17-55 F2.8 IS or 24-105 L F4 IS for wedding?

[myloplex]

For wedding: Only Church + Reception. (Morning)
Which would be a better choice of lens to use with Flash?
17-55 F2.8 IS
or
24-105 L F4 IS

[valice]

I would go with the 17-55 F2.8.

Also it depends on the ambient light of the church.
Some churches have the warm cosy lighting which you want to exploit by using low shutter and large apertures even though you have a flash. I prefer to use the flash only as a fill-flash...

[wenghong]

I would choose 17-55 if i can go up close to shoot the couple, some pastor will give you instruction as not to stand too near to the couple as the audience wanted to witness the on going process,without the photographer blocking their view.
if you wanted the 24-205, my advice to you is to shoot with flash.

[genegoh]

I'm assuming you are using a 1.6x crop body cos of the EF-S option.
If you're going to take any group shots, better get the 17-55. You'll need the wider angle. It's safer than using the 24-105 to realise that you cannot go wide enough.

[art2d3d]

5D use 24-105mm
30D use 17-85mm IS

or get the Tamron 18-200mm. If not blowing up the photos.

[solasido]

just a question a bit out of topic,

which lense do you guys normally use for such occasion?

[lkkang]

Originally Posted by art2d3d 5D use 24-105mm 30D use 17-85mm IS or get the Tamron 18-200mm. If not blowing up the photos.

good answer ... totally agree

If you are taking indoor, prefer to use flash...practice and practice.

[USM]

First of all, which camera body are you using?

Secondly, have you checked out the church to see how lighted is the environment?

[Yatlapball]

As part of the nature of this assignment where there should be no slip-up... You ought to take the responsibility to visit the location prior to the event. As USM has mentioned, check out the lighting... how wide or tight is the location. Scout good locations for the group or single portraits...

Come on. This is a big day for the couple. Do it right.

[myloplex]

Originally Posted by USM First of all, which camera body are you using? Secondly, have you checked out the church to see how lighted is the environment?

using 20D
Church has very high ceiling and interior is basically dark brown.
Plan to use Lightsphere-II CLEAR too.

[genegoh]

Originally Posted by myloplex using 20D Church has very high ceiling and interior is basically dark brown. Plan to use Lightsphere-II CLEAR too.

Actually, I would advise not to use flash. Churches are generally pretty well lit (compared to ballrooms), so using ambient light would produce good results I feel...

[USM]

Originally Posted by myloplex using 20D Church has very high ceiling and interior is basically dark brown. Plan to use Lightsphere-II CLEAR too.

Since you are not using a FF body, then a EF-S 17-55mm f2.8 or EF-S 17-85mm might be a better choice. EF 24-105mm works better with a FF body but it can be used on your 20d too.

The main difference between these 2 lenses is in terms of f-stop. Having said that, EF-S 17-85mm has an advantage of extra 15mm which can be quite useful especially in a tightly crop situation.

All 3 lenses have IS incorporated which is a plus point when the lighting is not so good.

As you have mentioned that the church's ceiling is very high, so bounce flash cannot be used, so using flash gadgets such as the Lightsphere, Lumiquest Pocket Bouncer, etc is recommended.

Do take note that some priests/pastors do not wish to be flashed during the ceremony, so it would be better for you to ask first before hand. If cannot use flash, then a fast lens is necessary.

However, you can still use flash in the receiption area. You may want to have a combination of non-flash and flash images.

[kelvinlhm]

Originally Posted by myloplex For wedding: Only Church + Reception. (Morning) Which would be a better choice of lens to use with Flash? 17-55 F2.8 IS or 24-105 L F4 IS

Originally Posted by myloplex using 20D Church has very high ceiling and interior is basically dark brown. Plan to use Lightsphere-II CLEAR too.

Originally Posted by genegoh Actually, I would advise not to use flash. Churches are generally pretty well lit (compared to ballrooms), so using ambient light would produce good results I feel...

First of all, it is an awesome privilege to be invited for such occasion, congrats!

Can I assume you already recce the actual room of the church for the ceremony cos some mega churches do ve smaller rooms instead of the 2000 seater hall.

Any light reflector would be useful since u cannot bounce off from the high ceiling.

Usually for such event, I would do a photojournalistic approach...thus go for 24-105 L F4 IS for the matrimony ceremony.
1. Close range for effective use of your reflector up to 3-4m for a 30-50+ flash guide.

2. Its long end for capturing details of the witnessing relatives and friends. Unless you only wanna shoot the couple, pastor, ring, candle, the ribena, the bread at close range.

