Best lens combo for baby shots at hospital

Thanks! I'd love a 24-70 but I don't have the lens and my zoom that covers that range is F4 and I'm presuming I need a faster lens. The 70-200 is a beast but I just can't get over how well it shoots and I love the idea of video. It's technically "not allowed" in the hospital but I know people do it and it would be after delivery so there'll be fewer nurses around. My one issue is that with mostly primes it could be a lot of switching and/or foot zooming but that's the only way I can think of to get enough speed in lighting conditions I can't be sure of.

Thanks! I look forward to my time off of work caring for all my girls (in addition to my wife and soon to arrive daughter we have a cat and a dog who are also my ladies -- definitely outnumbered).

24-105 would actually do fine with video, since you are shooting at 1/30 second (shoot in 24p) and has IS.  Take the 70-200 if its your only 2.8 zoom  Its a great lens  and you will use it from 70-135 2.8 a lot.  than take a wider prime.  again, I think 35 is ideal.  but 24 and 50 do fine too.  I am outnumbered too, so know what you mean (wife, two daughters, and our female cat)

Since I upgraded to full frame the 70-200 is my only 2.8 zoom. I do miss my 17-55 from time to time.

I could swap out the 40 2.8 for the 24 2.8 IS but I figure that the 50 is so close to the 40 and having IS might be nice on a wide shot for group pictures with the three of us and even some grandparents.

Timbukto wrote:

Jonathan Brady wrote:

I agree with everything you wrote except this...

Timbukto wrote:

IMO you are bringing too much gear, etc.

He'll be in one room for 2-3 days. IMO, it doesn't really matter how much gear he brings. He only has to lug it to and from the car (or have friends/family bring it for him). Otherwise, it's simply going to sit in a corner or be in use. To me, there's practically no effort involved and practically no downside to bringing it all either.

My daughter just turned 2 yesterday and I still remember carrying two bags full of all the stuff we'd need (and a bunch of stuff we ended up not needing) plus my camera bag with every piece of equipment I owned AND wheeling my wife down the hall in a wheelchair. His adrenalin will be PUMPING and he won't feel a bit of weight. My wife unfortunately ended up having to have a C section and even when they moved us out of the labor room into surgery, the nurses were really nice and just let us put our bags behind their counter in a corner until we were out of surgery and into the MBU (Mother Baby Unit). I went back, got everything, and came back to the room. No biggie. Upon departure, I leisurely took everything to the car and loaded it up, came back, got my wife, went to the final class before we left, had our baby girl's feet stamped, left my wife and baby behind, picked up the car and brought it to the front door of the hospital and loaded her and the baby into the car. At no time did I feel like I brought too much gear even though I didn't use most of it. It was there if I needed it and that made me VERY happy.

I have no input, I would not know enough about how a C-section differs from natural delivery. But natural delivery is not 2-3 days of recovery.

With our 3rd, we were at the hospital for 22 hours including labor.  The others were longer.  A lot depends on what time the baby comes along.

i would just bring the 24 and 50.

jitteringjr wrote:

Timbukto wrote:

Jonathan Brady wrote:

I agree with everything you wrote except this...

Timbukto wrote:

IMO you are bringing too much gear, etc.

He'll be in one room for 2-3 days. IMO, it doesn't really matter how much gear he brings. He only has to lug it to and from the car (or have friends/family bring it for him). Otherwise, it's simply going to sit in a corner or be in use. To me, there's practically no effort involved and practically no downside to bringing it all either.

My daughter just turned 2 yesterday and I still remember carrying two bags full of all the stuff we'd need (and a bunch of stuff we ended up not needing) plus my camera bag with every piece of equipment I owned AND wheeling my wife down the hall in a wheelchair. His adrenalin will be PUMPING and he won't feel a bit of weight. My wife unfortunately ended up having to have a C section and even when they moved us out of the labor room into surgery, the nurses were really nice and just let us put our bags behind their counter in a corner until we were out of surgery and into the MBU (Mother Baby Unit). I went back, got everything, and came back to the room. No biggie. Upon departure, I leisurely took everything to the car and loaded it up, came back, got my wife, went to the final class before we left, had our baby girl's feet stamped, left my wife and baby behind, picked up the car and brought it to the front door of the hospital and loaded her and the baby into the car. At no time did I feel like I brought too much gear even though I didn't use most of it. It was there if I needed it and that made me VERY happy.

I have no input, I would not know enough about how a C-section differs from natural delivery. But natural delivery is not 2-3 days of recovery.

With our 3rd, we were at the hospital for 22 hours including labor. The others were longer. A lot depends on what time the baby comes along.

i would just bring the 24 and 50.

Have no experience with that either...amazingly my wife has extremely short labors...the first was extremely short, the second was even shorter...the nurses were not even prepared for such a quick change in dilation, etc.  For us its almost, go to the hospital, and baby comes 3 hours later...

Yes don't be a photo snob and disregard video.  Practice with your manual focusing...I find it pretty easy now to record low DOF video.  Being able to record sounds (even non-professional via built in mics), is great.

I'll do some practice work at home with the dog. She's got black fur so if I can master manual focus on that a baby will be a piece of cake.

KN13 wrote:

I'll do some practice work at home with the dog. She's got black fur so if I can master manual focus on that a baby will be a piece of cake.

If you have not installed magic lantern yet, do so.  it really helps with focusing both with peaking and magnification.

For my son's birth 3.5 years ago, I brought the 5D mark2 and the 35 1.4L. That was it. Pulled it out just as he was emerging and then had a lot of fun capturing candids of the boy's first moments with momma and getting weighed, and then his first feeding, and his amazing feet. I put it away pretty quickly and held my son and forgot about the camera for a while.

You're on the right track with fast glass. And while you're wife is in the maternity area, remember that white sheets make for excellent reflectors. Pillows are great for redirecting light well. Flash is unnecessary.

Congrats and best of luck to you for a happy, healthy birthing experience!

And what the guy said above about taking pictures of yourself sleeping so you have them to refer to later... yeah... there's that.

After the birth, for the longest time I just used the 35 and my 100 macro. Thought is was a perfect combo.

You really cannot take too many pictures of the early life of your child. They are in a state of constant change, so you are not, in fact, taking thousands of pictures of "the same subject." Your taking dozens and hundreds of pictures of phases that are all too ephemeral.

Have a blast!

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