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Which wide & fast lens...?

Posted 21/05/2011 - 19:52 Link
I am shooting an Asian wedding in two weeks (just got booked today!) and it will include shots of the Groom before the wedding in his lounge receiving gifts from relatives.

Had the room been larger I'd have used my 50mm 1.4 but there's no chance in such a small room on my crop sensor (K20D)

I reckon I need something around the 30mm mark but the obvious choice there is the 31mm 1.8 which I cannot afford to buy at the moment (although rental is an option if in stock.)

What other lenses are about that I could look at? I love my FA 50mm 1.4 and it's hardly ever off my camera, is there a wider version of it?

Thanks in advance
Mike-P
Posted 21/05/2011 - 19:55 Link
Sigma 30mm f1.4
Posted 21/05/2011 - 20:00 Link
Thank you.

I am also open to using a manual lens and even an M42 lens if I have to (I have the adapter)
Smeggypants
Posted 21/05/2011 - 22:23 Link
Mike-P wrote:
Sigma 30mm f1.4

Seconded. Although if you want really wide the DA 14mm/f2.8 is a good 'un
[i]Bodies: 1x K-5IIs, 2x K-5, Sony TX-5, Nokia 808
Lenses: Pentax DA 10-17mm ED(IF) Fish Eye, Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8, Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8, Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.2, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7, Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8, Sigma 135-400mm APO DG, and more ..
Flash: AF-540FGZ, Vivitar 283
smc
Posted 21/05/2011 - 22:59 Link
I have a Sigma 24/1.8 - excellent IQ but huge.
Posted 22/05/2011 - 00:03 Link
Could someone please tell me the main differences between the Sigma 30mm 1.4 and the linked to lens for sale the Sigma 28mm 1.8 (apart from the obvious focal length and aperture difference.)
karma mechanic
Posted 22/05/2011 - 10:23 - Helpful Comment Link
Regarding indoor shots at an Indian wedding, I'd say that you need wider than 28mm - that's still a 'standard' field of view on our cropped sensors.

The part of an Indian wedding that takes place at home is chaotic - the rellies will all be crowding around and much of the 'feel' of it will be in the general chaos. The room itself may be very small, and everybody will try to be in there.

Personally I'd go for a fast zoom like the Tamron 17-50 2.8 to give flexibility while keeping the speed.

If the bride is going to have mehndi (henna patterns on her hands) before the ceremony then that can be good for pictures too, although that part may be an all-girl thing.

The general chaos extends to the main ceremony as well so flexibility is the key. The 50mm will be fine for the couple sitting in their finery.

Yes - I've had an Indian wedding
My own website is www.richardgaddphotography.com

Also on 500px
Posted 22/05/2011 - 17:13 Link
Thank you for the advice.

I think I may go for the Tamron, just looking around for a 2nd hand one but they seem pretty rare.
Frogfish
Posted 22/05/2011 - 18:22 - Helpful Comment Link
Your 50/1.4 is more like a short tele on a crop and as others have said you definitely need wider. I have both the Tamron 17/50 /2.8 and the Sigma 30/1.4 and although the Sigma is wide enough for small groups in confined spaces I'd take the Tamron any day of the week for it's flexibility - it's a very sharp lense too.

If you are not already proficient with flash photography then note you can use your on-camera flash but make sure you diffuse it. When I have to use it I have a little cloth diffuser that slips over it and does a great job creating much softer light. You are definitely going to need flash as not only is f2.8 not enough for light challenged interiors but you want greater DoF than than for group shots so you don't end up with one or two faces in focus and the others OOF. The Pro I work with insists on f8 for group shots - and always shoot wider than is necessary to allow for cropping.
http://frogfish.smugmug.com/ Pentax. Pentax DA*300/4, Cosina 55/1.2, Lens Baby Composer Pro & Edge 80, AFA x1.7, Metz 50 af1.
Nikon. D800. D600. Sigma 500/4.5, Nikon 300/2.8 VRII, Sigma 120-300/2.8, Zeiss Distagon ZF2 21/2.8, Zeiss Distagon ZF2 35/2.0, Sigma 50/1.4, Nikkor 85/1.8, Nikon TC20EIII, Nikon TC14EII, Kenko x1.4, Sigma 2.0
Edited by Frogfish: 22/05/2011 - 18:23
Posted 22/05/2011 - 20:17 Link
Thank you for your advice.

I have started another thread here

The flash I use is the Pentax 360AF, how would you personally use it in the small environment I am going to be in - would you bounce it from the ceiling with camera on auto? Or would you use some sort of diffuser on it?
Smeggypants
Posted 22/05/2011 - 20:26 Link
Frogfish wrote:
Your 50/1.4 is more like a short tele on a crop and as others have said you definitely need wider. I have both the Tamron 17/50 /2.8 and the Sigma 30/1.4 and although the Sigma is wide enough for small groups in confined spaces I'd take the Tamron any day of the week for it's flexibility - it's a very sharp lense too.

If you are not already proficient with flash photography then note you can use your on-camera flash but make sure you diffuse it. When I have to use it I have a little cloth diffuser that slips over it and does a great job creating much softer light. You are definitely going to need flash as not only is f2.8 not enough for light challenged interiors but you want greater DoF than than for group shots so you don't end up with one or two faces in focus and the others OOF. The Pro I work with insists on f8 for group shots - and always shoot wider than is necessary to allow for cropping.

Great advice.

I have made a small bubble wrap diffuser that velcros over my inbuilt camera flashes. Works a treat. Cost £0.00
[i]Bodies: 1x K-5IIs, 2x K-5, Sony TX-5, Nokia 808
Lenses: Pentax DA 10-17mm ED(IF) Fish Eye, Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8, Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8, Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.2, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7, Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8, Sigma 135-400mm APO DG, and more ..
Flash: AF-540FGZ, Vivitar 283
Opethian
Posted 22/05/2011 - 21:07 Link
What's the consensus on Sigma or Tammy 17-50/18-50 2.8?
Frogfish
Posted 22/05/2011 - 22:06 Link
Opethian wrote:
What's the consensus on Sigma or Tammy 17-50/18-50 2.8?

Not the old Sigma (18-50) but the new one ; 17-50/2.8 probably edges the Tamron 17-50/2.8 but at a price premium.
http://frogfish.smugmug.com/ Pentax. Pentax DA*300/4, Cosina 55/1.2, Lens Baby Composer Pro & Edge 80, AFA x1.7, Metz 50 af1.
Nikon. D800. D600. Sigma 500/4.5, Nikon 300/2.8 VRII, Sigma 120-300/2.8, Zeiss Distagon ZF2 21/2.8, Zeiss Distagon ZF2 35/2.0, Sigma 50/1.4, Nikkor 85/1.8, Nikon TC20EIII, Nikon TC14EII, Kenko x1.4, Sigma 2.0
gartmore
Posted 23/05/2011 - 07:15 Link
Judging by the equipment you listed in your other thread for this job, I'd use the 18-55 and one of your flashes on a a stand bounced off the ceiling
Ken
“We must avoid however, snapping away, shooting quickly and without thought, overloading ourselves with unnecessary images that clutter our memory and diminish the clarity of the whole.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson -
CoDa
Posted 23/05/2011 - 11:55 Link
I recently assisted at a friends wedding. The main photographer used a 18-55mm lens (Canon) and I used my Tamron 17-50mm f2.8.

No issues with my choice all shots as expected, and loved by the happy couple.
Colin

“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.”
Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797)


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