20D Equipment Recommendations

I'm adding wedding photography to our established video business. I purchased the 20D with 24-70L 2.8 lens and I'm very happy with this setup. Now I need to round out my equipment. I've decided to get the 580EX flash with the off camera shoe cord.

I already have the bogen 682B monopod with the 322RC2 pistol grip. I want to buy a tripod that has the same quick release plate so I can switch between the monopod and tripod. The B&H photo guy suggested the Bogen 3021BPRO with the 3030 head. What do you think about this setup?

I'm going to use the Sto-fen Omnibounce with an off camera flash bracket. B&H recommended the Stroboframe STCF bracket.

Also, am I crazy to plan to only use the 24-70L 2.8 lens. The bank reserves are getting a little low after buying all of this stuff.

Finally, the sales guy suggested the Blue Crane Digital DVD: Introduction to the Canon EOS 20D Digital Camera for $19.95. I'm a pretty accomplished photographer. Is this a good investment?

I appreciate your opinions.
Thanks

Tony Z
New Genesis Productions

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

You can get away with the 24-70 for a while. You just got to learn to plan out how you use the focal lengths. Eventually, when you start gainning money back, you'd want to add 16-35 if you want to get closer or the 70-200 for distance shots, when you want to stay out of the way.

3021BPro works well for me, only problem is the legs are a bit greasy when they first turn up. Can't comment on the head, I use the pistol grip on the 3021.

"I'm going to use the Sto-fen Omnibounce with an off camera flash bracket" - doesn't make sense to me. A flash bracket is connected to the camera, even if the flash is on that i'd still call it on-camera. I think what you're doing is fine, just the way you're expressing it isn't how it's usually done. I don't use the stofen at all since I got my lightsphere, and don't bother unless you want to bounce the flash.

The 24-70L is a good lens, but many people use the Tamron 28-75 or the Sigma 24-70 and rate them very close to the L. They cost about 1/3 the price. You could probably get away with just using that lens for a whole wedding, you'll just have to use a flash for most reception shots, and you'll probably want a longer lens eventually so you can stay out of the way a bit more.

A DVD for only $20 might be a worthwhile way to quick-start your learning with the 20D. There are a few more controls than on other cameras you've probably used.

Good luck

He's already got the L, so it really doesn't matter if the others are less expensive.

I have found that I use the tripod and monopod less that I think so make sure that when you do but more lenses that they are fast. You are good with the lens that you have now, but you are going to want a 70-200 2.8 soon, because you are going to need to be able to stay out of peoples way. Good luck.

Ta, missed that.

The 24-70 lens will do for now. But traditional wedding photography uses a 50mm, 80mm & 150mm on a 6X6 camera. This roughly translates to 30mm, 50mm & 85mm lens in 35mm. But you also need to take into consideration the 1.6X crop of the 20D.

The 24-70 zoom will not be as sharp as the primes. It will also be slower than the primes. Something to keep in mind when the customer wants huge blow-ups of the family group shot or if you're shooting in churches where flash is not allowed.

Finally, 1 flash will do. But 2 flashes is nice. So, an assistant holding a wireless remote flash will give you a lot more flexibility. The flashes don't have to be fancy pricey Canon units. Used Metz 60CT-1 will do. Of course, this means you'll need a flash meter too.

Finally, still photography has a component that video don't usually do - studio shots. For the studio portrait shots, you'll need backgrounds and probably a few more lights (you can pick up used Normal lights very cheap and these are also durable).

You can probably pick up all these used from another wedding photog, plus a Bronica 645 system, for about the same price as a 20D body + lens + tripod.

Tony, I hope that you realize that, if you are going to do weddings for hire, you need backups for all your equipment. They don't stop and postpone a wedding just because your only camera failed. At the very least you need two bodies, and it is good to have enough variety in your lenses to be able to toss a broken one into the bag and keep on working. Same goes for lighting, tripod, etc.

A good set of lenses for weddings is the 16-35, 24-70, and possibly a 70-200 - all f2.8.

Ditto the back-up gear. You're name will be mud if your camera decides to take the day off. To keep cost down, get a used 300D as the backup. You can buy one for $400. That's more important than extra lenses.

If you want to charge people for shooting their wedding you must have a backup camera body and use both. What happens if you unintentionally change an exposure compensation setting on your only camera and all the photos turn out to over or underexposed to be salvaged?

The 24-70 is a great general purpose lens, but there a situations it will not handle.

You may have to shoot from the back or wings of the church during the ceremony (check with the chuch officials) and a longer lens such as a 70-200 will be necessary. I prefer the f/2.8 version, but IS is not necessary if you can set up a tripod.

For the mandatory group wedding party shots, it may not be possible to get far enough back to include the whole group in some locations. The bride may want to use her mother's tiny back garden or there may be so many other photographers in the way that you need a wide angle lens. The same thing may occur during dancing at the wedding reception. Suggestions are the 16-35/2.8 or 17-40/4, but I have also used my 10-22 on a 20D in very close quarters.

Normally I like a Gitzo tripod, but the Bogen 3021 is good for this situations because the locking levers instead of twist rings make it fast to set up and take down.

I would switch all my tripod heads to use the Swiss Arca type mounting plates. The are pretty universal for top quality ball heads. I prefer ball heads because you can make all the movements with one knob to tighten.

Scott

Use two lights to light your scene, so that your photos don't look like a snapshooter with flash built into the camera! You can put the remote light on a lightstand, so you don't have to have an assistant. Use radio or coded IR remote to trigger your remote light, so that friends and relatives with P&S do not trigger an optical trigger that uses up your battery on the remote flash!

Use a small softbox attached to your flashes (not the tiny Stofen which does not increase the apparent size of your flash and relies on the ceiling and walls to bounce...which can be too far away to be useful or colored so that it taints your white balance!)

Have spare body as backup.

Shooting 645 format weddings, I started with 50mm (21mm on 1.6 crop) and 75mm (31mm in 1.6 crop) fixed focal length lenses, then later switched to 45mm-90mm zoom (19mm-38mm on 1.6 crop) when it became available, to avoid swapping lenses so much. And also used 150mm (63mm in 1.6 crop) tele for head and shoulder portraits. Absolutely fast lenses are not a essential -- after all, most add-on MF lenses are only f/3.5-4.0 max apertures (except for the 'ormal' hich might be f/2.8)and pros have been shooting weddings for dozens of years with MF! -- but fast lenses can be quite useful in capturing the mood of the setting.