Lenses
- Thread starter Nickler
- Start date
- Messages
- 1,182
- Name
- Michael
- Edit My Images
- Yes
You need to explain exactly what problem(s) you are having.
- Messages
- 2,604
- Name
- Danny
- Edit My Images
- No
Nobody can tell you exactly what lens you need without knowing the exact scenario at that exact moment in time, for the composition you want, limitations and obstructions, dof you want, lighting, etc etc.
I can only suggest doing a lot more reading, and a lot more shooting to build your experience and knowledge.
Are you shooting this wedding as a guest/friend, or as the wedding photographer?
I can only suggest doing a lot more reading, and a lot more shooting to build your experience and knowledge.
Are you shooting this wedding as a guest/friend, or as the wedding photographer?
- Messages
- 1,525
- Name
- Neil
- Edit My Images
- Yes
If you can't get close enough to the subject from the distance you want to shoot it at then you have to use a longer lens. In your case the Tamron 70-300.
However I don't really think I'd want to be at a party with a DSLR and long lens, unless perhaps I was the official photographer and wasn't there to enjoy myself.
Also if party is indoors and therefore in low light you will need a faster lens, which your Tamrom probably isn't.
- Messages
- 2,777
- Name
- Drake
- Edit My Images
- Yes
Generally speaking, your 50 mm lens will probably be the one you'll choose for portraits and group photos, plus shooting in low light conditions. I suggest this because it's probably the "fastest" lens you have (lowest f-stop). I'm guessing it's a 1.8 because that's the least expensive and most common. There are 1.4D and 1.4G versions that are even faster. Fast lenses allow you to shoot with less light. They also give you greater isolation of your primary subject because of a shallow depth of focus at the fastest f-stop.
The 18-55 will be a versatile lens for you. At the wider end (18 mm) it will give you a broad field of view useful for architecture, landscape and cityscape shots where you want to include a number of large objects in your photograph (i.e., multiple or very large building, mountains, fields...you get the idea.) At the longer end (55 mm) you'll be able to get some closer shots of people, pets, etc. without being absolutely on top of them. As you zoom from the wide end to the long end you'll gradually shift from landscape to portrait mode, or to a more detail oriented mode.
The 70-300 takes you into the realm of a long(ish) telephoto lens for getting close to objects/subjects that, for some reason, you cannot physically get close to. For example...wildlife or zoo animals are at a distance nice for viewing, but not so great for photographing. As you zoom toward the long end of this lens (300mm) will magnify the image, making it appear that you were closer to the subject. This lens is useful for candid photos of people, since you can be well away from them and they might not realize at all that you're taking their photo. (This can be problematic, however, because some people don't much care for strangers snapping their picture!)
A couple of rules of thumb broadly applicable to most lenses (but with some exceptions, as always...LOL)
1. Lenses have "sweet spots" where they are sharper and more contrasty. This sweet spot is usually NOT at the extremes...tending to most often be more toward the middle of the range of capabilities of the lens. So...you're 50 mm 1.8 lens probably gives sharpest images not at f/1.8, but at f/2.8 or even f/4...and then is strong through f/11. As you move toward f/16 or f/22 you'll lose some sharpness again. The same pattern will apply to your other lenses, but the exact sweetspot will be measured not only in f/stop but also in relation to either end of the zoom. For example, your 70-300 likely isn't at it's best out at 300 mm...more likely it's better at, say, 200 mm. So if you are at f/9 and 200 mm, you'll get sharper images than if you're at f/4.6 and 300 mm.
2. Every lens, no matter how expensive, has it's strengths and weaknesses. Obviously, very expensive lenses have more of the former and fewer of the latter. You typically get what you pay for in camera lenses as in most other things. But...even cheap lenses, in their sweet spot, will give you cracking results. It's critical that you read or somehow learn about the theory of photography, and then go out and take a lot of photos and experiment with your lenses until you're comfortable with their limitations, so you know when you're most likely to get the great photos you're aiming for.
I hope this helps a bit...
Last edited: