What lens to get for wedding thread...

All I have are two lenses: Tamron 17-35 f2.8 and Canon 50mm f1.4 on my 60D.

So my thought process was getting a zoom lens in the near future. Is Canon 70-200mm f2.8L no brainer for weddings?

I thought of getting the popular Canon 135mm f2 but wasn't 100% sure how versatile it would be with my body being a crop and all. Obviously in the future I would love to upgrade my camera and use the 60D as a backup. Baby steps of course.

Thoughts? Which lens would you personally get if you were in my shoes?

Depends on the wedding. Some weddings my 300L was too short. Some weddings, my 85L was perfect.

Thomas Campbell wrote in post #16380936
Depends on the wedding. Some weddings my 300L was too short. Some weddings, my 85L was perfect.

what kind of wedding was it that needed such long lens?

Some churches make you stay in the back of the church. Some really big, dark churches.

Weddings don't really have a one-size fits all answer. It all depends on your style and the situation you are placed in.

My current wedding kit:
Nikon D4 (coverage tele)
Nikon D4 (coverage wide)
Nikon D800 (portraits)
14mm 2.8 manual focus (wide shot of church/reception/build​ings)
35 1.4G (main wide)
85 1.4G (main tele)
105 2.8G-Micro (some getting ready and details)
24-120 4G VR (backup)
70-200 2.8 VR II (secondary tele, sometimes portraits rather than 85 to get more compression.)
400 2.8G VR (if needed for big churches, I shoot a lot of Catholic weddings.)
4x SB-700
2x LumoPro LP160
Elinchrom Quadra (formal portraits)

Aki78 wrote in post #16380943
what kind of wedding was it that needed such long lens?

some of the more anal churches wont let any professional shoot from anywhere but the back of the church.


I'm not near as experienced at weddings as many other people on here, but I wouldn't go into a wedding without a 70-200 and a wide angle (I use my 17-40) on a full-frame camera.

135 on a crop is extremely limiting. you seem to have the wide and fast end taken care of, and a 70-200 on your crop would be a lot better than a long prime, IMO.

Oh...didn't know about churches!

More fun homework...

Is Canon 70-200mm f2.8L no brainer for weddings?

YEP

scorpio_e wrote in post #16381417
Is Canon 70-200mm f2.8L no brainer for weddings?

YEP

I didn't carry it for years. Unimpressed with the old Canon 70-200 IS.

I preferred the 135L.

Another vote for the 135L. I use to shoot with the 70-200 2.8 IS MKI, but like Thomas said, was never blown away by the results. This past spring, I purchased the 135 f2 and shoot it 100% of the time during ceremonies... and even a bit at receptions. I have yet to play with a 70-200 2.8 IS MKII for comparison, but for me the 135 is where its at.

I used to own the 135 and the 70-200 MKI, when the MKII came out I got that. Soon after sold the 135. Lens choice is personal preference and what suits your shooting style. I'm currently considering the Sigma 120-300 and ditching the 70-200 MKII.

A longer lens would be helpful, the 70-200 is used by many wedding photographers. A wider lens will also be useful, 10mm can get the whole front of a church where 17mm often can't on a crop body.

I can shoot a wedding for 90% with my 85LII. I like it more than my 70-200LII

The lenses that I use the most are:

35L (getting ready)

85L (getting ready)

24-70 mk II (wedding/reception)

70-200 mk II (wedding/ some reception)

16-35 mk II (reception/wedding)

14 (reception)

90 macro (ring shots)

I also carry but seldom use:

135L

45t/s

50

Hi there. Looks like you have the wider focal lengths covered. Regarding your next purchase, it's a tricky one, but my advice would be to stick to primes. The 70-200 is a versatile lense and probably the best zoom available, but don't buy into the idea that it's a must-have. It's not. I own the 70-200 and since buying the 135 I've only used it a handful of times out of about 100 weddings. It's just not as good as the 135 and it's almost useless at receptions. Even in a dark church it's not quite fast enough for my liking. Also, it's rare to need 200mm in my opinion. Stick to your primes and if you can, rent some lenses to get a feel for them. The 85mm 1.2 is a game-changer in my opinion, but it's expensive. My 2 cents

Go hire the lenses and see which suits your shooting style. Some people prefer primes, some prefer zooms, some like a mix. There is no right or wrong answer to it. It is about what is right for you. Likewise some people shoot with shorted focal lengths and some with longer.

Some ceremonies I'll shoot most of what I do on the 50mm on a FF... others I'll have a 70-200 with a 1x4 extender on a crop.

My advice is find out what suits your style and then go from there.

FWIW I ditched my 85L in favour of the Sigma 85 1.4. Best lens change I've made in the last few years.