What lens for my brothers wedding?

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Andy82

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First of all, this is my first post on here so hello to everyone. I'm not new to photography as its been a hobby on the side for the last 10 years. However I'd like to ask some opinions on what lens to use (as a guest) at my brothers wedding.

Now I'd prefer just to do the guest thing but he asked me to take my camera, so of course I will. Any extra shots of his big day would be a bonus for sure. There will be a professional tog there on the day so I'm going to try to stay out of the way and be as much a guest as possible. Now back to what lens..

I have a lower end crop sensor nikon (d5200) and 4 lenses.

Nikon 55-200 which is a bit.. [emoji90] in general and out of the question anyway.

Sigma 17-50 2.8 which I'd like to take but I'm worried it might not be good enough in lower light inside with my camera. Also its a big heavy tank of a lens, so not a subtle thing to carry around. Makes my camera feel massive But it would give me plenty of varied focal length to play with..

I have a 50mm 1.8g which is possibly the one I'd like to take because great pics can be had with this lens, and it keeps me out of the way.

And finaly I have a nikon 85mm 1.8 which is a beautiful lens but probably too long on my crop sensor.

Thanks in advance for any opinions.

Andy
 
My vote is for the 50mm 1.8g
You'll be fairly near most subjects and it's a bit more 'guest taking pictures' friendly than a larger lens I'd think. You don't want the wedding photographer to think they've got competition, I guess.
 
I'd take the 17-50 myself to allow a bit of zooming to get the shots, but I'd also have the 50mm in my pocket depending on the highish ISO performance of your camera. I'm afraid i'm not familiar with the D5200.
 
I'd say 17-50 and 85 1.8 for low light shots and a chance to isolate the subject from the BG. Yes, it's long on crop, but will work nicely for portraits. The 50 is a little long to be the only lens on crop, though you could do a lot worse.
 
Given that you're role at the wedding is not a professional one, you're not under pressure to get any particular shot so you have the luxury of accepting that a given lens just won't work for that shot and sitting back down for another sip of wine. As you've pointed out, the 50mm will do well in the challenging lighting and will also be less in people's face. The tog doing the wedding will likely have some robust lenses with him so people will already have had those pointed at them a few times during the day. I would say you'd be better off being a little less conspicuous and trying to get some more candid shots that the tog might struggle to get himself. Your brother and family may enjoy the nature of those shots and they'll compliment those they've already paid for. So my advice would probably be to take the 50mm and enjoy the wedding.
 
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Thank you for the replies. Some of you suggested taking two lenses. As good as that would be I don't want another lens to lug around in my pocket. Also, it might look odd in the photos that I'm in, if I have a bulge in my pocket [emoji23].

I think I'm warming to the idea of just taking the 50mm. I most probably will be taking candid shots.
 
You have a mid body and a nice mid lens the Sigma.

Take that combination and put the 50mm in your pocket,(nothing to do with lugging around it weighs nothing) for nice portraits/close up,s.

You will do great

"I think I'm warming to the idea of just taking the 50mm. I most probably will be taking candid shots."

Sigma best then.

Candid means you do not move and with a fixed 50mm you may have to.No longer a candid
 
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medwaygreen said:
You have a mid body and a nice mid lens the Sigma.

Take that combination and put the 50mm in your pocket,(nothing to do with lugging around it weighs nothing) for nice portraits/close up,s.

You will do great

"I think I'm warming to the idea of just taking the 50mm. I most probably will be taking candid shots."

Sigma best then.

Candid means you do not move and with a fixed 50mm you may have to.No longer a candid
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Why do you think candid means that you do not move?
I move for just about every shot with every lens, for any type shot.
View point is one of the crititical decisions in all photography. It can only be changed by moving your feet.
 
"Why do you think candid means that you do not move"

Because it is candid. In real life, if you try to achieve candid,bloody best not to move and show yourself.

Have you ever tried candid shots in Oxford street?
 
there are a couple of ways to look at this you could take the 55-200 and get some close ups with out being in the way. you could take a 50 and use that but it maybe limiting. the 17-50 gives you more scope. it depends on the shots you want to take
 
I would use a zoom , would not want to get in the way of the profesional tog
 
medwaygreen said:
"Why do you think candid means that you do not move"

Because it is candid. In real life, if you try to achieve candid,bloody best not to move and show yourself.

