Thanks! Purchase made!

[Tal]

My sister needs me to take some wedding pictures for her this Sunday. I have a rebel XT I bought about a month ago, and only own the kit lens. Would the Sigma 70-300 APO work good for taking some wedding shots?

Also, am I going to have problems taking pictures around 2:00PM ??? Shadows? Sun problems?

I want to buy the Canon 70-300 with IS, but also want to get the portrait grip which I've seen for around $148.

Assuming my wife doesn't want me dropping more than $400-500 total, what should I be getting to maximize my return? (And to complement the fact that my only other lens is the kit one.) So I don't really want to get a 50mm or 100mm right now. (although they make me drool)

Thanks in advance experts!

Tal

EDIT: Thanks for all your help everyone! You ROCK! :beer:

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

 

[DeviousTrap]

What part of the wedding will you be taking pictures of, and how far will you be away from the action? You may not need that big of a zoom lens.

 

[A1CSpence]

That 70mm-300mm Sigma is too slow and too long of a lens for your application. Consider getting an 18-125 Sigma, or maybe the 50mm Canon, which is a very fast lens.

 

[Tal]

I will be taking pictures pre-ceremony. So... I should be able to move around and get close. I want the lens I get to be able to zoom a little though. At the time I mentioned (2:00PM) should I need to worry about a flash? If so, which one and where should I be looking to purchase from. Thanks again everyone!

 

[yhelothar]

zoom lens generally aren't too good for portraiture.
Get a nice fast prime lens. 85mm F/1.8
Or you could get the classic 50mm F/1.4
Prime lens are much faster in general, and are much sharper, and provides a more pleasant bokeh.

 

[NutBucket]

Do you have a good flash? Something like a speedlite 420EX?

EDIT: you'll want a flash for fill (shadows and such).

I think you'd be best served with a 50 f1.8 and a good flash. Both of those can easily be had for about $400 me thinks.

EDIT 2: The 50 1.4 is more then $200 I think whereas the 50 1.8 is $90. Not really worth it for the casual photographer IMHO.

 

[Tal]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Do you have a good flash? Something like a speedlite 420EX?

No. I've pretty much got the Rebel XT with kit lens and nothing else. I've got between 400 and 500 to spend. Want to make the best investment of my cash.

Maybe I should be specific. The reason I wanted to get a zoom that would do decent portraits is because I often find myself at the high end of the lens trying to take shots from farther away. And I'd like the macro ability as well.

 

[NutBucket]

Flash 550EX

Flash 420EX

50mm f1.4

50mm f1.8

I'd get the 50 f1.8 and the flash myself. Maybe an extra battery if you have the money. If you're a little tight on cash grab the 420EX speedlite instead of the 550EX.

Or get the cheaper flash and the non-IS 75-300 USM zoom

75-300 non-IS zoom

 

[yhelothar]

The F/1.4 uses much higher quality materials as far as I can tell.
You rarely ever want to use lens at their maximum aperture anyways as it's considerably more blurry.
I'm still a newb at this myself though
Just did a crapload of shopping and research the past two weeks.
Bought myself 3 lenses, a flash, and a nice tripod.

 

[Tal]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Flash 550EX

Flash 420EX

50mm f1.4

50mm f1.8

I'd get the 50 f1.8 and the flash myself. Maybe an extra battery if you have the money. If you're a little tight on cash grab the 420EX speedlite instead of the 550EX.

Or get the cheaper flash and the non-IS 75-300 USM zoom

75-300 non-IS zoom

This sounds like some good advice. I like the 420 , the 50mm 1.8 and am wondering about the difference between the canon (non IS 75-300 USM) and sigma (70-300). I hear USM is pretty nice and the price seems to be about the same.

 

[NutBucket]

It may be better built, but not for $300. I'd rather have my 28-105 USM f3.5-4.5 (IIRC).

Ionno, I shoot a Elan7 body so maybe it doesn't work quite the same with a digital.

EDIT: Tal, I have the 420EX and the aforementioned lens. Both are quite nice. My coworker uses a sigma lens on his hikes because of the marco capability but they tend to die on him every year or two.

