A single purchase for an amateur wedding

All due respect can you go read my advice again? Frankly stop messing around with the 35mm F1.4 and get the 15-55 whatever lens you have and get using it.

STOP with the primes!!

What did u think of my advice to simplify?

Raymond stop encouraging him to use the prime lenses, its far to much hassle to learn for a 1st wedding, no amount of tarting around with a back USB micro adjustment will sort it.......... even a bang on lens is still highly prone to bad focus due to technique.

F2.8 zoom lens (low as you should go on ur zoom), but frankly stick to F4 if you can!
 
al4x said:
Thanks guys for all this.
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USEFUL RESPONSE







al4x said:
I had the sigma out last night again for a quick test..........SNIP
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What in mother mary - its as if you didn't read anything the two of us just wrote and went on your merry way back to prime lenses which both me and D.P just wrote a boat load about why don't bother.

Sorry to get real blunt about this, but your not going to get anywhere if you don't start acting on real photographers advice.

I'm not saying mine and D.P.s word is gospel but based on years of experience and ya know, physics........ you'd do yourself a favor to pack it in with the primes FOR NOW, and get your zoom lens on your camera and practice.

All due respect to further make my point the post I just quoted, you AGAIN SAID WHAT YOU ALREADY MENTIONED MANY POSTS AGO - your not getting a high hit rate with the prime !! yeah, we know!! :D :D :D :eek:

In wedding photography you need to be efficient !!!! you are not being efficient right now!! lol

Sorry to appear highly rude but I honestly want you to do well, but you gotta pay attention me-lado, this oddly toned post in your thread will hopefully give you the wake up call (reason I have written it this way) ;)
 
F1.4 is perfectly fine and relatively easy to use as long as the camera and lens are well calibrated to each other.. and if he doesn't do the focus recompose dance.
As his camera doesn't have Micro-Adjust (why I never got a 60D), he needs to use Raymonds USB dock.
Sure take a stabilised wide angle zoom, it will come in handy when showing context in a few wide shots, and getting the critical moments like exchange of rings, first kiss, walking down aisle etc. where you don't have time to change lenses. Then (if you fix the 35), I would use the 35 at F1.4 (which is like me using F2 on FF) for nearly everything else.
With group shot's, try to shoot them at 50mm or more. Then you can shoot them wide open at F2.8. If you don't have room to backup and have to use a wider angle, then stop down to F5.6
Below is 85mm @ F1.4 on FF. To get the same on your setup, you would need to be at 50mm F1.0, so clearly F2.8 should be more than enough depth of field.
Bodleian_Library_Wedding_Oxford-063.jpg
 
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al4x said:
It's usually the problem that nothing is in focus.
As in at a glance the whole pic looks uniformly blurred

I'll dig out a few recent pics and put up a few.
I would have thought that if shutter speed is sufficient at least something on pic should be in focus.?
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Set shutter speed to 1/250 or faster. Sometimes a severe front focus will give the impression nothing is in focus. Also sometimes a fogged up lens will do the same. ie your outside in the cold, walk back in warm house then take a picture.

I'm assuming the only pictures that turn out well are the ones where the camera and lens 'miss focus' (compared to what they are calibrated to), and actually focus on the relevant subject in the frame. A good camera and lens miss rate is probably your keeper rate. No one can be confident in their equipement with that kind of crappy performance. I'v been in that situation.
 
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Just you address a few points

In vert much aware that the 17-55mm 2.8 will be easier etc but I really do want to have a really good go with the 35mm f1.4. More than anything to put too bed of its lens me or other. (it's not the camera)
Maybe I'm seeing this as a test for my 35mm

I'm extremely aware of narrow dof with moving objects.. See below..

https://flic.kr/p/oqfJwT

The 17-55mm would be more suited.. Its a good lens with useful range

I usually do shoot in Av unless it's speed dependant. (usually only M for macro and creative time lapse)

Good point in the missing focus pics being the ones that come good.
I'd say my keeper rate of my macro is orders of magnitude higher than 35mm

She's getting married in the heart of Suffolk/Norfolk
 
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To be honest, a zoom is a safer lens for you. With primes you need either a 6th sense to predict how people will move around and do when and where, this comes from experience and good intuition and a bit of luck. A zoom lens will help a lot when you don't have any experience, not to mention a good focal length. I'd say you stick with the 17-55 for most of the day, but still can use the 35mm in the evening with a flash.