Have you ever tried candid shots in Oxford street?
Click to expand...
This isn’t Oxford St, it’s a wedding :)

Capturing candids of a hundred people in a confined space means moving a lot.

And moving around and snapping people can be done without drawing attention if you have the right attitude.
 
I wouldn't worry about it, maybe get 5 shots or so with whatever kit you have on you and enjoy the day. You'd ideally want decent low light performance and that would be best with your primes, I don't expect the D5200 ISO performance would be great so you get what you get. Let the professional have all the worry...
 
Scirocco_09 said:
I wouldn't worry about it, maybe get 5 shots or so with whatever kit you have on you and enjoy the day. You'd ideally want decent low light performance and that would be best with your primes, I don't expect the D5200 ISO performance would be great so you get what you get. Let the professional have all the worry...
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I know what you mean. I want to try and enjoy the day too. The iso performance on my camera is by no means terrible, just not the best. I'd probably get decent enough results using iso 3200 if I had to. If it's dull inside I'll use manual but have auto iso set at a limit so I don't have to keep checking it.
 
medwaygreen said:
"Why do you think candid means that you do not move"

Because it is candid. In real life, if you try to achieve candid,bloody best not to move and show yourself.

Have you ever tried candid shots in Oxford street?
Click to expand...



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and breath


Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
 
Andy82 said:
I have a 50mm 1.8g which is possibly the one I'd like to take because great pics can be had with this lens, and it keeps me out of the way.
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This!

But, if you have a few quid to spare, a 35mm f/1.8 shouldn't break the bank and a second hand one will be even cheaper. (There's an f/1.4 as well but rather less affordable!)
 
Nod said:
This!

But, if you have a few quid to spare, a 35mm f/1.8 shouldn't break the bank and a second hand one will be even cheaper. (There's an f/1.4 as well but rather less affordable!)
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I had a 35mm 1.8 but sold it last year because I got the sigma 17-50 2.8 lens.
 
The extra light gathering that the f/1.8 will give you will be very handy but have a play with the Sigma (in similar lighting to what you expect on the day) and see how it copes. Don't be afraid to use a high ISO - again, have a play and see how high you can go before noise has a significantly detrimental affect on the images at final use stage.
 
Nod said:
The extra light gathering that the f/1.8 will give you will be very handy but have a play with the Sigma (in similar lighting to what you expect on the day) and see how it copes. Don't be afraid to use a high ISO - again, have a play and see how high you can go before noise has a significantly detrimental affect on the images at final use stage.
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Will do. I think it would be a good lens to take, its just that it's massive and heavy that puts me off to be honest. I've never taken my Dslr to a wedding before, normally just whip put the phone like everyone else.
 
medwaygreen said:
"Why do you think candid means that you do not move"

Because it is candid. In real life, if you try to achieve candid,bloody best not to move and show yourself.

Have you ever tried candid shots in Oxford street?
Click to expand...

Yes... no problem at all. no one even notices, they are far too busy with their own lives. if they do, just give them a smile and thumbs up and move on. never bothered to hide myself, if you do you stick out like a sore thumb.
cameras make you invisible ... did you not Know?
Move, get in close as you can with a 35mm lens, and you are good to go.
that is the way it has been done for years.
 
I have to say I am a 35mm person now it's the only lens I own for my Olympic em5mk2 it just sees amazing pics.
 
Mr Bump said:
I have to say I am a 35mm person now it's the only lens I own for my Olympic em5mk2 it just sees amazing pics.
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Do you mean a 35mm lens - which in terms of field of view would be around 70mm similar to the OP's 50mm on DX, or do you mean a 35mm equivalent field of view (i.e. a 17mm lens)?
 
Eloise said:
Do you mean a 35mm lens - which in terms of field of view would be around 70mm similar to the OP's 50mm on DX, or do you mean a 35mm equivalent field of view (i.e. a 17mm lens)?
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35mm equiv I use the oly 17mm on my em5mk2
 
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