What is the best Camera for Weddings?

[Kandi216]

I have just started out and looking for some help purchasing a really good digital camera for taking wedding photo's. I had questions regarding lens and flashes. I have a old canon (not sure the model) but it is a film. I was wondering if the lens from that camera would work on a newer canon model? Not to mention, I am now the photographer for my sisters wedding and I have to do a good job, so if anyone has any tips on wedding photography, if would be greatly appreciated!!

[Oren]

If your old lenses are EF mount then they'll fit any new Canon EOS camera (not sure about autofocus though).


If they are not EF mount then there should be some adapter but you might lose autofocus with it (assuming the old lenses have autofocus which I really have no idea).

[peety3]

The really good digital camera for taking wedding photos (not photo's) is the one that you own, use heavily, and understand inside and out. Wait, it's the two that you own; having one camera is a recipe for suicide or murder.


Consider two 40Ds or better. Rebel series is OK if you understand the limits and have really good lenses to go with. You want wide-aperture lenses, such as a 17-55/2.8 or 24-70/2.8 plus a good telephoto. I use my telephoto a lot, but I saw a two-shooter team work a wedding with almost entirely their 24-70/2.8 lenses. Consider 3-4 flashes (1-2 on stands for off-camera lighting, 2 on-camera as triggers) or 1-2 flashes plus a decent triggering system.


I "also-shot" at a wedding last month. My 24-105/4IS and 70-200/2.8IS lenses got quite a workout, but the 85/1.2 came in real handy at times also. Three flashes, three cameras, I left the light stand at home since I wasn't the main photographer and didn't want to interfere.


Consider renting a second camera to match your current camera if you can't have two by the wedding date. Consider renting some lenses for 2-4 weeks leading up to the wedding (so you have time to learn them). You basically need to plan for stuff to die, because it will. Lay your equipment out on a table, and one-at-a-time take an item off the table. Imaging shooting the event without that one item. You'll find combinations that just don't work well, unless you have spares or overlap in places. Figure two camera batteries, 2-3 sets of batteries per flash (depending on conditions and usage), at least 32GB of memory cards.


My girlfriend and I shot some events in the spring where we wanted to be able to operate truly independent of each other. That meant 2 similar cameras per person (I rented a non-similar camera for the first week and it totally threw me), a wide-angle, general-purpose, and telephoto lens per person, and at least two flashes per person. Rental cost per event was about $725, but it was money so very well spent.


Gear aside, if you "have to do a good job", it's all about experience. Attend a bunch of weddings however you can, observe others working, and try your hand at assisting and/or second-shooting. The second shooter at the wedding last month is a Canon girl, but shot Nikon for the wedding because that's what the main shooter supplied her. You have to know your gear inside and out - how to set the camera up correctly so when you look through the viewfinder, it's down to a quick spin of a knob, a press of the button, a glance at the playback screen, and a smile because you caught what you wanted.

[Chuck Lee]

Golden rule: Never shoot a family members wedding photos. Hire someone to do it. There are plenty of starving artists out there looking for work and they'll do it on the dime for experience. If you need an excuse to buy a new digital DSLR then buy one for another reason. Go to your sister's wedding and enjoy the day with your family. My wife and I shoot weddings on the side and it is hard work. Just read peety's response. Can you feel the intensity!! That's what it's like the whole time. Intense!


Believe me, you don't want to take on that burden. Hire peety3. For the cost of two 40D's with L glass you can fly him to and from the wedding as well as pay him for his efforts at the end of the day. LOL


That's my take..... and I'm stick'n to it..............[:D]

[peety3]

Believe me, you don't want to take on that burden. Hire peety3. For the cost of two 40D's with L glass you can fly him to and from the wedding as well as pay him for his efforts at the end of the day. LOL
<div style="clear: both;"]</div>





Funny thing is I don't do work-for-hire (yet) and I don't do weddings. ;) Chuck's got the point on the money, I merely chose to answer your question for the question that it is.


