Short zoom for gig photography < £800?

mhuk

mhuk

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Mark
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I know this gets asked regularly but before I spend a big heap of cash (to me) I thought I'd ask :)

I often shoot in small clubs/ pubs and am not always happy with my results. I use a Canon 18-55mm IS on one 20d and a Takumar 50mm f1.4 on my other 20d (better shots but focus is a bit hit and miss in the dark, even with a split-screen focus screen). I prefer not to use flash but have experimented with handheld off-camera flash.

Some of my shots are here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/worcestermusicfestival/sets/72157622057855251/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worcestermusicfestival/sets/72157622054374791/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worcestermusicfestival/sets/72157622054121475/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worcestermusicfestival/sets/72157622053112385/

A couple of lenses I'm thinking about are the Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 EX, Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC or Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8

Any comments on these lenses or other lens suggestions? I'm not sure how useable the 24-70mm is as it's not very wide- 18-70mm in an f2.8 would be good if the optical quality was good.

My budget is up to £800 (new or used).

Thanks
 
If you want a cheap, fast zoom, I can't recommend the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 highly enough, but I've never used it in anger in a gig situation, so can't comment. How about a few more fast primes, maybe something like the Sigma 20mm f/1.8 for wider shots, and a 85mm f/1.8 if you're a bit further away, or for headshot type photos? It's hard to say without seeing your style, but I'd think you'd be able to get away with spending a fair bit less that £800 if you want to!

Edit: Actually I just looked it up, and it seems the Sigma 20mm f/1.8 is less than well reviewed, you might want to ignore me on that one!
 
I am currently using the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 for my music stuff. Nice lens and works well for it. Examples here http://www.carlspringphotography.co.uk/Carl_Spring_Photography/Music.html

Good lens. Maybe look at that and some primes for your money? That being said I am looking to upgrade to Canon 24-70 f2.8L as don't really use wide end and am looking to go FF in next year or so. Heard good about the Canon 17-55 f2.8. Depends whethere you are planning to go FF in the future? Canon hold second hand value better, but Tamron is a real bargain for the price.
 
The Canon 17-55 f2.8 has IS, holds its value well and is a fantastic lens on a crop body. I don't know if the Tamron has IS so can't comment on that.

It may well be worth you getting a cheaper lens (or keeping what you've got) and upgrading your body to one with better high ISO performance.
 
andrewc said:
When I do theatre photography which is often fairly low light levels, I use my 550EX/430EX flashes as focus assist lights.
Click to expand...

That's a quick way to get band's promoters getting security to literally pull you out of the pit...

OP, you can either go the canon route with the 17-55, or the cheaper option of a tamron/sigma 17/18-50 2.8, which packs WELL above it's price, and if you buy second hand, someone's already taken the new purchase price hit :P Plus then you could get (say) a 30mm 1.4 for situations when the light level is just too low...
 
andrewc said:
Why - it doesn't fire the flash, just a small red light.
Click to expand...

Is that possible to do with the 430EX? I've always wondered, but have never been able to work out how to do it. Or do you need the Mk II version? (Sorry for taking the thread off on a bit of a tangent!) Cheers,

Chris
 
it's still a (reasonably bright) light that you're flashing distractingly in the artist's face... that and in my experience promoters and managers do tend to be moderately anti-photographer/video/press, to the extent of half looking for a reason to kick you out (though there are very refreshing exceptions to prove the rule)...

in any case, can't see it working too well at gigs what with the fast, bright coloured moving lights around the artist... with 2.8 glass you shouldn't need it at most venues anyway, as long as the lighting guy isn't a big fan of dark stages :P
 
I use a tamron 17-50 at gigs and it is a lovely lens, use my 50mm f1.4 sometimes if its dead dark but its just too long

I rate the tammy very highly and you have spare budget for other stuff.

I would like IS but not really for gigs more for strobisty stuff when I want to bring in the ambient
 
I know it's not a zoom, but have you considered the Sigma 30mm f1.4?

It's a cracking choice for low-light non-flash settings...
 
I bought my Sigma 18-50 f2.8 on here a few weeks ago to improve indoor shots and tbh it hasn't been off my camera since! Its a great improvement over my kit lens (18-105VR).

If you have a good dealer near you, you could always call in with your camera body and try a few out :thumbs:
 
If you've already got a short zoom, you could consider a 70-200 f2.8 zoom. There are a few s/h ones about.
 
Thanks for all the replies and suggestion - I'll have a read now and probably come back with some more questions :)

I'm also going to try an M42-EOS adapter with AF confirm to see how that works with my old Takumar 50mm f1.4
 
for gigs I went for both the 1.4 lenses in my siggy
however, on a cropped lens the canon 50mm just gets too close if you're right up at the front in the pit on an indoor venue
that's why I got the 30mm too
 
17-55 f2.8 IS

mhuk said:
I know this gets asked regularly but before I spend a big heap of cash (to me) I thought I'd ask :)

I often shoot in small clubs/ pubs and am not always happy with my results. I use a Canon 18-55mm IS on one 20d and a Takumar 50mm f1.4 on my other 20d (better shots but focus is a bit hit and miss in the dark, even with a split-screen focus screen). I prefer not to use flash but have experimented with handheld off-camera flash.

Some of my shots are here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/worcestermusicfestival/sets/72157622057855251/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worcestermusicfestival/sets/72157622054374791/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worcestermusicfestival/sets/72157622054121475/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/worcestermusicfestival/sets/72157622053112385/

A couple of lenses I'm thinking about are the Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 EX, Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC or Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8

Any comments on these lenses or other lens suggestions? I'm not sure how useable the 24-70mm is as it's not very wide- 18-70mm in an f2.8 would be good if the optical quality was good.

My budget is up to £800 (new or used).

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
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