Faster cheapish prime for a wedding?

[friedmud]

Wow - Crazy to see all the "gear hounds" pounce on this thread...

I've shot two weddings myself... both of them in similar circumstances to the OP (friends; weren't planning on having a 'tog at all)... and I did it both times with a 450D + 17-55 f/2.8 and a 55-250 with only a 430EX for a flash! They were both _very_ dark (second one was at night in a tiny church) but both times the photos came out great! My friends were absolutely overjoyed at the results.

Now - of course I wasn't as good as a real professional... especially if you were to drop some real cash for a high end professional.. BUT they were REALLY good and perfectly captured the moment for my friends. The bonus is that they got the full RAW photos + full resolution worked up JPEGs that they could do whatever they wanted to with.... which is something you don't normally get from professionals.

My point? The OP's gear is great for this particular purpose. He's NOT a professional... and isn't planning on becoming one. Suggesting that he buy new gear for this is ridiculous. Suggesting that his 70-300 won't be adequate for this situation is asinine. Suggesting that he buy a new body (!) when he has a 7D is insane.

My suggestion to the OP: PRACTICE! The way you use your gear and the way you know your gear will make more of a difference than any lens or body. Being able to fluently change lenses; getting good at focus/expose and recompose; switching back and forth between your two bodies quickly (so you can have two different lenses ready to go); understanding AI Servo mode on your 7D and getting good at switching AF points / modes; getting used to composing attractive shots on the fly

All of that will make or break your photos. Before I did both of the weddings I practiced a lot with my wife. We went to a nearby church and I would practice shooting her walking up and down the aisle. I practiced with a monopod at a distance in a dark church with her standing in the front so that I could get a feel for how long my 55-250 would take to hunt. Right before each ceremony I repeated the above in the actual place where the ceremony was going to happen. At that point I dialed in how I would use my flashes and what surfaces acted best for bounced flashes, etc.

The first wedding I did they didn't want any flashes at all during the ceremony. Let me tell you... that definitely tested me! But things still came out fine. The second wedding allowed flashes and everything came out beautifully.

Don't let the people here talk you into buying new gear... just utilize the gear you have to the best your ability and I bet your friends will be thrilled.

 

[RKK]

I think you can shoot a great wedding with the lenses and bodies you have.

I would work on a way to get those two flashes off camera for the reception and light the entire hall by bouncing them off a wall or ceiling. Get some cheap radio transmitters and point those flashes in the corner. You can light a reception site with 1/4 power. I do it, and it works great. It also means your lenses don't have to be super fast. And you can get those flashes off camera for $60 for the cheap stuff.

Hello mitchell3417,
When you use off camera flashes, what mode do you use on the flashes and what mode do you use on the camera?

 

[SandyP]

What's the definition of "poor light"? My definition of poor light automatically renders f/4 as being EXTREMELY slow and frustrating. Hell, f/2.8 is way too slow in many situations. The 5D2 is good at low light, but it ain't AMAZING at it like a 5D3 or D3s or something.

The forums across all the internet are full of people shooting weddings for the first time on their own, with no experience. They'll all realize that in the end the best wedding shooters are ones that have a ton of experience, and over many years. Gotta learn somewhere, but it's really best to 2nd shoot for a lot of weddings to really understand what it's all about.

The difference between a good wedding package of photos, and a bad one, is big. But the difference between a good one, and a GREAT one, is even bigger.

 

[briansquibb]

What's the definition of "poor light"?

I would say that bad light is when motion blur becomes an issue

 

[tt]

Anyone mentioned a rental house like Calumet? Depends where the OP is, but a rental gives chance to try the gear before hand, and not buy lots of things, and get some experience they can take with them -
Changing from a crop sensor to a full frame is a jump that you might want a bit of practise with.

 

[wickidwombat]

when I shot my first wedding I had the Sigma 30/1.4 on my old 50D! saved a ton of cash and got GREAT results. it was sharp @ 1.4 and cut glass @ 2.0

first @2.8
second @5.0
third @5.6

I am interested to know what your opion of the 30mm siggy on a crop vs the canon 50f1.4 on FF I find the canon 1.4 not as sharp wide open as I would like.

50mm has been my biggest disappointment changing from nikon as their 50mm f1.4 is a stellar piece of glass for the price.

I feel the canon f1.4 is good but compared to the sigma 85 (my new benchmark for a sharp lens) its not in the same class

 

[bigmag13]

when I shot my first wedding I had the Sigma 30/1.4 on my old 50D! saved a ton of cash and got GREAT results. it was sharp @ 1.4 and cut glass @ 2.0

first @2.8
second @5.0
third @5.6

I am interested to know what your opion of the 30mm siggy on a crop vs the canon 50f1.4 on FF I find the canon 1.4 not as sharp wide open as I would like.

50mm has been my biggest disappointment changing from nikon as their 50mm f1.4 is a stellar piece of glass for the price.

I feel the canon f1.4 is good but compared to the sigma 85 (my new benchmark for a sharp lens) its not in the same class

I have experience with both the 30 and the 50 Sigs.

The 50D with the Sigma 30 1.4 impressed me so much that I wouldn't think of anything besides the Sigma 50 on a FF when I upgraded to the 5D2.
the Siggy 30 on the crop was FANTASTIC! the 50 on my 5D2 was a mess. I found it to not be as sharp the canon 50/1.8 I sold off. I tried three different lenses from Adorama (with MA'ing them all, shooting through the range of apertures) and finally decided I would not have the same luck as with the Sig 30. I also tried the Canon 50/1.4 and returned it because I found that the Zeiss 2/50 Makro best suited the performance, look and IQ I desired.

what I learned from it all was that there are very good optics out besides Canon L, sometimes saving you loads of cash, but I got the best I could get with the money I had and worked gigs the best I could.

 

[wickidwombat]

when I shot my first wedding I had the Sigma 30/1.4 on my old 50D! saved a ton of cash and got GREAT results. it was sharp @ 1.4 and cut glass @ 2.0

first @2.8
second @5.0
third @5.6

I am interested to know what your opion of the 30mm siggy on a crop vs the canon 50f1.4 on FF I find the canon 1.4 not as sharp wide open as I would like.

50mm has been my biggest disappointment changing from nikon as their 50mm f1.4 is a stellar piece of glass for the price.

I feel the canon f1.4 is good but compared to the sigma 85 (my new benchmark for a sharp lens) its not in the same class

I have experience with both the 30 and the 50 Sigs.

The 50D with the Sigma 30 1.4 impressed me so much that I wouldn't think of anything besides the Sigma 50 on a FF when I upgraded to the 5D2.
the Siggy 30 on the crop was FANTASTIC! the 50 on my 5D2 was a mess. I found it to not be as sharp the canon 50/1.8 I sold off. I tried three different lenses from Adorama (with MA'ing them all, shooting through the range of apertures) and finally decided I would not have the same luck as with the Sig 30. I also tried the Canon 50/1.4 and returned it because I found that the Zeiss 2/50 Makro best suited the performance, look and IQ I desired.

what I learned from it all was that there are very good optics out besides Canon L, sometimes saving you loads of cash, but I got the best I could get with the money I had and worked gigs the best I could.

cool thanks for the feedback

BTW you should checkout the 85f1.4 siggy on FF its awesome

 

[laurenvander82]

Hi, there!!! I want to know how much an event company charge for organizing an corporate event in san francisco . I have been looking for event organizer but they are asking high prices as compared to other marketing company. So, any suggestion for low cost event space.

san francisco venues