Event & Wedding Photography Equipment

desperatedan1992

desperatedan1992

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Name
Daniel
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Hey TP

Hopefully as of next year i will be involved in a partnership with my dad in wedding and event photography. One thing that has always concerned me when it comes to getting the best pictures is hardware failure, one day it will happen and i wont have a backup of any of the pictures i have taken.

I think a while ago i found a media device that you can take with you that takes SD and CF cards and uploads the pictures straight to it so you have a instant backup and you can keep shooting. Also if you run out of space on the card you can save to the portable device and delete a card and carry og shooting.

APART FROM A LAPTOP

What other options are there???

Many Thanks
 
There are devices which will copy a CF card to their local hard disk. They are available with and without an LCD panel to show the photo/status

However, If you were to copy your photos to one of these, then, erase the CF card, you still have a single point of failure. You don't gain any benefit here, apart from both you and your partners photos would be on the same broken device.

I would think, that the most likely time for a CF card to fail, is when it is being written to.
I would think, that you are better off investing in a second CF card for each of you, of good quality.

Also, it is usually considered (at least within computer circles, I wouldn't think that photography would really be any different), that items with moving parts are the most likely to fail. If there are two of you (and you are paid for as a pair), then I would propose that you should probably have at least 3 cameras between you. Then, should one fail, you can both still take photos. Also lenses would be good to be backed up.

Personally, after reading about common failures on the cameras, it would seem that the CF card door can often be an area where the system fails. It has a little detector that detects that the door is shut, and the system won't turn on if the door is not detected as shut. So swapping cards often may not be the best solution. With this in mind, perhaps the best solution, if you are /most/ concerned about a CF card failing, would be to get enough cards to be able to shoot a day, but not use them. Instead (and I know you said not a laptop, but), get a wireless transmitter, to /copy/ the photos to the laptop, then, when you have a spare 5 minutes, you can permanently move the photos to another storage device, perhaps a USB drive, to free up the storage on the transmitter?
This way, you would have two copies of the photos.
 
I use a portable system like that. It's an Epson P something or other!

I use it to back up to at key points during a wedding. I'll shoot the bridal prep and between there and the venue, it's on the front seat of the car backing up. During the meal I can back up all the ceremony and before I leave I make sure the whole lot is copied.

Note that I use it to make a copy. That's all. I don't ever delete from the cards until it is all safely on my PC, backed up to my external hard drive AND written to DVD. I keep all my weddings backed up on both the external drive and DVD. The external drive for two years and the DVD's for as long as I'm doing it!

It's stood me in good stead too. My PC had a major identity crisis that affected both it and my external drive. Thankfully I only lost a few personal bits and pieces that I hadn't triple saved.

Very wise to think of it.

And BTW a card corruption is most likely to occur when pics have been deleted off the card. Only ever format them :)
 
Thanks for the advice guys

Am thinking in buying another 30 body and grip as backup ready for next year

Wont be buying yet *** as i have other important things to get

Having now got a 17 - 40 F4 i want to finish the series with

24 - 105 F4 L

and

70 - 200 F4 L

this was i have 17 - 40 for wedding group shots

24 - 105 for the walk around shots and portraits of the kids etc

70 - 200 for anything else at any distance + personal use at airshows etc

This then should be a rather nice set up

Ah im also gonna go for a Speedlite 430 EX

Would you say this is a good set up?
 
Good providing you have lots of light.

You do have a problem there the minute you get a poorly lit venue though (or a winter wedding)

All your lenses are f4 and just not fast enough. (I know, I've got all of them!) But I also have a 70-200 f2.8 an 85mm f1.8 a 50mm f1.8 and a 35mm f2.

At a minimum I'd add a 50mm f1.8 and make one of the other two lenses the f2.8. (either get a 24-70mm f2.8 or the 70-200 f2.8) The 24-105mm IS a cracker of a lens so long as you are getting lots of light but in dim conditions, it's a doorstop! :)
 
I cover quite a few equestrian events & a few weddings (but really try to aviod them!)
I have in my kit at the moment:
Canon EOS 40D x2
EOS 20D x1
EOS 1N (some people still like me to use film)
EOS10
24-70 f2.8
70-200 f2.8
18-55
35-135
50 f1.8
8 batteries
2 battery magzines for AA's
30 rechargable AA's
6 CF cards from 1-4gb, all Sandisk

I still don't really feel I've got enough kit much of the time, but I find it takes time to build up, but I would say spare body & plenty of batteries & cards as a minimum
 
Have a 30d Body and grip

17 - 40 F4 L
28 - 135 IS

Next purchase is a 70 - 200 F4 unless i can find a 2.8 for £750 i might be swayed

and either a 24 - 70 f2.8 or a 24 - 105 F4

all good lenses just dpends on the lighting
 
I'm no wedding photographer however if I were I'd be looking at f/2.8 lenses and faster (probably a combination of f/2.8 zooms and f/1.4 primes tbh) in order to deal with the (lack of) available light.
 