If I wanted to do weddings and I had the outside bankroll to do it right, it'd be four 1Ds Mark IIIs, 14/2.8, 35/1.4, 85/1.2, and 200/2 lenses, four PW MiniTT1s and four PW FlexTT5s, four 580EX flashes on stands and umbrellas. It's about $40k in gear that might fit into two backpacks and a stand/umbrella bag. I'd probably want a Profoto Acute600 strobe pack and a head though, for the shots that needed a little "ambient nuking" though. But at $4k/gig, I'd need 10 gigs just to cover my gear, and I haven't even started covering costs for printing, albums, memory cards, batteries, archival hard drives, gas, vehicle, insurance, etc. The 5D II might have some advantages over the 1Ds3, but the 1-series featureset makes it the best camera "for me".


I have 88 rechargeable AA batteries. Honestly, I don't feel like I have enough. That week in Seattle was spent "worshipping" the two four-battery chargers that I brought along, trying to keep up with the batteries I used. Now that I have some PocketWizards, I need 38 batteries just to walk out the door with every spot filled in the gear I have now. I can change flash batteries about 1.3 times, and I'm done. Welcome to the world of photography.

[Mark Elberson]

I have 88 rechargeable AA batteries. Honestly, I don't feel like I have enough.
<p style="CLEAR: both"]
<p style="CLEAR: both"]I have 48 eneloops and I thought that was a lot ;-) I am going to pick up 8 more next time I go to Costco though!

[peety3]

I have 48 eneloops and I thought that was a lot ;-) I am going to pick up 8 more next time I go to Costco though!
<div style="clear: both;"]</div>





Four 580EX II, so 16 there. Two CP-E4, so 16 there. Three PW FlexTT5, so 6 there.


I have 48 eneloops and they're soon going to become the only thing I put into flashes and cp-e4s. My other 40 Impact batteries are going to become dedicated to PW duties and household stuff. They just aren't holding up as well, no surprise.

[Kandi216]

Thanks for the advise, but it is not a big formal wedding! She was not going to have any photographer, so I said you have too! A Wedding with no pictures is worthless to me, LOL. And i am not planning on getting that serious about it. I am looking to buy a nice digital canon camera that hopefully works with my other lens, which i have to check on when i get home, and can take some sweet pictures. Besides this wedding , i am only going to be taking picture of my kids, my boyfriends band, and random hikes and things!! No major plans to become a wedding pgotographer witht this equipment!

[peety3]

Thanks for the advise, but it is not a big formal wedding! She was not going to have any photographer, so I said you have too! A Wedding with no pictures is worthless to me, LOL. And i am not planning on getting that serious about it. I am looking to buy a nice digital canon camera that hopefully works with my other lens, which i have to check on when i get home, and can take some sweet pictures. Besides this wedding , i am only going to be taking picture of my kids, my boyfriends band, and random hikes and things!! No major plans to become a wedding pgotographer witht this equipment!
<div style="clear: both;"]</div>





I used to participate on the POTN forums. There was a young "student" who bought a 50mm f/1.8 lens for his camera, though I don't think it was his only lens. Within a week, it fell about two feet to the carpet below, and promptly separated into multiple pieces. He posted on the forums saying "I have to fix it!" and the rest of us said "good luck, you might as well buy another lens". Needless to say, the "plastic fantastic" or "nifty fifty" is a one-drop lens. Moral of the story is things can fail, and at a wedding they will. Doing a wedding for a friend or family is a recipe for disaster. Doing a wedding with one camera and one lens is a recipe for disaster. Mixing both of those, well, it's your life.


I have a friend with a successful portrait business. She upgraded from a 40D to a 5D Mark II (which is a ~$2800 camera). She has one lens, the 50/1.4 (a $400 lens these days). She is a master of depth of field because she knows her equipment inside and out, but she is also a master of choosing location wisely where she can get enough distance to subject for great results. You won't have that flexibility at a wedding, big or small, indoor or out. Some churches won't allow flash. There are precious few low-budget ways around that problem (I'm thinking 40D, 28/2.8, and 85/1.8), any other solutions are big bucks.

[Maleko]

The ultimate camera for weddings has to be the 5D, with maybe an xxD as a backup.