I will still lend you the dock to calibrate the lens but use the 17-55.
 
Is it the Sigma 35mm Art? Awesome lens, i haven't seen anyone with a copy where it didnt need micro adjustments though. On my D610 it needs +10 i think.

I was recently asked before a friends wedding if i would take some pictures. I turned up to be informed that they actually meant would i be the actual wedding photographer. Turned out ok, and they loved the photos but i had only brought a 50mm and 85mm prime. Both of which were calibrated.

I would have loved the 24-70 in that scenario, so i would definitely pack a 17-55 on your crop.

Thanks
 
OK consensus on 17-55mm for my crop body
And flash

And yep it is 35mm f1.4 A
It's frustrating how I'm getting on with it. It takes a great picture when it does. But it never does.!
The good ones almost look too real (I like the effect) and I don't really see that so much with other lenses
 
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al4x said:
OK consensus on 17-55mm for my crop body
And flash

And yep it is 35mm f1.4 A
It's frustrating how I'm getting on with it. It takes a great picture when it does. But it never does.!
The good ones almost look too real (I like the effect) and I don't really see that so much with other lenses
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Yes go with the 17-55 - perfect walk about lens for the wedding.

Apologies if I offended anyone with my rant :D :eek: - I just get mega passionate about wedding photography - it's a bit of a labor of love with me and I take it all v seriously you see.

Yeah its defo time to stop with the 35mm now - its highly tricky to use effectively.

What are you planning on doing with the standard kit lens? Can u practice a few shots before and post the results here for critique and feedback?
 
Combat squirrel said:
Yes go with the 17-55 - perfect walk about lens for the wedding.

Apologies if I offended anyone with my rant :D :eek: - I just get mega passionate about wedding photography - it's a bit of a labor of love with me and I take it all v seriously you see.

Yeah its defo time to stop with the 35mm now - its highly tricky to use effectively.

What are you planning on doing with the standard kit lens? Can u practice a few shots before and post the results here for critique and feedback?
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Work on your technique before bashing the ART lens
 
The initial shock going to 1.4, if you have been using a kit lens at 3.5 could be scary and daunting but it is not difficult, purely because the hard work is done by the camera. I have had my 35L longer than most here and have been doing the 35/85 as soon as I was able. Even used it on the old infamous ancient AF on the 5D2, outer points no less.
 
An Exception said:
I think you are overstating the difficulty tbh. I have a different setup by I can shoot a 35/85mm all day long at 1.4 without having to think twice about it.
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jonneymendoza said:
Work on your technique before bashing the ART lens
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I'm writing it for the OP sake, u misread. Yeah once you got the hang of the behaviour of primes go ahead, anything else other than a wedding, go for it, take all day to practice, but it's a wedding for a beginner and requires a fail safe approach.

Don't emotionally defend gear either, their tools not bragging rights. However yes art lenses are awesome, I never said otherwise, for the OP in his situation who has already said many times in many posts he's not getting keeper shots it's best avoid the 35 for now
 
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Combat squirrel said:
Don't emotionally defend gear either, their tools not bragging rights.
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To correct your logic, they can be both and both can be fun. Personally I'm not that interested in bragging these days, which is why I don't list my gear in my sig anymore.

Combat squirrel said:
However yes art lenses are awesome, I never said otherwise, for the OP in his situation who has already said many times in many posts he's not getting keeper shots it's best avoid the 35 until it's fixed
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Fixed
The Op is getting a terrible keeper rate likely because something with his gear is defective, rather than the Op being a doofus.
 
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Anyway, the dock is in the mail, he'll have it tomorrow and we will find out if its the lens or he just need more practice.
 
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