Hi everyone, although I like to study the photography topic, I’m really a noob when it comes to practical terms.
I would like to take pictures at a family event which will take place in a garden in the evening/night.
Well, my gear is quite modest, and I know I don’t have what I need to take good pictures of both the place and the people there. I’m looking to rent a nice lens to carry around as I take pictures (and enjoy the party too! So I’m just taking one 😅). So I would really appreciate some advice on what to rent.
There are the four lenses I found while digging, two are primes, two are zooms:
-
Canon RF 24MM F/1.8 IS STM: it’s fast, with IS, but I’m not sure about portraits with this focal length.
-
Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 L II USM: super fast, no IS, still not sure about portraits with this focal length.
-
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM: IS, quite fast, zoom lets me take portraits, but I’ve read it’s not very sharp.
-
Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8 L IS USM: IS, quite fast, zoom lets me take portraits (not strongly as the one above but still).
Here’s my situation:
- I have Canon Eos R10 with the EF adapter.
- My hands are shaky, so without IS I need to be at least at 1/125…
- I like to keep ISO really low (<6400) if I can.
- I kind of pixel peep (I know I don’t have the right because I’m crap but I can’t resist) so I like to take as sharp pictures as I can.
Which lens would you reccommend? Since I’m renting them I was thinking about going all in with the expensive ones, the cost won’t increase much. The primes are so bright I feel comfortable they will be bright enough, but I don’t know if I can take good portraits at 24mm. On the other hand, zooms let me do more things, but I don’t know if I can handle f/2.8 with my crappy and shaky hands.
Of course, if you can think of other lenses that would be perfect for the job I’m all ears!
Cheers
One thing to keep in mind is the R10 has a APS-C size sensor. That means that the effective focal length of those lenses will be higher than on a full frame camera. I believe Canon uses a 1.6 crop factor for their APS sensors. So, while a 24mm lens is very wide-angle on a full frame camera, it will be only moderately wide on your camera.
For portraits, a moderately long lens usually produces more pleasing results than wide angle. Wide angle lets you capture more of the scene around a person, but then it’s more of a landscape that includes people, not a portrait. A portrait should focus on just one (maybe two) subjects.
Of the lenses you mentioned, the 15-35 is probably your best bet. It’s a “L” lens, which is Canon’s top-of-the-line. It’s fairly bright.
You might also look for Canon’s 50mm f 1.2 or f 1.4 “L” lenses. With the crop factor, 50mm is comparable to 80mm on a full frame.
Your subjects will fill the field of view. You might have to take a step or two back, but they’ll look better than when shot with a wide angle lens close up.
Thanks, I feel like this a lot. I love taking pictures with my “cheap” 50mm, and if I didn’t restrict myself to one lens only I’d bring that too because I just love it.
The 15-35 is the one tempting me the most, I’m just asking knowledgeable people if it will be enough for me with my crappy hands given the low light environment :)
Do you already have the 50mm f1.8? That’s a good portrait lens. Not as sharp or as bright as the much bigger, much more expensive “L” 50s, but still brighter than a f2.8 lens.
If you’ve got the 50mm, my advice is to take that to the party as your only lens. If you’re going to spend money on something, spend it on a flash.
With a flash, you should be able to stop down, even at night. Try f/4 or f/8. That will boost sharpness. If you’re concerned about weight, consider the Canon EL-100. It weighs 6.7oz without batteries. I’m guessing it takes either 2 or 4 AA batteries.