Question about XT Rebel lenses ??

[lambtron]

I'm a SLR newbie, accustomed to simple point and shoot cameras.

I'm planning to purchase a Canon XT Rebel body and a suitable lens. I will be using this combo for general purpose work, but in particular I want to be able to take good quality photos at dance competitions. Typically, these take place on theater stages with various stage lighting, and I will be some 30 to 60 feet in distance from the subject.

I'm not a professional, so I don't want to spend a fortune on the lens. I have been told that the standard lens that is bundled with the Rebel will not provide sufficient zoom, and also that I should look for image stabilization because of the distance to subject.

One lens I am considering is the Canon EF 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS, which is in the $400+ price range. Can someone please answer a few questions I have about this body/lens combo?

1. Will it provide sufficient zoom at 60 feet?

2. If the subject is moving quickly, will I be able to get decent stop action images with a lens limit of f3.5?

Answers to these questions, as well as any other recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

[Parmcat]

Hello there,

That lens would do a decent job, but as the light gets lower, it will not be fast enough.

If there is any chance of you being closer to the stage, and you don't have a lot of money to spend, check out the 50mm 1.8. It is a very very good value, and is take sharp, and fast, but will not zoom for you.

I woudl save your money, and get the fastest lens you can, instead of buying something that wont get the job done for you

Parm

[SlipNslide]

One thing you may not know since your fairly new to lens buying, is the with the 28-135mm will only be F3.5 at the short end. When you get to 135mm it will be at F5.6. which deffinately will not stop action in low light situations even with an ISO of 3200. Try to find a lens with a solid aperture. That doesn't change during zoom.

[bytethis]

G'day lambtron, welcome to Byte.

I'm actually a Nikon man, but shooting/lens principals are the same.

One thing you may not have been advised (and you should have if you're buying a cam/lens from a camera dealer) is that your Canon XT actually has a sensor that is not the same size as 35mm film, so in fact it has a 'crop factor' of 1.6x (because the sensor is that much smaller than 35mm)

This actually has benefits for you in that you end up multiplying the focal length of all lenses you use on your cam, and this means that from 60 feet, you'll have drawn the stage and dancers closer to you than you expected.

So in effect your 28 - 135 lens becomes a 44.8 - 216mm lens. The 28 - 135mm measurement are the figures stated if used on a 35mm film or full frame digital cam. 200+ mm is actually a medium range zoom and 30 - 60 feet from your subject is well within it's reach. The 48mm end is very close to what the human eye sees (approx 50 -55mm) The disadvantage is that with the crop, you 'lose' some of the edges of frame and image (compared with using the same lens on a 35mm cam) something you'll quickly get used to, actually.

The trade off, as mentioned, is lack of light at the zoomed end. Unfortunately, constant aperture - those that maintain the same wide aperture of say f4 or f 2.8 for the whole zoom range for example are more expensive, because of the extra work (and componentry) that goes into such a lens. Shooting stage productions often won't get frozen sharp images due to the changing (and low) light, but the Canon has reasonable performance if you raise the ISO (light sensitivity) of the sensor and you'd still get good images with detail at about 800 ISO, you could easily then run your images through a noise reduction software package like Noise Ninja or Neat Image to soften the effects and pick up detail. So you may well be able to snap close to stop action images with this lens and a bit of camera adjustment.

I'd suggest experimenting at a rehearsal (if possible) to get your eye in and guage the light levels (especially if you're not allowed or don't want to use flash)

Good luck.

[Hellbelly]

Ah, there's alot of helpful info on this site. I'm going to be doing just what Lambtron is doing. I've been told to maybe just buy a camera body only (not the two lens package) and then with the money I've saved (with body only purchase), but I decent IS lens. I think I'm looking at the same lens too. But, for now I'll keep perusing the site for info.

HB.

[lambtron]

In case this helps someone, here's what I ended up doing for stage photography at dance shows and competitions.

I purchased a Canon XTi body without lens. To this I added a Canon 70-200mm f2.8 L glass, non IS. The results? EXCELLENT!

I could not justify the added cost of IS and, as it turns out, it is totally unnecessary. I typically shoot on a monopod, thus giving me the stability that would otherwise be provided by IS. Before purchasing, it became clear to me that IS would not help in any way to freeze the dancers; only a fast shutter will do that (and, of course, a larger aperture). So, the only thing IS would do for me is prevent camera movement when I snap the picture, and a monopod does an excellent job of eliminating that problem.

The XTi is a great little body and, when combined with the 70-200mm L-glass, it captures super sharp images from a distance, just the way I hoped it would. Perhaps someday I'll get a full 35mm imager, but until then I am totally satisfied with the XTi. The only real advantage of a larger imager for stage work would be the increased light-capturing area and commensurate increase in shutter speed. Also, higher-end bodies have somewhat faster response, but this hasn't been an issue for me.

Since purchasing this body/lens combo, I have shot probably 20 shows/competitions, and I really got the hang of it after just a couple of sessions. I recently shot an entire show for our dance company, on the order of 6000 images. I shot with a monopod while comfortably seated at the back of the theater. The only time I had trouble was when the lighting engineer reduced light intensity to "dramatic" levels which, incidentally, even the audience had trouble seeing.

If you're interested, have a look at my image gallery at www.sensoray.net/jim. Every image in the gallery was shot with my XTi and 70-200 f2.8L lens.

I have discovered numerous tricks for getting good results. At shows, for example, the lighting is often different for each dance routine. In such cases I will lock the shutter speed and quickly shoot a couple of test images, then adjust the speed to as fast as I can get away with, then shoot the rest of the dance.

I could probably write a book about what I've learned, but the best tip I can leave you with is this: shoot lots of pictures! I am not a pro, but I have discovered that this is a sure-fire way to get pro-quality pics. By doing this you will quickly get a feel for what your equipment can do and how to use it. More importantly, by taking lots of pics you will improve the odds of getting some good ones.