Night time lens???

Right then i have a 450d and the following lenses
18-55mm f3.5to 5.6 is lens
28-90mm f4to5.6 non is
77-300mmf4to5.6non is
As I like to do a lot of night time photography,eg Blackpool light etc what would others reccomend that I purchase,what I am after is a faster lens but which one

Stavros

Do you have an external flash? If not, I would highly recommend one.

Canon 17-55 2.8 IS

how about 50mm 1.2L? There is 50mm 1L too. If price is not concern then go with 1L. I personally dont have either of them but I have read a lot about each of them.

50mm f/1.4
85mm f/1.8

What's a Blackpool? Landscape shots? People? Indoors? Outdoors?

Get a tripod if it is landscapes.

And welcome to POTN!

DDCSD wrote in post #6397939
What's a Blackpool? Landscape shots? People? Indoors? Outdoors?

Get a tripod if it is landscapes.

And welcome to POTN!

Blackpool is well known in the UK for its Illuminations which are switched on sometime soon. I hav'nt been for about 20 years but used to love it as a child. Blackpool is a sea-sde resort in the North West of England and in the autumn, the whole promenade (road along the beach) is illuminated with thousands of coloured light -bulbs making various scenes etc.

hania wrote in post #6397965
Blackpool is well known in the UK for its Illuminations which are switched on sometime soon. I hav'nt been for about 20 years but used to love it as a child. Blackpool is a sea-sde resort in the North West of England and in the autumn, the whole promenade (road along the beach) is illuminated with thousands of coloured light -bulbs making various scenes etc.

Thank you!

For that I'd suggest getting a tripod.

DDCSD wrote in post #6397988
Thank you!

For that I'd suggest getting a tripod.

+1

My 50 1.4 does a good job. Also as stated above use a tripod and an external flash and you should be good to go.

yes, get a tripod. Taking long exposure night shots you don't need a fast apeture as much as a tripod as the apeture will be smaller than the max apeture on any of your lenses.

The $80 50mm f1.8 aka nifty-fifty. Although auto focusing in extremely low light may be difficult

i went to blackpool recently with my 50mm 1.8

got some great shots during the sunset

Kruzkal wrote in post #6397915
50mm f/1.4
85mm f/1.8

+100

It is very tricky to recommend a lens for 'night photography' as any lens can be used for that purpose, you don't need a fast lens as you will generally need to be tripod mounted anyway. I like really long exposures (15 to 30 seconds and longer) as if someone wanders across the shot, they won't show up unless they stop moving. That means that I am often shooting at around f/8 or so. If you want people to show up in the shots, they will be blurry unless you add a touch of flash or use a fast lens at very high ISO.

Of course, blurry, ghost like figures can sometimes add to a shots atmosphere and a fast lens can help there sometimes, but isn't always necessary.

My usual night lens is also my main daytime walkaround lens, the 24-105L f/4-5.6 and both the shots below were taken with it. Your current lens selection will manage just as well at night (for shots like these) as they do in the daytime.

Really, your choice of lens depends entirely on what you are trying to achieve. Many will give an opinion on here, but they will all be for what the poster would want to shoot, not for what you want to shoot. What style do you want to do? A long shot taking in the length of the prom? Oddball angles looking up at the lights? Get a wide angle. Close-up details of the lights? Get a suitable length telephoto. Etc., etc.

If you really want a fast lens for showing people in the shot, go for a fast prime of whatever length you feel you will want most. I can recommend the EF-S 60mm f/2.8 (macro) and the EF 85mm f/1.8 I have both and they both take great night shots (as does my 300 f/2.8 ). In fact, I have 7 lenses and could recommend all of them for night work as much as for day work.

As with any lens purchasing decision, think about what, and how, you want to shoot. Think what focal length you need to translate those ideas into reality and work from there.

Good luck with the night shoots, whatever you decide to use, and maybe I'll see you at Blackpool one night, as I intend to do a shoot or two of the lights myself.