Hi everyone, although I like to study the photography topic, I’m really a noob when it comes to practical terms.
I would like to take pictures at a family event which will take place in a garden in the evening/night.
Well, my gear is quite modest, and I know I don’t have what I need to take good pictures of both the place and the people there. I’m looking to rent a nice lens to carry around as I take pictures (and enjoy the party too! So I’m just taking one 😅). So I would really appreciate some advice on what to rent.
There are the four lenses I found while digging, two are primes, two are zooms:
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Canon RF 24MM F/1.8 IS STM: it’s fast, with IS, but I’m not sure about portraits with this focal length.
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Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 L II USM: super fast, no IS, still not sure about portraits with this focal length.
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Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM: IS, quite fast, zoom lets me take portraits, but I’ve read it’s not very sharp.
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Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8 L IS USM: IS, quite fast, zoom lets me take portraits (not strongly as the one above but still).
Here’s my situation:
- I have Canon Eos R10 with the EF adapter.
- My hands are shaky, so without IS I need to be at least at 1/125…
- I like to keep ISO really low (<6400) if I can.
- I kind of pixel peep (I know I don’t have the right because I’m crap but I can’t resist) so I like to take as sharp pictures as I can.
Which lens would you reccommend? Since I’m renting them I was thinking about going all in with the expensive ones, the cost won’t increase much. The primes are so bright I feel comfortable they will be bright enough, but I don’t know if I can take good portraits at 24mm. On the other hand, zooms let me do more things, but I don’t know if I can handle f/2.8 with my crappy and shaky hands.
Of course, if you can think of other lenses that would be perfect for the job I’m all ears!
Cheers
Thanks, I feel like this a lot. I love taking pictures with my “cheap” 50mm, and if I didn’t restrict myself to one lens only I’d bring that too because I just love it.
The 15-35 is the one tempting me the most, I’m just asking knowledgeable people if it will be enough for me with my crappy hands given the low light environment :)
Do you already have the 50mm f1.8? That’s a good portrait lens. Not as sharp or as bright as the much bigger, much more expensive “L” 50s, but still brighter than a f2.8 lens.
If you’ve got the 50mm, my advice is to take that to the party as your only lens. If you’re going to spend money on something, spend it on a flash.
With a flash, you should be able to stop down, even at night. Try f/4 or f/8. That will boost sharpness. If you’re concerned about weight, consider the Canon EL-100. It weighs 6.7oz without batteries. I’m guessing it takes either 2 or 4 AA batteries.