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I'm thinking of getting the nikkor 50 f1.4 or 85 f1.4...what are your ideas?...which one would you get? and why?

thanks

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Last edited by mrdinh on Nov 30th, 2003 at 07:51 PM

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available light photography at weddings is usually a big disappointment. Brides are used to seeing professional flash pictures and that is what they expect.

If you are talking about shooting a ceromony (church etc) that does not allow flash then you will probably be far enough away from the ceromony to need the extra focal length.

Use a tripod and tungston film for the best results. A longer lenses from the back of the ceromony on a tripod with tungston is a good shot even with slower lenses.

close ups in available l light from the side of the ceremony can be nice. again a tripod is a must.

I shot available light occasionally for a few church shots when I shot professionally but except for tungston shots from the back of the church the bridal couple never liked them. It is their day not your artistry that matters.

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jerry

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how about digitally?...i don't shoot film...guess only increasing the iso is the best bet right?

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i have no experience at shooting wedding pictures.

since you are talking about lense i'm going to assume you use a DSLR, so.....i can't say that lense would make a difference or not because i'm still using a g2.

but if it's low light....and you are shooting digital...w/o flash....then i'd have to guess that bumping up the ISO is probably your best bet....based on my experience at taking pictures inside a gym.

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mrdinh

you can accomplish much the same in digital.

set your white balance for tungston. I have not used it but it should work. The reason is prevent the image from going to the orange cast of long exposure with film or digital. If shooting raw you can convert later either direction.

This you should experiment with. You do not need a wedding to simulate the church or room. Check out the color shifts especially how they chnage skin tones.

bumping up the iso or increasing the iso with faster film is necessary if you try to hand hold but I prefer to use slower film and a tripod. My church exposures are usually 1/2 to 4 secs. No one is moving fast and slight blur often is interpreted as mood.

Shoot some normal daylight balance and get the orange cast. Especially in close ups it is a good mood efffect. Sometimes people like it.

It depends on who you are shooting and what they like. I found that the bride and groom (and expecailly parents) wanted pictures I would throw away if they were mine.

99% of the desirability of the shot is who is in the picture and what is happening. They will forgive a lot of technical shortcomings

When they want a picture because Aunt Susan is in the background (blurred but not in any other image), you will know what I mean.

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jerry

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Hi mrdinh, I might be tempted to hire the lenses to see the difference and then compare a higher ISO rating to see if the price for the lenses are really justifiable. When comparing the images make sure you print out at a reasonable size though.

I shoot preferably available light, importantly WITH 1:2 fill-in flash when I can indoors and outdoors. Full flash is inevitable in some situations, (read little rooms where registry is signed), but I try to diffuse it someway. The only time when flash doesn't seem to be allowed is during the service itself, but that's not what really needs photographing with the exception of the ring giving and receiving.

Of course there are times where particalar effects enhance the image, such as the warmth of tungsten light and/or the blur low light offers.

I am a film rather than digital camera user. My fasted lens is f1.8 and the two films I use for colour photography are ISO 160 and 400.

Personally I think the creativity of the photographer far out weighs the equipment s/he is using, but you knew that anyway ;)

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John

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Heyas...

Here's something you may not have thought about (and hasn't been included in the replies as of yet)...

What about an auto-stabilization lens? Some of the new lenses that are coming out (especially canon's 28-135 USM IS lens is really quite nice in available lighting situations.

I also know that some other after-market lens makers are following suit and coming up with their own auto-stabilizing lenses.

Basically you can shoot at slower shutter speeds without the blurs or having to having to bump up the ISO. The canon lens mentioned above gets you roughly two stops brighter.

Just a thought.... good luck!

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85 1.8 will work beautiful for those artistic available light from the balcony shots or general photo journalistic images.

Using an ISO of 400(320) will work in most environments. Churches with wood scotty or dark backgrounds you will need to watch out but most churches will be set in back lighting situations making a nice impression.

I now shoot available light shots digital. Just has a certain feel to it that I can get away with while the formals are still shot with medium format with portra vc 400(320) film.



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J T Smith

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In my opinion no reason to spend the extra money on 85 1.4 vs the 1.8. Just stupid in my opinion to spend that money on 1/2 of stop, per say.


J T

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How about trying a fixed 50mm lens at 1.8...very inexpensive and shoot at an iso around 800?...just my 2 cents

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Alot of good advice here. I guess what it boils down to is how much money do you have? If money is no object then by all means, spend it on some fast lenses. On the other hand, if money is a bit tight and you are shooting digital, just do as dugster recommended and bump the iso a bit. Depending on the camera you are using, this shouldn't make a huge difference in quality. I think you will find that you will be able to get great shots with the equiptment you have if you use a tripod or bump the iso up.
Colin

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