Ranger_Chris61
07-28-2009, 04:07 PM
<div id="post_message_3065056"]I have been shooting closplay photos now for the last three years and I am beging to see many of the limitations of the equipment that I currently have. Right now I am shooting with a Canon Rebel XT + 18-55 f3.5-5.6 kit lense with a 550EX Speedlite flash for the majority of my photos, and a 70-300 f4-5.6 IS for long range shooting, such as in panels and Masqurade. The lense that came with my Camera has thus far been my workhorse of my photography but I have started to get ot the point where I feel I need a better lense.
Right now I am heavily leaning towards the 24-70 f2.8, as one of the major problems I have noticed in a majority of my shots is that they are really dark. As such I reason that getting a lens with a large appature will solve this problem, as I can't increase the ISO on my camera more than I currently have it at without my shots being destroyed by chroma noise. Additionaly, I am leaning towards this lense becuase during my recent trip to Anime Expo 09' just about everyone and his brother was shooting with it, suggesting that if that many people are using it than it must be a good lense for cosplay. So what I am wanting to know is: is this a good lense for general cosplay photography, at cons in otherwise not ideal lighting, and any other opinions or lense suggestions people have.
Now for the longer range shooting is where I am having the most difficulty as far a choice of a good lense. I am split between the 100-400 f4.5-5.6 IS and the 70-200 f2.8, and the 70-200 f2.8 IS. The primary reason for this split is becuase of another thing that I do some shooting of, Airshows. Initialy I was looking exclusivly at the 100-400 as on my Camera that gives me a great amount of zoom. However, while at Anime Expo I started considering other posibilities, specificaly ones where I could get more out a the lense that I chose. While the 100-400 is a good lense, its relatively small max apature, 4.5-5.6, is really not that good for cosplay shots in poor lighting. So I started to look at the 70-200 in both flavors, with the idea of getting the 2X Extender for when I need a longer reach. However after reading some reviews I am now really unsure of my options. So what I am trying to learn here is what have people's experiences have been with both the 100-400 and the 70-200, and if the IS is worth the extra money for 70-200 IS over the cheaper non IS version.
I am also, as a more distant purches thinking about getting the 50 f1.4 for the time when I want to do close up portrait shots. Any opinions on this lense and its f1.2 and f1.8 brothers would be greatly appreciated.</div>
Right now I am heavily leaning towards the 24-70 f2.8, as one of the major problems I have noticed in a majority of my shots is that they are really dark. As such I reason that getting a lens with a large appature will solve this problem, as I can't increase the ISO on my camera more than I currently have it at without my shots being destroyed by chroma noise. Additionaly, I am leaning towards this lense becuase during my recent trip to Anime Expo 09' just about everyone and his brother was shooting with it, suggesting that if that many people are using it than it must be a good lense for cosplay. So what I am wanting to know is: is this a good lense for general cosplay photography, at cons in otherwise not ideal lighting, and any other opinions or lense suggestions people have.
Now for the longer range shooting is where I am having the most difficulty as far a choice of a good lense. I am split between the 100-400 f4.5-5.6 IS and the 70-200 f2.8, and the 70-200 f2.8 IS. The primary reason for this split is becuase of another thing that I do some shooting of, Airshows. Initialy I was looking exclusivly at the 100-400 as on my Camera that gives me a great amount of zoom. However, while at Anime Expo I started considering other posibilities, specificaly ones where I could get more out a the lense that I chose. While the 100-400 is a good lense, its relatively small max apature, 4.5-5.6, is really not that good for cosplay shots in poor lighting. So I started to look at the 70-200 in both flavors, with the idea of getting the 2X Extender for when I need a longer reach. However after reading some reviews I am now really unsure of my options. So what I am trying to learn here is what have people's experiences have been with both the 100-400 and the 70-200, and if the IS is worth the extra money for 70-200 IS over the cheaper non IS version.
I am also, as a more distant purches thinking about getting the 50 f1.4 for the time when I want to do close up portrait shots. Any opinions on this lense and its f1.2 and f1.8 brothers would be greatly appreciated.</div>