Which lens for dimply lit stage in small club? 17-55, 24-70 or 24-105?

[Fastfwd13]

On a Canon 50D crop factor 1.6:

17-55 f2.8 IS
24-70 f2.8
24-105 f4 IS

If 55mm * 1.6 range is enough I guess the 17-55 is a no brainer since it has both f2.8 and IS

Otherwise is it better to have f2.8 or to have f4 and IS? This will be handheld.

[mrcoons]

I have all three and I use my 17-55 on my 40D/30D for stage work. The 24-70 is great but too heavy for me to manage all evening.

[blackshadow]

I have all three and I use my 17-55 on my 40D/30D for stage work. The 24-70 is great but too heavy for me to manage all evening.

Time to harden up princess... I often use a 70-200f2.8L IS on one body and a 24-70 on another when shooting festivals where you are on your feet and moving and shooting between multiple stages for 8 hours or more. To say a lens like a 24-70 is too heavy is just wrong.

[DennisW1]

On a Canon 50D crop factor 1.6:

17-55 f2.8 IS
24-70 f2.8
24-105 f4 IS

If 55mm * 1.6 range is enough I guess the 17-55 is a no brainer since it has both f2.8 and IS

Otherwise is it better to have f2.8 or to have f4 and IS? This will be handheld.


Comments about the 24-70 being too heavy notwithstanding (:rolleyes:) that would be my choice along with cranking up the ISO and having some good noise reduction software (eg Noise Ninja) available for PP work.

It's not just camera shake you're going to be concerned with, which the IS will help with, but motion blur from your subjects. IS is worthless for that, only a faster shutter speed will save you there. To that end I want the fastest lens I have and a high enough ISO setting to let me keep the shutter speed up enough to get rid of motion blur. The other thing that will help you is being able to shoot at moments of the least movement on stage. That takes some observation, familiarity with the performance, and just plain luck.

Shoot a lot, you're going to get a fair amount of clunkers but that's pretty much par for the course with this kind of event.

[Pseudonym]

deffo not the 24-105, it really struggles in low light

[René Damkot]

IMO, 24mm isn't wide enough (actually: at all) on a 1.6 crop body.
I'd go 17-55EFs.

[Fastfwd13]

I went with the 17-55mm but I am now thinking that even with the ISO cranked all the way up I may want to get something faster like a prime. I'll see what focal length I use most but I suspect something like a 35mm or 50mm will do it.