Lens for evening do
Discussion
My mother is having a 60th birthday bash and has asked me to take a few photos. I was planning on doing this anyway as I would like to put together a little momento of the evening.
There is a singer and a DJ and I guess it will be dimly lit and not particularly large. I don't know much more about the venue but I plan to get some photos of the people there, mostly group shots of couples and friends. Will get shots of the singer, shots the cakes and decorations but I think most important are the people.
I am thinking I need something wide and fast however, being a SONY E-mount user, my choices are limited. I can take the CZ 16-70 F4 OSS which gives me a something very wide with a little flexibility in the reach department, but at F4 is probably going to have me well up in the ISO's.
Or there is a CZ 24mm prime F1.8. Should be sufficiently wide enough for shooting people/groups/couples from not very far away and I will probably be able to use F2.8 without much DoF issue so I can get more light. But I will have to be right up close to anything if I do want a shot.
I will also be taking a flash gun which I guess offsets some of the problems a smaller aperture causes in the dim light.
Any advice?
There is a singer and a DJ and I guess it will be dimly lit and not particularly large. I don't know much more about the venue but I plan to get some photos of the people there, mostly group shots of couples and friends. Will get shots of the singer, shots the cakes and decorations but I think most important are the people.
I am thinking I need something wide and fast however, being a SONY E-mount user, my choices are limited. I can take the CZ 16-70 F4 OSS which gives me a something very wide with a little flexibility in the reach department, but at F4 is probably going to have me well up in the ISO's.
Or there is a CZ 24mm prime F1.8. Should be sufficiently wide enough for shooting people/groups/couples from not very far away and I will probably be able to use F2.8 without much DoF issue so I can get more light. But I will have to be right up close to anything if I do want a shot.
I will also be taking a flash gun which I guess offsets some of the problems a smaller aperture causes in the dim light.
Any advice?
My personal choice would be for the faster of those lenses. As I shoot weddings for a living and like to be as unobtrusive as possible, I try to avoid using the flash until I absolutely have to, hence the preference for fast glass.
But if you think you'd be more comfortable with the flexibility of the zoom, then that and the flash (which you're likely to need at some point anyway) would still do the job.
But if you think you'd be more comfortable with the flexibility of the zoom, then that and the flash (which you're likely to need at some point anyway) would still do the job.
Try out all your lenses in a dimly-lit room and see if the camera will find focus. Does your flashgun have IR focus-assist? If you have good ISO performance and a good flashgun you can get away with f4.
Be careful of using too much wide angle for groups as the people on the ends can go funny shapes - I think I'd stay with the 16-70 for flexibility and instant framing. If you can bounce the flash, bounce it where possible so check out the ceilings. Bounce flash is great but uses much more power.
Be careful of using too much wide angle for groups as the people on the ends can go funny shapes - I think I'd stay with the 16-70 for flexibility and instant framing. If you can bounce the flash, bounce it where possible so check out the ceilings. Bounce flash is great but uses much more power.
Yep got a pretty stout flash and will be bouncing it or diffusing it I think else it'll be too harsh. Its got a good focus assist and even has an LED array for video!
I don't think the 24 mm is so wide that it brings in noticeable distortion on the edges so I think I will be ok there. I do already have a 24mm but its an old canon thing on an adapter and I don't really want to be fannying with full on manual controls. Play it safer with something that has got AE and AF.
I do have a 35 mm F1.8 I can switch to and if I really need wider I do have the 16-50mm PZ which will do the job I guess. I also have a 55-210mm. I will take all these with me because they are very light and I won't be in a rush to take photos either. They're just not the best things to use bar the 35 which has a fast aperture. I may even get away with the 35, but on a crop body I feel its often just that little too long for certain things.
May just rent both and use them out and about over the weekend as well! I was contemplating one of these as my next purchase anyway.
I think ill definitely go for the 24 F1.8 though, I remember now in Vegas I used my 35 and a 12mm F2.8 for a wedding and inside The Bellagio and The Venetian I was fighting the ISO to keep the noise down and it wasn't especially dark in there.
I don't think the 24 mm is so wide that it brings in noticeable distortion on the edges so I think I will be ok there. I do already have a 24mm but its an old canon thing on an adapter and I don't really want to be fannying with full on manual controls. Play it safer with something that has got AE and AF.
I do have a 35 mm F1.8 I can switch to and if I really need wider I do have the 16-50mm PZ which will do the job I guess. I also have a 55-210mm. I will take all these with me because they are very light and I won't be in a rush to take photos either. They're just not the best things to use bar the 35 which has a fast aperture. I may even get away with the 35, but on a crop body I feel its often just that little too long for certain things.
May just rent both and use them out and about over the weekend as well! I was contemplating one of these as my next purchase anyway.
I think ill definitely go for the 24 F1.8 though, I remember now in Vegas I used my 35 and a 12mm F2.8 for a wedding and inside The Bellagio and The Venetian I was fighting the ISO to keep the noise down and it wasn't especially dark in there.
Use the biggest aperture lens you have while there is some light.
Really concentrate on keeping the camera steady. You'll get wonderful moody pics or burry nonsense - it's a combination of luck and skill, take loads!
When it gets darker use an external flash if you can and point it so it reflects of a wall or ceiling first!
Really concentrate on keeping the camera steady. You'll get wonderful moody pics or burry nonsense - it's a combination of luck and skill, take loads!
When it gets darker use an external flash if you can and point it so it reflects of a wall or ceiling first!
a340driver said:
Use the biggest aperture lens you have while there is some light.
Really concentrate on keeping the camera steady. You'll get wonderful moody pics or burry nonsense - it's a combination of luck and skill, take loads!
When it gets darker use an external flash if you can and point it so it reflects of a wall or ceiling first!
I have in the past managed some really good photos using slow-flash sync on a compact canon thingy. You get the people pretty well defined by the flash but the slow shutter gives you loads of blurry lights in the back/foreground. Some won't like it but the effect is really how you remember the night... i.e. you were so blasted that that is how it actually looked to you at the time!Really concentrate on keeping the camera steady. You'll get wonderful moody pics or burry nonsense - it's a combination of luck and skill, take loads!
When it gets darker use an external flash if you can and point it so it reflects of a wall or ceiling first!
But yes I am going to have to get some practice shots in as I do not want a load of pictures of people on empty black backgrounds because the shutter was too high to get in some of the ambient.
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