Lens to Shoot a Christening

robp

robp

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rob
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Hi,

I have been asked to shoot my nephew's Christening and am happy to do it. I will be using a D90.

However, in the focal length range I assume I would need, I only have a F1.8 nifty fifty and the 18-105 kit lens.

I had more or less decided on the Sigma 24-70 F2.8 but having searched old topics on here about the lens I got the feeling that the Tamron equivalent was preferred.

Also, advice given in some of those threads seemed to indicate that on a crop sensor a shorter focal length zoom might actually be preferable.

Any advice on best focal lengths would be very much appreciated, as would any pointers as to which lenses I should consider. I can go to £600, give or take, so the 'aspirational' lenses are far beyond me, unfortunately.

Thank you for your time

Rob
 
robp said:
Hi,

I have been asked to shoot my nephew's Christening and am happy to do it. I will be using a D90.

However, in the focal length range I assume I would need, I only have a F1.8 nifty fifty and the 18-105 kit lens.

I had more or less decided on the Sigma 24-70 F2.8 but having searched old topics on here about the lens I got the feeling that the Tamron equivalent was preferred.

Also, advice given in some of those threads seemed to indicate that on a crop sensor a shorter focal length zoom might actually be preferable.

Any advice on best focal lengths would be very much appreciated, as would any pointers as to which lenses I should consider. I can go to £600, give or take, so the 'aspirational' lenses are far beyond me, unfortunately.

Thank you for your time

Rob
Click to expand...

The sigma 24-70mm is a great lens but its designed for Full frame, and covers the same sort of ground as a 17-50mm on a crop camera. 24mm on a crop isn't very wide, you would be missing 17-23mm its a lot. The tamron 17-50 is as sharp and half the price. Put your kit lens on and move 18-23mm and visualise whether you want to loose all that.
 
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why don't you hire the lens nikon 24-70mm f2.8 from www.lensesforhire.co.uk co.uk its £79 for a 7 day hire rather than forking out £600
 
Or why not hire the Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 from www.lensfettish.com for 7 days?

Standard price is £61 for 7 days but if you book it more than 21 days in advance you will get a 15% discount making it £52 for 7 days
 
Hi, I did a Christening last week and would advise you go to the church, with the priest before hand, and ask him where you're likely to be able to stand.

I took a 50 1.8 & 17-50 2.8.

Inside the actual church I was desperate for a bit more length, I really wish I had the 85mm 1.8. - that would have been perfect for where I was.

It depends where you get to stand. If you're allowed close up then a 35/50 is adequate.

But I liked to wander around and try to get some natural shots, I found I had to crop a bit to get what I was after..

Edit 2 by ^Joe, on Flickr
 
Thank you all for your advice and suggestions :thumbs:

I had not thought about lens hire, to be honest. The chance to get my hands on a top lens, even for a week, is most appealing. However, I am trying to build up my kit and am using this Christening as, let us say, an 'excuse' to add a new lens.

I recently shot a group of children taking their first Holy Communion and checked the exif data this morning which proved interesting. I used my 18-105 kit lens and the shortest focal length used was only 24mm but I worked through the range right up to the maximum 105mm with the most shots around the 40-45mm mark.

This would indicate that perhaps I don't need the shorter focal lengths. However, I do take on board the point about where I will and won't be able to shoot from and so will get in touch with the church. This will obviously be a deciding factor when I make my choice.

As a matter of interest, can a lens designed for a full frame camera actually be used on a crop frame?
 
Whats wrong with what you have the 50mm is fine for low light the 18-105 gives a good range for all other types of shot and with respect its a family gathering not a paid job so you have nobody to impress with Big lenses
 
CaptainPenguin said:
Whats wrong with what you have the 50mm is fine for low light the 18-105 gives a good range for all other types of shot and with respect its a family gathering not a paid job so you have nobody to impress with Big lenses
Click to expand...

Fair points, Captain.

Thing is, my sis-in-law is inviting all the other new parents in her circle. She knows I am trying to make my tentative way in the world of paying photography and has asked me to do this mainy so she can showcase my work to all the other parents who are yet to have their children Christened.

I have to say, that the 18-105 served me very well at the above mentioned Holy Communion and I made stacks of sales to the parents concerned. all of whom were pleased with my shots.
Being a newbie into the world of shooting for money, I feel more comfortable having the flexibility of a zoom over a prime, to be honest. And on top of this, I want to experiment with shallow dof. I did find with my kit lens at the Holy Communion that I had to do more editing work than I would have liked in order to blur busy backgrounds etc.

I suppose the argument to this statement is that if people are happy to buy my 18-105 shots then why invest in another lens?
Thing is, I already run one business and feel very strongly that I provide the best possible service I can, regardless of whether people actually appreciate it or not, and regardless of whether I could 'get away' with offering a lower standard but still charge for it.
 
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