Lens Advice

I have shot a few weddings as second photographer with my 50D, 15-85, 70-200 2.8 II, 50 1.8 and 580EXII. I have started to go on my own this year and have added a 5D3 and 24-105 to my gear. Now I'm in a dilemma as to how to optimize my lenses. Obviously 15-85 on crop and 24-105 on FF are redundant. Should I replace the 15-85 with either a prime (maybe 35L?) or 24-70?

Complicating this further is that on some occasions my wife will be using the 50D to shoot groom and his party while I'm somewhere else shooting bride's preparations. I guess she could use 24-105 then and I will stick with the 35L or 24-70, whichever I get, for the bride's prep shots.

Any advice would be appreciated.

I feel a good crop/FF combo is 17-55 on the crop and 70-200II on the FF.

24-70 would be more useful on the FF than the crop.

If f4 is good enough, then stick with the 24-105L. Otherwise trade that in for a 24-70L.

Then you would have:
5D3 + 24-70
50D + 70-200

I would sell the 15-85 and get better primes, if you are interested in primes. 50 1.4 and/or 85 1.8 comes to mind. You might also consider an UWA lens, such as the 16-35L or 17-40L or for the crop body, the 10-22.

nicksan wrote in post #14360034
If f4 is good enough, then stick with the 24-105L. Otherwise trade that in for a 24-70L.

Then you would have:
5D3 + 24-70
50D + 70-200

I would sell the 15-85 and get better primes, if you are interested in primes. 50 1.4 and/or 85 1.8 comes to mind. You might also consider an UWA lens, such as the 16-35L or 17-40L or for the crop body, the 10-22.

Thanks. I was thinking that 24-105's one stop disadvantage vs 24-70 should be OK given the 5D3 low-light capabilities. I'm considering something like the 35L for shallow DOF mainly and possibly environmental portraits of the bride&groom. I have also thought about 17-40 but I guess that's a bit of a specialty lens for weddings and I can do without it for now.

Numenorean wrote in post #14359996
I feel a good crop/FF combo is 17-55 on the crop and 70-200II on the FF.

24-70 would be more useful on the FF than the crop.

I agree with 17-55 for crop, but probably down the road I will add a 5Dc or 5DII as backup and getting a 17-55 means it has to be fixed on the 50D with no swapping possibility.

Well if you are splitting up your kit, with your wife going to the groomsmen, then it is not redundant.

I would sell the 15-85 and buy a 17-55 and a 35L. When you upgrade camera bodies, sell the 17-55 and buy a new lens.

Red Tie Photography wrote in post #14360282
Well if you are splitting up your kit, with your wife going to the groomsmen, then it is not redundant.

I would sell the 15-85 and buy a 17-55 and a 35L. When you upgrade camera bodies, sell the 17-55 and buy a new lens.

Thanks Bryan. I understand your point. I guess what I was trying to say was that my kit is being split only occasionally (e.g. for groomsmen shots) and rest of the time I prefer something that I can swap between bodies. For receptions I can use my 24-105 on 5D3 to cover wide angle to medium and 70-200 on 50D (for candid shots). That's why I was leaning towards either 24-70 or 35L. Oh and I can only afford one of the 3 right now (17-55, 24-70, 35L). Perhaps I'm asking for too much

Red Tie Photography wrote in post #14360282
Well if you are splitting up your kit, with your wife going to the groomsmen, then it is not redundant.

I would sell the 15-85 and buy a 17-55 and a 35L. When you upgrade camera bodies, sell the 17-55 and buy a new lens.

That sounds like a bad idea...I mean 2 shooter and having only 2 cameras.

But yeah, if it'll be split up, then the 17-55 is a great lens.

I will say this again like I have many times in the past. Forgive me for being blunt.

I believe wedding shooters need to have a strong kit before they start shooting weddings. I feel, especially when starting, the wedding photographer's kit needs to include at LEAST:

2 bodies
2 flashes
Wide angle zoom (24-70ish coverage on full frame, 2.8 is really nice)
Telephoto zoom (70-200, f2.8 is really preferable, IS is better but not required)
Wide angle prime. This will be your backup if your 24-70ish lens fails. This really depends on your style, and can go 24, 35, or 50 ff equivalent.

Rules here can be broken once you have set yourself up, and I myself have sold my 24-70 and bought a 24-105 because I use my primes more but I like to have that focal range covered.

Seeing that you plan on splitting up, it would make sense to get double of this setup, one for you and one for your wife. Or, you can plan on just staying together.

I dont think I am saying anything new or controversial here, and am not claiming this is "required" for everyone, but I think it is a really good starting point.

i agree whole-heartedly with nick and bryan, but i personally think that redundancy in each photogs kit isn't as important if the kit is only split up for the prep time.
if your wife isn't also shooting the ceremony and/or reception from a different angle, etc.. I wouldn't worry so much about have every single focal length covered and backed up in two seperate kits.

i do think that 24 is NOT wide enough for a crop body for prep shooting though.
it's often in small spaces tbh.

Red Tie Photography wrote in post #14360535
I believe wedding shooters need to have a strong kit before they start shooting weddings. I feel, especially when starting, the wedding photographer's kit needs to include at LEAST:

2 bodies
2 flashes
Wide angle zoom (24-70ish coverage on full frame, 2.8 is really nice)
Telephoto zoom (70-200, f2.8 is really preferable, IS is better but not required)
Wide angle prime. This will be your backup if your 24-70ish lens fails. This really depends on your style, and can go 24, 35, or 50 ff equivalent.

Fully agreed. I have everything from this list, except that I have a 24-105 instead of 24-70 2.8 and I have a 15-85 instead of a wide-angle prime. I have to ponder on the responses a bit more and decide. 17-55 seems like the best option for prep time on 50D but I won't be able to use it as backup for my 24-105 anymore.

Perhaps I should start looking for a 5Dc to replace my 50D? Anything I should consider going one way or the other (FF/Crop combo or two FFs) considering my current gear?

bigarchi wrote in post #14360622
i do think that 24 is NOT wide enough for a crop body for prep shooting though.
it's often in small spaces tbh.

That's what I was afraid of. I have seen a lot of nice prep shots done with a 50L on FF but it would be really hard fitting all the bridesmaids in a tight room corner without a 24mm FF equivalent.

I dont know, when I shoot prep, I often bring my 35L, 50L and 70-200. Sometimes Ill bring my macro. I find it all fits fairly well.

Red Tie Photography wrote in post #14360943
I dont know, when I shoot prep, I often bring my 35L, 50L and 70-200. Sometimes Ill bring my macro. I find it all fits fairly well.

That's reassuring as I can sell 15-85 and get a 35L. I will have 35L and 70-200 2.8 IS II on 5D3 for prep shots and my wife will have 50D, 24-105 and 50 1.8 if we have to split during the prep time.

Red Tie Photography wrote in post #14360943
I dont know, when I shoot prep, I often bring my 35L, 50L and 70-200. Sometimes Ill bring my macro. I find it all fits fairly well.

yeah, i prefer 35L on a full frame over a 24-105L on a crop for prep work for sure.

at least your wife with the 50d & 24-105 is shooting the men, they are a lot less important than the women lol

it's funny, i'm in a husband/wife duo as well. but when we split for prep, she stays with the girls and i go with the guys! i'm the primary photog in our relationship too.
i do usually (if it works out) introduce myself to the girls and get a few photos of some of the "stuff" before i leave my wife on her own though.