at people they often just run for cover!

Regards

Martin

[robertwgross]

Bob, I haven't actually used my 28-135 on the Mk II yet but suppose I ought to give it a go.


I used a different zoom lens for weddings until that lens was broken and sent in for repair. Since I didn't know how long Canon was going to fool with it, I ordered up the 28-135 I.S. lens to use for the next wedding. Then after I got the first one back from repair, the 28-135 had become my new favorite.

---Bob Gross---

[Mthorpe_Davies]

Is the 1Ds2 in the shops? I didn't think it was out until December.

[WestFalcon]

I've had trouble at times with any lens longer than 150 mm plus flash at a reception. Even with the bracket, I get red eye frequently if the room is dark and I am zoomed to 150 or longer. I know it has to do with angles etc but I have learned to use shorter focal lengths. I don't always get red eye but it is common in my experience . That's one of the reasons I stick with the 28-135. I rarely get red eye with this. It's easy to fix the red eye but I don't like all of the time and effort involved.

[robertwgross]

135mm/1 requires a minimum shutter speed of 1/135 second to halt camera shake.


However, the common version of the 28-135 lens has I.S., so theoretically you should be able to slow down two stops of shutter.

---Bob Gross---

[rodbunn]

I'm not sure if you ONLY want to use one lense, but if
you do, the 24-70L is what I use on one camera and the
17-40L on the other camera (Indoors)... Just get close
if you have at 70mm and go for it. The 24-70 is really
nice to use and is sharp and would be my "one lense" choice.


Thanks, Rod

www.xposeu.com

[Persian-Rice]

EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
EF 50mm f/1.8 II
EF 70-200mm f2.8 L IS USM

^
||

Thats the ticket.

[ScottE]

Why not visit the locations and find where photography is allowed and decide which lenses will be best before the wedding?

During the ceremony you might be able to get some intimate portraits without being obtrusive using the 70-200 on the 10D. At the same time, the 24-70 on the Mk II might get some good group shots. For formal portraits of the wedding party, shooting the 24-70 on the Mk II from a tripod would give flexibililty and give great fine detail for enlargements. At the reception the 28-135 on either camera could give more zoom range for either groups or isolating individuals. On the dance floor you might be so close to the action that you need the 17-40 on the Mk II to get a wide enough angle to catch the action.

I hate shooting weddings, but every once in a while my wife volunteers me. If I have to, I like to find out exactly what I can do and where in advance and choose my equipment accordingly.

[Malaxos1]

I use a Tamron 28-75 f2.8 at weddings more than any other lens. I did gaet a 19-35 but rarely use it. Also, I picked up a 70-200 for taken shats from a distance, I think I used it at 1 wedding and ony during setting up. I just didn't want to be too intrusive. I have done quite a few weddings this year so far and that one lens serves me rght (most of the time)...Dean

[Sailare]

For what it's worth, the new 19 page Glossy 20D brochure that I just picked up from my dealer, has a number of wedding pictures in it.

The were taken with two lens --
Ef 28-70 2.8L
Ef 70-200 2.8L


From you list of Lens, looks like you have it covered.

Hope yours turn out as nice as those in the brochure!