USM is definitely nice. Be forewarned, the 75-300 is definitely not a fast lens. It focuses noticeably slower then my other lenses.

 

[yhelothar]

You can probably find an old 135mm F/2.8 prime on ebay for around $80-$150 or so.
Old lens are generally more solid. I got an old 135mm F/3.5 Pentax for my *ist DS, and it feels a lot more solid than my kit lens. The focusing is so smooth, and it's actually made out of metal, not cheap plastic.

 

[NutBucket]

This is the lens I mainly use. Fast and sharp, IMHO

EDIT: Tal, definitely TRY the lens before you buy. Hopefully you have access to a camera shop that will let you try it out in the store.

EDIT 2: Just don't feel bad when they let you try something you'll never afford...like when I was trying out my Elan body they gave a 28-70L f2.8 lens. That sucker is SWEEEET.

 

[Tal]

So far I'm thinking the 430 flash, the 50mm 1.8 and I'm still torn on the zoom lens. Between the Canon 75-300 USM and the Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro...

Is the Sigma as slow as the Canon? I really want the macro functionality I think. (I'm just a sucker for macro photography)

Since B&H doesn't appear to sell the Sigma, is Sigma4less.com a good place to buy that one from?

 

[randomlinh]

i'd say get the 28-135 IS... even if it's old IS tech, better than nothin for indoors... but then again, I'm not very steady w/ my camera That sigma is much too slow IMO. Mine also hunts a little sometimes when focusing.. then again, I was trying to use it to photograph auto-x.. heh.. i want the sigma 70-200 2.8... or the canon IS version

or one of the primes (50/85, 135 too long maybe?) and flash... should probably have the flash regardless though.

 

[NutBucket]

Never bought from Sigma4less.....I doubt the Sigma is any faster.

Sigma @ B&H

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: lnguyen
i'd say get the 28-135 IS... even if it's old IS tech, better than nothin for indoors... but then again, I'm not very steady w/ my camera That sigma is much too slow IMO. Mine also hunts a little sometimes when focusing.. then again, I was trying to use it to photograph auto-x.. heh.. i want the sigma 70-200 2.8... or the canon IS version

or one of the primes (50/85, 135 too long maybe?) and flash... should probably have the flash regardless though.

I have the 28-135 myself, and it's a good sharp lens and the IS works well. I just don't see the point of going with a longer zoom for a wedding. THe OP should be worrying about how to zoom out enough, not the reverse, unless the wedding is in St. Pauls, and he's in the back row.

 

[AndrewR]

You should probably consider the Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 or 24-70mm f/2.8 (Canon 24-70L is very nice, but more than double your price!). A friend had one paired with a 1Ds and loved the results. Seemed like a quality product to me, and the ratings at Fred Miranda are good (>8).

If you're interested in buying a used 28-135 IS, I have one that I'm looking to sell.

 

[edro]

I have the Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO Super Macro II and it is definitely NOT good for wedding shots. The best thing for wedding shots is a very low apeture (~f1.8) IS lens. The Sigma needs a lot of light to work well (outdoor wildlife).

 

[Tal]

sent you a PM AndrewR.

I think I'll buy the 420 and the 50mm f/1.8 then at the very least. My wife ok'd a little larger purchase and said I could buy an extra battery, some filters etc as well. I'm trying to convince her we can save on portraits of our kids.

Any opinions on the generic (non-canon) batteries that places like B&H have? I noticed that the models are all the same but that the amperage is different. I don't want to fry the camera with cheap batteries, but if I can get a cheap one and they work fine...

Thanks again for all the insight everyone. On one hand it's helping a lot, and on the other... now I have so many choices.

 

[NutBucket]

Get Canon batteries. Generics may claim higher capacity but the truth is OEM is always best.

 

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Get Canon batteries. Generics may claim higher capacity but the truth is OEM is always best.

I have generic for my 20D and they work just as well as any Canon battery I've used. I've used both in the camera at different times and notice no difference (not sure on battery life, but i didn't buy them for more capacity, just because they cost less).

 

[pyonir]

Tal, are you the main (or only) photographer?

 

Do your sister a favor and hire a professional photographer for something as important as her wedding.