DPReview.com is closing April 10th - Find out more

Lens suggestion for speakers at conferences

Started Jan 10, 2017 | Discussions thread
Peter Kwok
Peter Kwok Senior Member • Posts: 2,635
Depends on the style

Focal length is usually dictated by how close you are from the speaker. That means the size of the venue. You should not be front center and block the views of the audience. So, it is either from the sides near the front or in the center rear.

Will most of the speech take place in your company conference rooms or convention centers else where? Do you know how bright the light will be? Will the speech be accompanied by power point projection? Do you want to see the speaker in front of his/her slides? These will determine how much light you have and what ISO, f-stop you can use.

Talking heads are pretty boring, especially when you have only one camera. Will you edit them and insert power point slides?  If so, you can plan ahead and change framing/position after inserting a slide. Use zoom only when it does not draw attention. Go with the flow of the speech. Zoom in when the subject becomes intimate, or the speaker is about to demonstrate something small. The best time to zoom is when the speaker is moving, because you can change framing and zoom at the same time while the viewer is focused on the speaker's move.

As you can see, I would recommend a zoom lens like the 18-135 if the light is sufficient. Using a prime wide open can get you some artsy shots if you move around. But this may not be appropriate for serious corporate video.

-- hide signature --

Peter Kwok
Click here for my PBase gallery
WYSIWYG - If you don't like what you get, try to see differently.

 Peter Kwok's gear list:Peter Kwok's gear list
Canon EOS 5DS Canon EOS R5 Canon EF 16-35mm F4L IS USM Canon RF 14-35mm F4L IS USM Canon EOS M6 +8 more
Post (hide subjects) Posted by
jp4
(unknown member)
(unknown member)
(unknown member)
(unknown member)
Keyboard shortcuts:
FForum PPrevious NNext WNext unread UUpvote SSubscribe RReply QQuote BBookmark MMy threads
Color scheme? Blue / Yellow