Best zoom lens for a cropped sensor for wedding

i gotta cover a wifey niece wedding in a church. flash is allowed. what do think guys is the best zoom lens for the job. please exclude the canon 70-200 f2.8L IS coz i can't afford that. the wide end is not wide enough too. i can't rent either coz i'll be gone for a month.

please help. is it really necessary to have 2 bodies?

Any possible problems i may encounter? I hire a second shooter though but he also have one body only(Nikon D90)

thanks.

vinz

I have the Sigma 50-150mm F2.8 OS lens and absolutely love it. This is on a 7D.

I have rented the 70-200 F2.8 IS in the past but found it's focal range to be too long on the crop body cameras, and unusable indoors apart for tight portrait shots.

The 50-150 is a heavy lens (around the same weight and size as the 70-200) but is a lot cheaper and the image quality in my opinion is amazing.

RichardStevens wrote in post #14855960
I have the Sigma 50-150mm F2.8 OS lens and absolutely love it.

I picked one up a week ago from Beach Camera for $974 with free shipping. Helped a friend as a second shooter over the weekend and it was very pleased with the results.

Thanks for the replies guys....

Here's what I'm thinking right now. Since I only have one body, i figured out changing lenses in the event may end me up missing very important, special or dramatic moments in the wedding.

Since flash is allowed, i'm thinking of getting the Canon EF-S 18-200 F3.5-5.6 IS for flexibility in the wide and long end. I can then stay in place and keep shooting without changing lenses. My only concern is I may not be able to blur the background to create a more dramatic and professional look in my images.

I also heard the IS for the 70-200 is a bit noisy. the 18-200 is not USM so it's a little bit noisy in focusing but the IS is said to be more silent than the 70-200.

what do you think guyz?

For a single lens/camera combo your Sigma or Tamron should be fine. Both have a mild wide angle field of view and offer either mild or long tele at the other end.

Lens changing is not that big a deal during a wedding, just have to plan for it. There are always obvious down times. And if you think ahead about which shots you want so you don't have to swap back and forth.

Since the wide side of your two lenses is essentially the same, I'd go with the Tamron unless its so slow it will be a risk even with IS (I think that's what VC is for that lens.).

Are you getting paid to cover this wedding? Are you planning to do more? If not then investing in a lens is a big ask.

I'd say if you are having a second shooter and this is a one off gig then you don't NEED a second body. But it will help greatly. In the unlikely event your camera dies, you can still get photos using the second shooter's camera. All would not be lost.

thanks guyz....

another solution.
in the place where i'm going for the wedding. I'm a member of a local Photographer's club. I'm planning to borrow a body for 8hours only from one of the club member.

my plan is.
use my 50mm prime and my 100mm in separate body.

my problem with the tamron is the bokeh. I may not achieve a professional look blurry background with the tammy.

Gadgeteer, no i'm not paid. the bride is my wife's niece. but i wanna make it good as i can include them in my portfolio.

Why don't you rent vs buy? I never found the 70-200mm to be particularly noisy. Even if flash IS allowed, I think it's annoying and distracting during a wedding ceremony. Also I have switched lenses during every wedding I ever shot and never missed a single moment. You just have to time it right. I shoot primes generally.

i can't rent coz i'll be gone for 30days. The wedding is one of those days. Can't rent a full month for an 8hour gig.

yah i think i'm going with my 50mm and use feet zoom technology. i'll try to borrow another body for my 100mm. if i can't oh well switch lenses. thanks.

The 70-200L is VERY quiet in my opinion, since I own it. It's basically silent. Zoom lens with f3.5-5.6 is tough to use because of your reasoning, you just can't get the professional look you want without the bokeh.

IMHO, you can't do a wedding unless you have 2 bodies (1 with zoom like 70-200, another with wide zoom) or 1 body but swap those 2 lens constantly. Wedding photographers get paid tons for a reason.

Thanks....

As i said earlier in the post, this is not a paid job(my niece) so i will not buy a 2K lens for a free job. I gotta make a holster of my 3 lenses(50, 100 and my 17-50) for quick lens changing and go for a war alone like Rambo.

Maybe a second shooter dedicated to candid shots only.

If you rent from borrowlenses.com, you can ship it to the location you are in and ship it back from any location. They have a wedding package for $149 3days that includes the 70-200, 24-70, 50 1.2, and 580ex flash, I am renting that next weekend for a wedding I am shooting

vinmunoz wrote in post #14858655
thanks guyz....
another solution.
in the place where i'm going for the wedding. I'm a member of a local Photographer's club. I'm planning to borrow a body for 8hours only from one of the club member.

Either that or rent a second body. It's not just about the convenience of avoiding too many lens changes. You need a backup body in case things go wrong with the main body.

I am not too familiar with the lenses, but I cannot imagine the bokeh from the Canon ultra zoom is going to be much better than the tamron. If you want pro looking photos, pros use pro equipment.

amirg wrote in post #14866184
Either that or rent a second body. It's not just about the convenience of avoiding too many lens changes. You need a backup body in case things go wrong with the main body.

thanks i know that risk. thanks for reminding me. my niece can't afford to hire a pro photographer. So i'm doing it for free but I wanna make it good coz this might be the start of my carrier as a wedding photographer. Good for my portfolio.

thanks, your reply is much appreciated.

White Venom,

I'm in California right now and the wedding will be in the Philippines during my vacation. Sending back the lens from Philippines will be more expensive.

thanks for your reply though, highly appreciated.