Advice needed! Camera Lens

Kris Lambert Photography

Kris Lambert Photography

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Kris
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I have been offered a few nights as a photographer in a nightclub near me to get some experience and I can start soon as I get my camera kited out.

I have the EOS100D and need advice what Lens I should get with a good AF, I only want a lens which can take pictures of groups of people nothing big.

Willing to spend up to £300-£400

Also I need a good speedlight for the camera
 
How dark is the area your looking at shooting? I may be tempted with the 17-55 F2.8
 
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On a crop sensor, and wanting to take pictures of groups of people (no doubt you'll be quite close), I would look at the Sigma 16-35mm f1.8. Its outside your budget but will work well in low light and give a nice bokeh when required. Won't need the speedlight in this case, as you will get enough light into the camera.

Alternatively get a decent speedlight, with some diffuser covers (to prevent so much glare) and use your standard kit lens.
 
^^^ That - the Sigma.

Or a 2.8 zoom. I wouldn't really bother with a 17-40L at f/4 when there's a good chance your kit lens at the wide end does f/3.5 already.
 
the sigma is apparently a very sharp lens as well? Either that or a 17-50 2.8 would be my choice
 
if you dont need extreme sharpness or colour profile, and you only need a decent photo, it's even more than enough if you have a sharp copy of the kit 18-55.. it's not excellent, but it's good! Very good indeed! And it balances well with your light and small 100D.. The 17-55/2.8 IS is a decent lens which I used before. It's an excellent lens, but it won't balance well with your 100D I think due to its weight.. It feels like your camera's lens mount is about to come off, if you get what i mean.. The 17-40/4 L is good, only if you require weather resistant, which i dont think you do. The 17-40 isnt all that sharp, not fast at f/4 and doesnt even have IS (which doesnt really matter when you use flash most of the time) but has extremely good build quality. Much more solid than the 17-55/2.8 IS in my opinion. Oh and the 17-40 doesn't extend when zoomed in and out which I like.

So the bottomline is:
Kit 18-55 IS - Light, well-balanced, sharp enough and good enough, cheap to replace if you break it!
17-55/2.8 IS - Excellent image quality, very big and heavy so won't balance well with your body.
17-40/4 L - Medium weight, medium image quality, not too fast at f/4 and no IS, weatherproof (only if you need it)

Hope this helps :)
 
Mr Perceptive said:
On a crop sensor, and wanting to take pictures of groups of people (no doubt you'll be quite close), I would look at the Sigma 16-35mm f1.8. Its outside your budget but will work well in low light and give a nice bokeh when required. Won't need the speedlight in this case, as you will get enough light into the camera.

Alternatively get a decent speedlight, with some diffuser covers (to prevent so much glare) and use your standard kit lens.
Click to expand...

I will be getting my self a speedlight and using my kit lens has a lot of people have said, save your money till you can afford an expensive lens, your kit lens will still do the job with a speedlite!
 
That's definitely the way forward. Even with a fast lens, you'd still need a decent flash to fill the shadows in a club situation where the light is very hit and miss.
 
As people have said, gofer a flash, but make sure you know how to use it to get best results and consider a small softbox as well as it might not be possible to bounce the flash in that environment.
 
Hmm if you haven't made up your mind yet, I'd go prime with a speedlight, all you need is a cheap plastic diffuser that clips on top of the speed light and to tilt it 45 degrees away from the subjects in order to get decent light. Ive done a prom in this way with the Canon 7D and mainly a 28 F1.8 lens which i would highly recommend but for groups the 20mm f2.8 might be better, good luck!

p.s. always be aware of your surroundings making use of walls and ceilings to bounce the light for a better fill.
 
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