Lens - depth of field advice

AMac

AMac

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Name
Alex
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Hi,

Towards the end of Aug I have a friends wedding to do, I have done a few before as back up and as the main.

My current lens are 28-105 f3.5-4.5 and 17-40 f4.0, these lens are not fast enough to lose the depth of field.

I am planing to hire a lens from http://www.lensesforhire.co.uk/ and I want to have a practice weekend to get use to the lens.

Now at last my question, the lens I am looking at is 24-70 f2.8 as this would give me good flexibility, but will F2.8 be quick enough to have min depth of field?

Or should I go for either the L85 f1.2 or the cheaper option 85 f 1.8?

Or is there another option I should consider?

As always thanks for any advice or tips.

gmac
 
Hi

If this is your first wedding as the main photographer I would really recommend you to forget about shooting wide open.

stew
 
artona said:
Hi

If this is your first wedding as the main photographer I would really recommend you to forget about shooting wide open.

stew
Click to expand...

Please read OP

To OP
2.8 will give you good small DOF also the zoom will help as you can not always get where you want to be. I have use my 70-200 IS L 2.8 in church and it worked well. as this will make your DOF even more narrow.
Do you know the venue? check it out see where you might stand then thing about what lens.
 
Hi Stew,

No it is not my first, but I have not done loads. I am a little concerned about getting it wrong with a lens I do not have loads of experiance with, which is way I have two victims lined up for a practice go, on the day I plan to shoot only the couple wide open and with each shot have a safer shot as well.

I do want to try and extend the range of images that I have done to the past, but with some back up in case it does not go to plan!

However, I will listen to peoples views and advice.
Thanks for coming back.
 
To OP
2.8 will give you good small DOF also the zoom will help as you can not always get where you want to be. I have use my 70-200 IS L 2.8 in church and it worked well. as this will make your DOF even more narrow.
Do you know the venue? check it out see where you might stand then thing about what lens.

Thanks for the advice, it is in a hotel so I think it might be a little more relaxed, so I should be able to get closer. I had planed nearer the time to check the venue out, more to plan where to shoot the various shots, however I think I will check it for the lens aspect before I do the practice weekend.

Thanks as my main question was if f2.8 would give me the small dof.
 
Somebodies wedding day is really not the time or the place to be experimenting with your style! hire the 24-70 2.8 lens it's a corker have a good play BUT unless you have a second body with the f4 on I would be a little more cautious! As you know weddings are hectic and stressful. If you have an assistant keeping track of the time and shots then yes play around with minimum depth of field BUT if not then my recommendation would be to only use the min aperture where absolutely critical ie in poor lighting like inside the church but at a distance... the last thing you want is to get home and realise in all the commotion you have focussed on the brides flowers and not her eyes!! then you are royally ****ed!
 
As for the actual question yes 2.8 will give you a small depth of field, but it really depends on what focal length you are shooting at and what distance you are from the subject...85 1.2 is a definite NO unless you are very confident!
 
I have the 85mm 1.8 and even wide open it can be a tad soft, plus although you can really nail it in low light you could also miss the focus. down at f 2.8 it is super Sharp and still decent in most churches, providing your camera can handle high ISO's well. Personally I don't bother too much about getting the most depth of field, just getting a Sharp image at the right moment.

I couldn't comment on the 1.2L as I don't own it and havent used it either.
 
AMac said:
Hi,

Towards the end of Aug I have a friends wedding to do, I have done a few before as back up and as the main.

My current lens are 28-105 f3.5-4.5 and 17-40 f4.0, these lens are not fast enough to lose the depth of field.

I am planing to hire a lens from http://www.lensesforhire.co.uk/ and I want to have a practice weekend to get use to the lens.

Now at last my question, the lens I am looking at is 24-70 f2.8 as this would give me good flexibility, but will F2.8 be quick enough to have min depth of field?

Or should I go for either the L85 f1.2 or the cheaper option 85 f 1.8?

Or is there another option I should consider?

As always thanks for any advice or tips.

gmac
Click to expand...

Download and run the freeware from this site to get a better understanding of depth of field since the newer lenses lack to depth-of-field scales and even f stop setting capabilities.

www.dofmaster.com
 
My feeling is that unless you are trying to be super-creative then your current lens lineup will be great for group shots, but a 70-200 f/2.8 zoom would be great for portraits of the bride and bride/groom where less dof may be desirable. It would be good for this to be sitting on a seperate body.

The 85L is great in specific creative situations or when you need the shot in ridiculously low light - but often at or near f/1.2 the thin dof means the result may not be ideal.


Phil
 
On your 550D, shooting head and shoulders at f/2.8 from about 2.5m, your DoF will be 13cm.

That is not much. Focus carefully using the centre point AF on the nearest eye. Don't shoot more than one person at a time at f/2.8 or it's unlikely you'll get them both within the DoF. Use f/5.6 or f/8.
 
I also agree f2.8 will be absolutely fine. Anything more and you will end up missing shots. It is not so important if you miss a shot in the studio as you can take it again but if you miss an important shot at a wedding you have lost it forever.
 
Hi everyone,

Thanks for all your advice, don't worry you have all made me think of the possible risks lol.

I think I will do al my normal shots and then have a play with the couple at the end, if my practice weekend goes well.

J Buruj, thanks for the dof download it looks really good and helpful, I am just doing my Blue Peter bit this afternoon.

Thanks again, it is nice having so many people look out for you.
 
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