lens choice for wedding?

[pattrick70]

I am renting a 5d mark3 for my sisters wedding. it is outdoors and about 60 people. she has a pro for her formal pictures but thats it. so I am taking pictures mostly for myself but hoping to get some good shots for her. I am also going to rent a flash and trying to get away with just renting one lens if possible, but will do 2 if neccesary. was thinking 24-70l and 70-200 2.8. I own a 50 1.4 aslo. never have shot on a full frame so not sure what to use. can i get away with my 50 for wide and rent a 70-200 or is the 50 not going to be wide enough? or should i just get the 24-70.?

[brokensocial]

My advice? Don't rent that camera. Let the pro do his or her job. The single most annoying part of *every* wedding we've shot has been the Uncle Bob / Aunt Bobette who's shown up with the big DSLR and long lenses trying to get "personal" or "portfolio" shots. You'll be the jerk of the wedding from the photographer's perspective, guaranteed. If you're going to bring a camera, bring a point and shoot or a cameraphone and nothing else.

[pattrick70]

thats the thing. there is no photographer. just someone doing there picture that morning. they wont be at ceremony or reception

[snakeman55]

It depends on your style. If you think you're going to mostly hang very far back the 50 and 70-200 sound good for what you described. Although I always want a uwa but that's me.

[jackinavox]

I'd suggest the 24-70 which would cover your wide end and medium telephoto. You can then use your 50mm for portraits of your sister and the groom.

The 24-70 + flash would be good for the reception too.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[jackinavox]

Just wanted to add too... It's your sister's wedding, hope you spend some time being part of the wedding and not just capturing it.

[maverick75]

Originally Posted by brokensocial

My advice? Don't rent that camera. Let the pro do his or her job. The single most annoying part of *every* wedding we've shot has been the Uncle Bob / Aunt Bobette who's shown up with the big DSLR and long lenses trying to get "personal" or "portfolio" shots. You'll be the jerk of the wedding from the photographer's perspective, guaranteed. If you're going to bring a camera, bring a point and shoot or a cameraphone and nothing else.

Then you shouldn't drive on the road, that's the most annoying thing for us mechanics. When people who can't rebuild their own engine drive on the road.

This is the ego crap I hate about photography, get off your pedestal we all have to start from the bottom up.

Rent the 5D, you'll gain a lot by using a full frame and I'm sure your sister will love them.

[Steve of Cornubia]

Originally Posted by maverick75

Then you shouldn't drive on the road, that's the most annoying thing for us mechanics. When people who can't rebuild their own engine drive on the road.

This is the ego crap I hate about photography, get off your pedestal we all have to start from the bottom up.

Rent the 5D, you'll gain a lot by using a full frame and I'm sure your sister will love them.

I don't know why you saw ego and a pedestal. If you're going to use the mechanic analogy, then the situation should be Uncle Bob showing up with his rented Snap On toolkit and having a go at dismantling the carburettor while the paid mechanic is tuning the engine. I reckon the mechanic would be quite rightly pissed.

Anyway, it seems there won't be a pro at the ceremony, so the OP is all clear.

[ScullenCrossBones]

My advice would be to rent a 24-70 and a 70-200 and use your T1i.

A wedding day is not the time to try new equipment. That's true whether you're a pro or an amateur. Things get hectic and fumbling with unfamilar equipment will only cause you to loose shots. However, if you do rent a 5d3, keep the settings simple. Use Av or P mode (if you're familar with those). Keep the settings to what you know.

[ScullenCrossBones]

And a 50 is not wide enough, but you don't need wide on a lot of your shots. You need wide for a few group shots or tight quarters.

It's fast and you can shoot quite a bit with it, so take it.

[Bakewell]

Originally Posted by brokensocial

You'll be the jerk of the wedding from the photographer's perspective, guaranteed.

I guess I wouldn't really care about the photographer's perspective. They're supposedly the pro so should be able to deal with it. I'd be more concerned with my sisters perspective and desires.

[mikeinctown]

When I was at my sister's wedding I took a crap ton of photos after the ceremony and outside where the poses were taking place. But... Once the reception started I didn't want to be near a camera and all I cared about was the fun times with the family. Don't get too lost in getting the pictures.

Also, the cost to rent a 5diii isn't cheap. between that and renting the lenses you could easily buy yourself a decent EFS lense or a prime. the flashes aren't expensive to rent, but the camera and a couple lenses could run you $300+ in addition to a very hefty deposit.

[davisphotos]

Rent the 5D classic. Yes, the 5D3 is an amazing camera, but the number of menu options and the new focus system will be overwhelming coming from a camera like the Rebel. And you could rent 2 5Ds for the price of renting one 5D3. For lenses, the 24-70 and 70-200 is a fine combo. I personally use the 35L, 50mm f1.4 and 85mm f1.8 for the getting ready shots, and the 17-40L on one body, 70-200 on the other for the ceremony.

[iMAGEN STUDIOS]

If you are not familiar with the MK3 it would definately be a learning curve from the T1i and learning the camera on the day of would be quite the challenge. If you are familiar with it, Id say rent it, use it, and have fun doing it and try to capture the best moments you can for you and your family.

As far as lenses, the 24-70 2.8 is a great lens. but id say if you plan on renting only one lense with the 5Dmk3, use the 24-105, it has more focal length coverage.

[toolman21]

I am going to agree with everyone above. If aren't very familiar with the camera then swapping to a completely different camera the day of would probably not go well. Just rent some good glass for your existing camera you are comfortable using. I have only done one wedding and I have a T1i (I might eventually get around to posting pictures for people to rip apart) and I just rented a 17-50 2.8 Tamron VC lens. It turned out ok, but even having a new lens on my existing camera was a bit of a challenge because I didn't know its strong points vs. weak points. In the middle of a wedding ceremony is not when you want to be tinkering with things, it moves very fast. That being said I would rent the Canon version next time, the Tamron wasn't as sharp as I had hoped (I have since learned the VC version isn't as sharp as the non-VC) but things turned out ok. I also didn't have a need for a longer lens because it was a very small place/ceremony and I ended up needing the 17 end quite often.