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Best lenses for wedding photography

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Kaila12345

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12345Hi. I have just bought a Nikon d300 for wedding photography. Please can someone recommend good quality lenses for wide angle sharp group shots, and a multi purpose lens for canded shots. Looking to spend upto £400 on second hand lenses. ( just so you dont recoment this one, I have 70-200 2.8 sigma that's great)
Hope someone can recommend some good gear!
Thank you
 
No brainer on DX that would be a Nikon 17-55 and a 70-200.
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Richard R. Price
 
They're all good.

Next.
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I like the colours. Your camera takes good pictures.
 
I have an 18-70 Nikon and its not very sharp so I wouldn't say they're all good for wedding photography. Also I don't want to be changing lenses all day so didn't know if the 18-200 sigma is good and sharp all the way through the zoom for wide angle group shots to close ups
 
The Tokina 50-135 or the Sigma 50-150 HSM II would be very good instead of the cumbersome and overly long FX 70-200 zooms.

For the wider zoom, try the Sigma 17-50 OS HSM or the Tamron 17-50 which always seems to be highly rated. I would avoid a 18-200mm style lens as it will result in generally dull images and you will have to use much more flash due to the slower max aperture.

For the evening get a Nikon 35mm f1.8 and/or a 50mm f1.8
 
I have the Sigma 18-50 f2.8 OSM (Stabilized) costs about $650

Love this lens - VERY sharp, stabilized which Nikon is not.

Gene
 
For DX, I use my Nikon 24-70 f/2.8 AFS, and my Tokina 50-135 f/2.8. I found that I do not use much, if anything under 24mm, even on DX.

The Sigma 17-50 f/2.8 OS is the best DX mid range zoom out there right now. It beats the Nikon 17-55 mainly because it has stabilization.

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Catallaxy
 
edit, will reopost, darn mobile browsers!
 
If shooting mostly wide open low light then the Nikon is the way to go. Otherwise, shooting at f5.6-8 the Tamron and Sigma are on par. On occasion when no flash is allowed during a ceremony I use my 1.8 primes. I own the Tamron 17-55 2.8 and it is my main lens during an event, best $500 I've spent. The Sigma is just as good from what I've read and seen examples of.
Kaila12345 said:
Thank you for the answers everyone,
is the 17-50 2.8 sigma as sharp as the Nikon 17-55?
Click to expand...
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http://www.cpetridis.com
 
rufusm said:
I own the Tamron 17-55 2.8 and it is my main lens during an event, best $500 I've spent. The Sigma is just as good from what I've read and seen examples of.
Click to expand...
As a part-time event photographer, I also use the Tamron 17-50 as the primary lens on my D300 and have been very pleased with the results.

Note: It is the non-stabilized version that I own. From what I've read, the stabilized version is not as sharp.
 
I have also read mixed reviews on the stabilized version, I have the BIM lens. I was hoping my copy at wide open was a little better though, it suffers from being low in contrast and a tad soft but cleans up well in post with a little more attention, but I didn't buy the Tamron to shoot wide open. From f4-f11 she is sweet and also makes a nice walkabout lens.
Dave Ingraham said:
rufusm said:
I own the Tamron 17-55 2.8 and it is my main lens during an event, best $500 I've spent. The Sigma is just as good from what I've read and seen examples of.
Click to expand...
As a part-time event photographer, I also use the Tamron 17-50 as the primary lens on my D300 and have been very pleased with the results.

Note: It is the non-stabilized version that I own. From what I've read, the stabilized version is not as sharp.
Click to expand...
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http://www.cpetridis.com
 
For wedding photography you need f2.8 or faster lenses and a 70-200mm f2.8 that has VR. Without VR taking shots in a church with the 70-200 will not yield usable pictures. Cameras need a bare minimum of ISO 1600. Add in flash with a battery pack.

Oh and you need at a bare minimum two cameras, two speedlights, and the already mentioned 17-55mm f2.8 and 70-200mm f2.8 VR. With any DX camera ISO 2500 will be the highest setting you can use and expect reliable results and so a f1.4 30mm and 50mm f1.4 lens are important to have as well.

The reality is that few photographers are equipped either in terms of gear or technical skills to do wedding photography and would be far better off doing family portraiture as a starting point. With family portraiture you can start with one camera, a 17-55mm f2.8 zoom, a couple strobes, and a reflector or two.
 
there a reason that the 70-200vr cost more than the sigma lens try taking a low light

shot with the sigma and you will be disapointed and the Nikon will win every day of the week and a lot of weeding shots are taken in low light and that why the Nikon
is so high on the list of weeding photography this is my prefered list
17-55,70-200vr,24-70,90 tamron

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Robert McNeil
 
I think a lot of great advise has been given here. If you really want to get into wedding photography, you really need to invent in some better glass! Sigma and Tamron have some nice offerings ... but nikkor glass is usually better in build and iq. There are some exceptions like the sigma 50 1.4 etc. But I would start with nikkor glass. The 17-55 and the 85f1.4 d or g. If money is a real limiting factor ... one body with a 35g1.8 and one with the 851.8g. Buy a 20mm or 24 mm prime. Thats a good iq cheap set up that would work well. It is a different shooting style though.
good luck!
 
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