Help with my set-up


Exhaust

New Member
Dec 11, 2010
293
0
0
37
Hi guys, i am a poor guy who really want to maximize my gear with the limited budget i have.

I am into Weddings, Portraiture(models) and travel photography.

Set-up (A):
1. 18-200mm
2. 50mm F1.4

Set-up (B):
1. Tamron 28-75mm F2.8

For set up B it it relatively cheaper and the F2.8 seems to be really good enough for me. However, this lens would meant that i have to switch lens if i need to do some wide angle shots.

The 18-200mm lens is like an everyday lens where i can use in almost any occasion, and if i need to do some portrait shots than i can snap on my 50mm prime lens but this set-up is slightly more expensive.

any comments?
 

My comment is : which setup do you prefer ? And whAt compromise are you willing to make ?
There isnt a better setup just a matter of which one you can afford and prefers.
 

I switch my lens too, if i want to take potraiture shot. Not that difficult right?

Actually for wedding or event photography, it is good to have two cameras with different focal length. makes the job easier, but more tiring. But if you are good and experienced, you should be able to do so with one, go and shoot more and discover which focal length is comfortable for you.
The Tamron 28-75 seems to be a popular zoom lens among budget wedding photographers.
 

I doubt setup A will cut it, but that depends on you. I'd go with setup B, or maybe swap the Tamron 28-75 with a Tamron 17-50.
 

Hi guys, i am a poor guy who really want to maximize my gear with the limited budget i have.

I am into Weddings, Portraiture(models) and travel photography.

Set-up (A):
1. 18-200mm
2. 50mm F1.4

Set-up (B):
1. Tamron 28-75mm F2.8

For set up B it it relatively cheaper and the F2.8 seems to be really good enough for me. However, this lens would meant that i have to switch lens if i need to do some wide angle shots.

The 18-200mm lens is like an everyday lens where i can use in almost any occasion, and if i need to do some portrait shots than i can snap on my 50mm prime lens but this set-up is slightly more expensive.

any comments?


are u going pro or not?

i assure u both sets will not make the cut if ur an AD photographer.
 

are u going pro or not?

i assure u both sets will not make the cut if ur an AD photographer.

I think still can lah, but it's very hard. I've had very bad experiences with focus tracking on Tamron 17-50 BIM in low light conditions, but if the TS can shoot wide all the time, it is still possible. Must have a very good crop body like the D7000. D3000 will not make it.

I'd suggest Sigma 17-50 OS HSM (they don't have any previous versions of 18-50 or 17-50 f2.8 that come with HSM), Sigma 70-200 Macro as the bare minimum, but that's probably my style of shooting.
 

I doubt setup A will cut it, but that depends on you. I'd go with setup B, or maybe swap the Tamron 28-75 with a Tamron 17-50.

Is the Tamron 17-50mm better? I thought that the 28-75 will give better Bokeh effect and it would be convenient to have a slightly longer focal length =)
 

Does anyone know of any Tamron sites that shows all their lenses? i've did a search and been to Tamron Global Site but their lens there seems really limited and they do not even have the 28-75mm lens displayed in that website.
 

Does anyone know of any Tamron sites that shows all their lenses? i've did a search and been to Tamron Global Site but their lens there seems really limited and they do not even have the 28-75mm lens displayed in that website.

Do you mean this one: http://www.tamron.com/en/photolens/di_hi_speed/a09.html
Tamron has two lines: "Di II Lenses exclusive for APS-C size Digital SLRs" and "Di Lenses for Film and Digital SLRs". The 28-75 is a typical lens of full frame / film era. The equivalent for APS-C is the 17-50 / 18-55 [kit lenses].
 

Last edited:
Hi guys, i am a poor guy who really want to maximize my gear with the limited budget i have.

I am into Weddings, Portraiture(models) and travel photography.

Set-up (A):
1. 18-200mm
2. 50mm F1.4

Set-up (B):
1. Tamron 28-75mm F2.8

For set up B it it relatively cheaper and the F2.8 seems to be really good enough for me. However, this lens would meant that i have to switch lens if i need to do some wide angle shots.

The 18-200mm lens is like an everyday lens where i can use in almost any occasion, and if i need to do some portrait shots than i can snap on my 50mm prime lens but this set-up is slightly more expensive.

any comments?

None of these setups will do for APS-C cropped frame camera bodies for weddings or events..

For cropped frame, for budget:
Tam 17-50/2.8 + flash
35/1.8
50/1.8

For Full frame budget setup:
Tam 28-75/2.8 + flash
50/1.8
85/1.8

For portraits, a single 50/1.8 or 50/1.4 will do. For FF maybe consider a 85/1.8 instead.
For everyday use, kit lens will do. But if you getting one of the F2.8 zooms, you do not need the kit lens.
 