But bring the 17-55 F2.8 IS for the group photo at the reception. Always bring backups...lens, lots of batteries, memory cards, another side camera.

Given that its interior is dark brown that speaks of low scattering light, so a flash is a must la, dun need to ask rocket scientist. Most pastor are v understanding to allow flash, unless they wanna to held accountable for the poor quality photo that will be the haunting topic. But learn not to flash the light directly at people too, so as not to overstay your welcome.
In short learn to be discerning when using flash.

[Love_sky]

Originally Posted by art2d3d 5D use 24-105mm 30D use 17-85mm IS or get the Tamron 18-200mm. If not blowing up the photos.

I'm totally agree with this set-up

Best is bring the flash along but most pro you will use it

[zj2000]

Originally Posted by art2d3d 5D use 24-105mm 30D use 17-85mm IS or get the Tamron 18-200mm. If not blowing up the photos.

i wouldn't use the 18-200mm indoors if i were you....

17-85 if on a budget else the 17-55 IS.... nothing beats a 2.8 when shooting moving targets indoors.. plus you would want a 2.8 for the shallow dof to shoot the couples' wedding rings, bouquets... u know things that you normally see in ppls' wedding portfolio...

[valice]

Actually, think pple will be more interested with that thing you have on your flash. hahaha...

[kelvinlhm]

Originally Posted by zj2000 i wouldn't use the 18-200mm indoors if i were you.... 17-85 if on a budget else the 17-55 IS.... nothing beats a 2.8 when shooting moving targets indoors.. plus you would want a 2.8 for the shallow dof to shoot the couples' wedding rings, bouquets... u know things that you normally see in ppls' wedding portfolio...

Agree with zj2000. Why you bother a 200 tele? The couple going night Safari after the matrimony ha? ....Beside your 20D's 1.6x factor should make the 24-105 long enough for most reach less Night Safari...hee.

[miniUltraman]

Do consider which focal length work best for you. I have covered church wedding with just 24-105, 580EX and 30D. The church is big and I don't have problem moving back to compensate the 24mm end. But a longer zoom is essential... 55mm is abit too wide. Also, I usually use f4 or f5.6 and flash is allowed in the church. However, if you are in HDB for tea pouring.. 17-55 works better. My experience with 24-105 is that, the videographer overtakes you when you have to move back

[Yoke]

I have used the 17-55 F2.8 IS on the 30D for church shoots. Works great, esp if you do not want to carry a few primes.

Works better than the 24-105 F4 obviously for the church. The key issue is low light environment, getting a wider aperture lens will make a diff. Do not sacrifice the F2.8 aperture for a little of range for the church shoot. You can walk around to get your shot.
No point taking long-range blurred photos.

Are you going to use a flash? I understand some churches strictly forbids flash photography. Even when it is allowed, if you start flashing your way through the ceremony, it is bound to disturb or even annoy the audience to a small extent somehow. It can be quite distracting. So to me doing away with flash take the attention from the photographer and allow more flexibility. Allows me to work unobstructively and "blend in". It was unnerving previously when I started shooting away with the former 20D (the shutter sound is loud and distinct) and flash during the ceremony, it was TOO "intrusive" for me.

And if you need flash, you prob would need to turn up the ISO anyway otherwise may end up with "dark" backgrounds. Most churches are big places and flash is insufficient to light up the background.
The flash is more impt for formal family/ friends group shots.

Another way I do if I have to use the flash for "fill-in". If I have to use it when it is slightly darker, I reduce the flash outout -1 to capture the facial features and maintain my wide aperture and higher ISO, to avoid the notorious "flash-out" look and "dark" backgrounds - tats a pain to edit

For a reasonably litted church with the 30D and 17-55 F2.8 (even better, with primes) you can use iso 800 or even 1600 at F2.8 without much issues, and the IS will come in very useful - people dun move around alot during the solemn church ceremony. Centre point focusing in low light seem more responsive with the 2.8. Any darker, u have to go primes or resort to flash. Even then the 17-55 works great with flash too doesn't it?

And in response to the previous post, instead of getting th 24-105 and 17-55, I suggest getting a 17-55 F2.8 IS and a 70-200 F4 IS will be more useful at the same price point.

Go for the 17-55 imho, it will serve you well in church. Even better, go primes; try to keep a prime as a backup eg 50 1.8 if you can :)

[jasperng]

i shoot wedding with my 17-55 IS
i recommend this.