21 April 2009
Which is the Best Canon Wedding Lens?
Posted by Jaco under: General; Lenses .
Many photographers who want to become involved in wedding photography find it difficult to choose a lens that will fit in their budget and deliver perfect wedding photos. Although the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM is the most popular wedding lens, the reality is that there is no single Canon lens that will meet all the requirements of wedding photographers, but the good news is that the skill and style of the photographer can make up for some of the shortcomings of whichever lens is used.
There are, however a few different answers to the question of which Canon lens is best for weddings. Wedding photography, like any other genre of photography, has no single silver bullet camera and lens combination. The more wedding photographers you ask, the more different opinions you’ll get on what the perfect wedding lens is. However, despite all the different opinions, there are a few factors that most wedding photographers agree on, which will influence the choice of wedding lens.
Low Light Wedding Photo
Speed. For wedding photography, a faster lens is always better and there are two major reasons for this. Many wedding venues have limitations for the use of flash photography during certain parts of the wedding. This means that the photographer will have to make do with the available light in some areas and therefore needs a lens with a large aperture that allows more light to hit the sensor and therefore prevent camera shake or subject movement. In addition to this, many wedding photographers prefer to avoid the use of excessive flash as it can make the photograph look flat. Instead, fill-in flash is used as far as possible in addition to the ambient light which enhances the photographs dramatically. For these and other reasons, it is generally agreed that lenses with an aperture of f/2.8 and faster are preferable for weddings, and the faster the lens, the better.
Image stabilization. Image Stabilization also influences the choice of wedding lens. Focal lengths below 100mm with a large enough aperture do not necessarily require Image Stabilization, but IS plays an important role in lenses with longer focal length to prevent camera shake. Another great advantage of Image Stabilization is that it makes up for the lack of aperture in darker shooting conditions. For instance, in darker shooting conditions, an aperture of F4 with IS is just as effective or even better than and F2.8 lens with no IS, because the IS allows the shutter to stay open longer without introducing camera shake and therefor more light reaches the sensor. Canon claims that its Image stabilization technology add two to three f-stops in low light conditions.
Focal length. Generally, wedding photos are made between 14 and 200mm. The average focal length varies from photographer to photographer, depending on his/her style, but a focal length between 24 and 100mm should provide most wedding photographers with adequate focal range for a successful wedding shoot. Wide focal lengths - below 24mm - are generally used for group shots, portraits from a short distance, creative shots and shots in small spaces (like small churches, etc.). Longer focal lengths are used for close-up shots of faces, hands, flowers etc. Although the wider and longer focal lengths are quite useful, a photographer should be able to cope without it with a little bit of planning and footwork.
It should be noted that the consumer and prosumer Canon cameras use the APS-C sensors which add a crop factor of 1.6 to the standard Canon EF lenses. This means that the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens is effectively a 38.4-112mm lens on a Rebel or a Canon xxD camera. For this reason, photographers with these cameras find the Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 lens a valuable addition to their lens arsenal to cover the wide angle required for group shots and small spaces.
Other considerations:
Flexibility. It is recommended that no wedding is photographed with less than two camera bodies. This leaves the wedding photographer with at least two camera bodies and with one lens attached to each. Some photographers carry both camera bodies and lenses with them and swap between the two while others choose to carry one body with more than one lens. One may even prefer to carry only one camera body and one lens on you and take most of the shots with this combination. Photographers with this requirement may prefer to have a slightly more flexible lens with a wider zoom range such as the 24-105mm f/4L IS instead of a 24-70mm f/2.8L.
Quality. Although all Canon lenses are good quality, there is a clear difference in the quality of the images and of the build quality of the professional L-series lenses. Where budget allows, wedding photographers prefer the L lenses above the standard lenses.
Canon L-series Lenses
Budget. Few of us has the luxury to purchase whatever photography equipment we want. Camera equipment is expensive so, for someone who is starting with wedding photography there are a few guidelines to consider when buying equipment. While a camera body is important, care should be taken not to spend too much on the body leaving too little for decent lenses. It is always wise to focus the spend more on quality lenses instead of superb camera bodies with substandard lenses. The long term plan should also be taken into account. Your first purchase may very well influence the next purchase. If your first purchase is right, the subsequent purchases will be to COMPLIMENT your current lens rather than REPLACE it. See below for possible lens combinations for wedding photography and plan your purchases accordingly.
Possible Wedding Lens Combinations.
There are as many different wedding lens recommendations as there are wedding photographers, but below I have tried to provide a guideline for three different ways of planning for your wedding lens kit. My personal recommendation for most photographers would be to consider option 2 as it is a very flexible, middle of the road collection that will suit most styles and produce great images.
- Budget (for APS-C Cameras)
- Quality Zoom lenses
- Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM / Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
- Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM (for APS-C cameras)
- Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
- Primes
As you can see, choosing a wedding lens is a very personal thing, but I trust that you find this information useful in your decision making process. If you’re still not sure and absolutely have to make an instant decision, consider the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM - you can’t go wrong with it.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4 Comments so far...
don hamilton Says:
28 April 2009 at 08:38.
i’m considering the 70 200 2.8f l series.. i owe a 100-400mm l series cannon as when and a 40D…. is the 70-200 2.8 f really that good for portait as well?? thks don
Jim Says:
28 April 2009 at 13:51.
Don,
I have recently begun wedding photography and have found the 70-200 f/2.8 IS L to be a must lens. The speed helps when flashes aren’t allowed and the zoom is quite nice for the shots from the back of the church and the candid shots at other times. Many of the candid shots are “portraiture”, although not in the classic studio sense. The primary problem is with the cropping factor as a 70 is really a 112mm with a 1.6, which is starting to get a little tight. The other issue, is that it is a big lens weight/size-wise for doing portraits. I also have the 24-70mm f/2.8 L which works great for the wedding portrait shots. Hope this helps.
John Griffith Says:
28 April 2009 at 14:31.
We specialize in budget wedding, portrait, and team sport photography. I shoot a 20D and 30D mainly with the Canon EF 24-70mm F2.8L and Canon EF 135mm F2L. I use the Canon EF-s 17-85mm F4 as a back up and for large groups.
The 24-70mm F2.8L lense is AWESOME!!! Super sharp, lets tons of light in, and has great background blur. Well worth the street price of $1200.00 BUY IT!
The 135mm F2L is another great lense! Is is also super sharp, lets tons of light in, and has great background blur. Only draw back is not a zoom. But that’s ok. Use it for close ups and head shots.
My next purchase will be the Canon 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM. I believe this lense maybe the ultimate multi-purpose lense.
I also intend to purchase the EF-S 10-22mm for my large groups and smaller churches.
Thanks! John.
Jaco Says:
28 April 2009 at 23:45.
Hi Don,
Yes the 70-200m f/2.8L and the IS version are really sharp lenses - in my opinion sharper than the 100-400mm. The f/2.8 is great to achieve subject freeze in low light conditions. For these reasons the 70-200mm is great for portraits, however, keep in mind that the minimum focal length of 70mm may be a problem when you’re too close to your subject and need a full length portrait. Also, the 40D that you use has the APS-C sensor which multiplies the focal length by 1.6x. In practice this means that you’ll be able to get a head & shoulders portrait from a minimum distance of approximately 7 yards and a full length on approximately double that distance. If this is a problem for you, you may want to consider the 24-70mm or the 24-105mm.
Hope this helps,
Regards,
Jaco