Last edited:
i've used both tamron 17-50 and 28-75. we are very much alike in photography genres.
for my case, i do portrait the most as i can take photo of families and friends who are most readily available.
wedding would not happen that often. travel would be the least frequent, at least for me.

i would suggest you get those as mentioned by daredevil123 for your crop body. 18-200 is what we call a everyday walkabout lens, but from my experience the long reach is usually very underutilized, and if you want wide angle, the tam 17-50 will do it for you.

for both tamron lens, i would say bokeh is about the same. but have in mind 28-75 is a full frame lens. regarding the AF speed, i hunted for an older version without the built-motor which focus much faster using the body drive motor. this bring me to my next point, maybe you should consider upgrading to a D90 with a driver motor to make use of older and cheaper 2nd hand lens, instead of more expensive newer lens. example is the 50mm f/1.8
 

i've used both tamron 17-50 and 28-75. we are very much alike in photography genres.
for my case, i do portrait the most as i can take photo of families and friends who are most readily available.
wedding would not happen that often. travel would be the least frequent, at least for me.

i would suggest you get those as mentioned by daredevil123 for your crop body. 18-200 is what we call a everyday walkabout lens, but from my experience the long reach is usually very underutilized, and if you want wide angle, the tam 17-50 will do it for you.

for both tamron lens, i would say bokeh is about the same. but have in mind 28-75 is a full frame lens. regarding the AF speed, i hunted for an older version without the built-motor which focus much faster using the body drive motor. this bring me to my next point, maybe you should consider upgrading to a D90 with a driver motor to make use of older and cheaper 2nd hand lens, instead of more expensive newer lens. example is the 50mm f/1.8

Thanks guys!

hmmm... having a decent set-up is harder than i thought haha. i also thought of getting the 28-75mm lens so that in future if i were to get a FF DSLR it can work on that body too. (save $$ in upgrading lens in future).

For those who have used the 28-75mm lens, is it a good replacement for an everyday lens and portraiture lens?
 

For me, if I can afford a FF body, I wouldn't get third party lenses. Remember, lenses > cameras, so if you want to have a good camera body, make sure you have good lenses on it. I'm not saying that the Tamron 28-75 is not sharp or good - it is, but still, the sharpness and AF speed is not on par with the Nikon 24-70 f2.8, and you're wasting your FF camera if you don't have a good lens.
 

For me, if I can afford a FF body, I wouldn't get third party lenses. Remember, lenses > cameras, so if you want to have a good camera body, make sure you have good lenses on it. I'm not saying that the Tamron 28-75 is not sharp or good - it is, but still, the sharpness and AF speed is not on par with the Nikon 24-70 f2.8, and you're wasting your FF camera if you don't have a good lens.

the truth is far from it, if 3rd party FF are not deserved to be used then they wont be manufactured at all. everyone wants the best lens, i dream of it everyday, but cant afford it means i shouldnt buy FF? hmmm.... nikon and canon will be losing many customers...

a FF is just the size of the sensor, although i agree that it wont be fully "optimized" if not coupled with a nikon FF lens, but how is it "wasted" if using 3rd party lens? will a slower AF really ruin the image if the subject is "sow" enough? and in my case the lens do not have a built-in motor, so should i blame my FF body for the "slow" AF?
 

i do own 28-75 f2.8 before for almost 1/2 year before i sell it, i used it for my main lens on crop body cos i intend to use it on FF incase i do upgrade, it's a sharp lens even wide open, nice macro capability on 75mm end, though colour came out a bit flat, the AF is the most gripe i have for this lens, it's slow(faster than kit lens though) & sometimes miss focus but if u're on tight budget i dun see why not, after all u're not using it for sports and it's certainly faster than kit lenses
 

Last edited:
i do own 28-75 f2.8 before for almost 1/2 year before i sell it, i used it for my main lens on crop body cos i intend to use it on FF incase i do upgrade, it's a sharp lens even wide open, though colour came out a bit flat, the AF is the most gripe i have for this lens and also one of my reason to sell off this lens but if u're on tight budget i dun see why not, after all u're not using it for sport and it's certainly faster than kit lenses

It depends on what body you use it on. The non-BIM version I think focuses faster than the BIM one, especially if you're using it on a D300s, D700 or D3s. The BIM version (which TS has to use since he's on a D3100) is slower than my kit lens (at least for the Tamron 17-50, not sure about the 28-75)
 

It is up to you.

As to whether make the cut, it depends on:

(1) Lighting at the area
(2) Client expectations

If you have good lighting, then kit lens also can. If you have low client expectations, you go with Hello Kitty camera also can. Fyi please.
 

Thanks guys!

hmmm... having a decent set-up is harder than i thought haha. i also thought of getting the 28-75mm lens so that in future if i were to get a FF DSLR it can work on that body too. (save $$ in upgrading lens in future).

For those who have used the 28-75mm lens, is it a good replacement for an everyday lens and portraiture lens?

not forgetting about flash, which you would most probably be using alot for portrait and wedding.
 

not forgetting about flash, which you would most probably be using alot for portrait and wedding.

There are some people who like to shoot with only available light, but they probably can because they're using a D3s. I doubt a D3100 can handle the freakishly high ISOs you need for low light photography without flash.