[Derek Reese]

The best camera for a wedding is the one with a pro behind it.

[peety3]

The ultimate camera for weddings has to be the 5D, with maybe an xxD as a backup.
<div style="clear: both;"]</div>





As Derek Reese said, it's the camera that the photographer can use to make the best images.


If you think it's the 5D, don't ever pick up a 1-series body. The manufacturing quality in those bodies is almost fanatical, the menu options for customization, and the sound of the mirror mechanism in motion is just wow. Plus, I believe the 1-series has better electronics on the output side of the sensor (Daniel Browning mentioned that the amplifiers are analog, not digital), which helps the higher ISOs. The 1Ds3 is quite comparable (and scores a bit higher) than the 5D2 on DxOmark, even with an older sensor and Digic processors.


Specific models aside and having rented bodies to cover backup/second camera needs, I (personally) think there's a significant value in having a comparable backup body, and I don't see a crop body as a safe backup for a full-frame model. There'd need to be one more lens kept in the bag to fully accommodate the shift to the backup body, and that makes for an expensive safety net.

[Keith B]

I'd trade my 5DmkII in a heart beat for a 1DsmkIII. I am starting to get very annoyed at the uselessness of the outer focus points in (not that) low light. $2700 was just more in reach than $7000.

[clemmb]

just more in reach than $7000.
<div style="CLEAR: both"]</div>



Just $ 6,114.95 now at B&amp;H. While other canon gear just took a price jump this one dropped. Probably getting ready to be replaced.


Mark

[Maleko]

The ultimate camera for weddings has to be the 5D, with maybe an xxD as a backup.
<div style="CLEAR: both"]</div>





As Derek Reese said, it's the camera that the photographer can use to make the best images.


If you think it's the 5D, don't ever pick up a 1-series body. The manufacturing quality in those bodies is almost fanatical, the menu options for customization, and the sound of the mirror mechanism in motion is just wow. Plus, I believe the 1-series has better electronics on the output side of the sensor (Daniel Browning mentioned that the amplifiers are analog, not digital), which helps the higher ISOs. The 1Ds3 is quite comparable (and scores a bit higher) than the 5D2 on DxOmark, even with an older sensor and Digic processors.


Specific models aside and having rented bodies to cover backup/second camera needs, I (personally) think there's a significant value in having a comparable backup body, and I don't see a crop body as a safe backup for a full-frame model. There'd need to be one more lens kept in the bag to fully accommodate the shift to the backup body, and that makes for an expensive safety net.
<div style="CLEAR: both"]</div>



Can totally see your point, A 1D yes would be completly fanatical but personally I wouldnt want to carry round a camera that big and heavyall day. Yes some people might say they would, but each to their own. I find my 50D, Grip, Flash &amp; lens giving me neck ache by the evening! lol
Of course you will also have to put into account the actual cost of a 1D!
Alternativey you could have a 1D as a second body for use in low light.


I do alsototally agree about having a comparable body as a backup. The way I see it is if you already own a xxD body, then get a 5D, you would keep hold of them both, using the xxD as a backup, then maybe until the day you can buy another full frame body as a backup then so be it. I have used full frame bodies before now and you can easily hate acrop body after using full frame!


It's always nice to dream and want certain bodies, lens etc, but you also have to be practical IMO. Wedding photography is also about being practical, as you know you can be on you feet for over 8 hours sometimes!

[Keith B]

just more in reach than $7000.
<div style="CLEAR:both;"]</div>









Just $ 6,114.95 now at B&amp;H. While other canon gear just took a price jump this one dropped. Probably getting ready to be replaced.


Mark







<div>


Still out of reach.
</div>

[Mark Elberson]

just more in reach than $7000.
<div style="CLEAR: both"]</div>





Just $ 6,114.95 now at B&amp;H. While other canon gear just took a price jump this one dropped. Probably getting ready to be replaced.


Mark
<div style="CLEAR: both"]</div>





Still out of reach.






Canon EOS-1Ds MARK-III "Refurbished " - $4,699.95 ("http://www.adorama.com/ICA1DSM3R.html?searchinfo=Canon+Recertified)