low light lens

bustersdelight

bustersdelight

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Name
Neil
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Hi
I have a Cannon &d with a 24-105 lens and a nifty fifty.

I am a dj who takes lots of pics during my gigs. I need a better lens for low light that will get good group photo's without flash.

Any recommends please.
 
I'm quite new here, so I may not be able to help you much. However, I've been looking for a fast zoom lens. In your case, it's probably better to get a fast prime because fast zoom lens are only as wide as f2.8. nifty fifty is good, but it may be too long for your use. I'm not familiar with Canon prime offerings, but I heard good things about Sigma 30mm f1.4.
 
I don't think you're going to find a lens to help you out here.....

To get good low light shots without a flash you need a big aperture but to get good group shots where all/most people are in focus you'll need a larger DoF which will only really be acheived using a smaller aperture which will then mean you need to crank the ISO up and/or use a flash.

It's a bit of a catch 22.

Can I ask why you don't want to use a flash?
 
I don't want to use the flash, so I can get the beams from the disco lights on a first dance at weddings etc.
 
bustersdelight said:
A tog had a 85 1.8 with no flash are they any good
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Brilliant lens but no good for group shots as its too long.. for a fast prime used with group shots you should be looking at 24mm minimum 20mm might be better.. an 85mm 1.8 would be brilliant for picking people/dancers out in the crowd ..
 
bustersdelight said:
I don't want to use the flash, so I can get the beams from the disco lights on a first dance at weddings etc.
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You can still get "the beams" using a flash and your current lens will be perfectly OK for this.

Do a search for "Club Photography" where it's explained how using 2nd curtain sync flash and leaving the shutter open for say 1/5 you can get decent group shots and still get lots of ambient light in too :)
 
A wide-ish f1.4 or at the least a f1.8 might be best. With a widish lens the DoF won't look paper thin especially if you back up a bit. Anything from 20 to 30mm might be an improvement on a f2.8 zoom. Other than that don't be afraid of boosting the ISO to get the shutter speed up.
 
I guess the &D is a 7D so you have a crop sensor. f1.4 or 1.8 isn't necesarry for group shots because your depth of field will be very limited and with multiple subjects some will be blurred.

I suggest an f2.8 zoom with a view to shooting at f2.8 to f4 to have a little DOF. Perhaps the Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 -f4 or similar. You'll have to crank the iso up a little but the 7D is ok at 1600 and a little movement blur will add to the atmosphere.
 
phototuition said:
I guess the &D is a 7D so you have a crop sensor. f1.4 or 1.8 isn't necesarry for group shots because your depth of field will be very limited and with multiple subjects some will be blurred.

I suggest an f2.8 zoom with a view to shooting at f2.8 to f4 to have a little DOF. Perhaps the Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 -f4 or similar. You'll have to crank the iso up a little but the 7D is ok at 1600 and a little movement blur will add to the atmosphere.
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With a group shot you may want to step back and when you do that f1.x may not necessarily = obviously minuscule DoF especially if using a wider angle lens.

It's a long time since I did low light event photography but as I recall it obviously depends on light levels but if they are low f2.8 might not cut it let alone f4.
 
manualfocus-g said:
A 24/1.4 would be perfect, but it's not cheap!
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How will that be perfect for group shots? You'll need an aperture of f4, if not f5.6 to get even a small group of people in focus..........

If you're talking about people in a club/party situation they'll be far from organised and willing to listen to instruction and are more likely to resemble a rugby scrum than subject waiting to have their picture taken so a reasonable depth of field is needed ;)

I'm not doubting that lens' capability but given the requirements I wonder if a 10-22mm would be more appropriate?
 
Russ77 said:
How will that be perfect for group shots? You'll need an aperture of f4, if not f5.6 to get even a small group of people in focus..........
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No, not necessarily.

At 24mm and f1.4 on APS-C your DoF at 10 feet will be in the region of 3 feet, maybe enough, maybe not, but by the time you're 20 feet away DoF will be in the region of 12 feet, probably easily enough. So really it depends upon the framing you want and the distance to subject. Like I said, a wide aperture does not always have to equal very shallow DoF.
 
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woof woof said:
No, not necessarily.

At 24mm and f1.4 on APS-C your DoF at 10 feet will be in the region of 3 feet, maybe enough, maybe not, but by the time you're 20 feet away DoF will be in the region of 12 feet, probably easily enough. So really it depends upon the framing you want and the distance to subject. Like I said, a wide aperture does not always have to equal very shallow DoF.
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Agree, talking from experience the 24/1.4 is very good for this type of shot. Plus, because the lens is so wide, it is often possible to stop down to f2 in low light anyway, helping further.
 
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