My only concern is that i have bought a 17 - 40 L and i dont want to lose it

I dont think i will as i would use that early in the day for the group shots

then get a 24 - 70 f2.8 for the portrait shots and the bog standard wedding stuff and then get a 70 - 200 f2.8

I also need like a 430 ex speedlight

Does anyone know the winning lottery numbers for next week??? im happy to share the money
 
I think the most useful lens is 70-200mm, particularly on FF (70 will be like 40mm on APS-C). My 24-70mm is way too short for nearly everything apart from groups shots.

24-105 sounds like a nice range. I am somewhat tempted myself, but with 70-200 there would be too much overlap.

p.s. for tele make sure to get either IS or 2.8, or you will be limited to using it in broad daylight or on tripod.
 
I am going to be doing a christening soon and i am planning on useing the 50 1.4 and the 85 1.8 as the main lenses. Maybe the 10-22mm for group shots. Its going to be my first one so we will see how it goies.

so my plans are
50D
85 1.8
50.1.4
10-22mm
19GB memory 1-4gig cards
4x Li-ion batts
Filled AA magazine

I realise that without a 2nd body i am leaving myself open to images not being had so i might take a long the EOS 3 with a couple of rolls of film just in case.
 
Up to you

Personally i would get a second digital backup like a 30D with grip so if one fails you have the spare with resonable spec!!

Thanks for all the advice guys, next purchase will proberly be 24 - 105 F4 but this now has been delayed until christmas

If i save from now till xmas i will have a shade under 5k and will buy

70 - 200 F4 L
24 - 105 F4 L
Nifty Fifty 1.8
Canon Speedlite 580 EX
New tamrac expedition 5 back (think this is the one)
perhaps 1 more 2GB Exteme 3 card
and another 30D as a back up

Should drop me to like £2500 something along those lines

What a horribly expensive hobby

you watch i wont have that by xmas i would have spent more money on random stuff

Regards
 
Ha yes there is that or you could just get the 24 - 105 then you have more zoom to play with

BTW anyone with the winning lottery numbers if you could send me a PM before next friday that would be super. I'll make the list of cameras and lenses to buy.

Im thinking something big with L written on the side
 
desperatedan1992 said:
all good lenses just dpends on the lighting
Click to expand...


Hi Dan,

You need to plan for the worst not the best with lighting. The wedding I did yesterday was lovely, beautiful day, wonderful light :)

When I get married later the year - it 5 o'clock on a November afternoon, and sunsets 4.15 that day. Whole different challenge.

Cheers

Hugh
 
You're buying 2 f4 zooms for wedding and event work?

I think that's a mistake personally - f2.8 or quicker for the UK.
 
i do agree 2.8 will be better obviously its just afforing these little babies

i would like a 24 - 70 2.8 but how much are these second hand????

i dont see many for sale second hand so i take that as a good sign that the lens is rele just thats good

that way i would have the 24 - 70 f2.8 as the walk around for most of the shots

please help me find one
 
I've only shot a few weddings for friends. Getting back to cards, never use a new card on the important day, well test first. Cards are relatively cheap, don't scrimp. Always keep an eye on your card to determine if it is about to fill up, and if close to full, replace it when you have a spare moment. If you wait until it fills up just as the bride is being kissed or at any other good spontaneous moment it's very awkward. Don't use large cards such as 8 GB, this temps providence, if it corrupts you lose more if not all.
 
Good advice Steve. I use 6x 4Gig cards. I tend to change mine at the natural breaks and quite often so they are never really getting full.

I have THE most unflattering bum bag in which I keep spare batteries and cards. Get one. They are not the most attractive item but it means that they are on me all the time. Not in a bag or in the car.

I agree that you do need much better lenses for winter weddings but for the occasional really dark one (I look at the location weeks in advance at the right time of day and take a lightmeter) I simply hire really fast lenses.

My motley collection will handle 95-99% of what I need but you are all right. There is the odd occasion when even the f1.8s are not going to be fast enough. You can't pop the camera on a tripod a lot of the time because there is either no room, I'm working to quickly or the shutter speeds get so low, you'd get subject movement in there.

So I contact the wonderful lensesforhire and get myself things like the 35mm f1.4 which does colour like nothing I've ever seen and the 85mm f1.2.

Simples. :)
 
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