Lens for D90 Wedding Photography

[Slippry]

Hello, I am looking for a lens for my Nikon D90 that is good for portrait and group shop photography like weddings. I am looking at wide angle lens in the $700-800 range. Someone has reccommended this lens but wanted other opinions. Thanks

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/550954-REG/Tamron_AF016NII_700_17_50mm_f_2_8_XR_Di_II.html

 

[AlbertTheLazy]

I can't comment on that particular lens, but for groups and portraiture I'd suggest something a bit longer, even at the cost of losing some of the short end. Something like 90mm at the top end would be usable to keep you far enough back for decent single head perspective.

Shooting a group with a 17mm is likely to make them look like they are standing on a steep slope.

Depending on what other lenses you have you could use that Tamron just to cover the short end but you would probably find yourself swapping lenses fairly often, which is not ideal in wedding shooting.

For specific opinions and recommendations try the 'Third Party Lens' forum.

--
Albert
(The one in France)
Every photograph is an abstraction from reality.

 

[Alex Ethridge]

Hello, I am looking for a lens for my Nikon D90 that is good for portrait and group shop photography like weddings. I am looking at wide angle lens in the $700-800 range. Someone has reccommended this lens but wanted other opinions. Thanks

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/550954-REG/Tamron_AF016NII_700_17_50mm_f_2_8_XR_Di_II.html

I think I would want a little more on the long end. I use a full-frame camera and my mid-range zoom is the Nikkor 24-120mm. I had the 24-85 but sold it just yesterday; it was okay on the wide end but a little short on the long.

Yours being a DX sensor and there being a 1.5 crop factor between the DX and FX, the 24-120 would probably not do well for you on the wide end at all. To get the same coverage on your DX as my 24-120 gives me on FX, you would need something like 16-80mm so I would look for something as close to that as I could find.

The 17-50 is wide enough but not long enough to suit me.

 

[Alex Ethridge]

http://www.dslrbodies.com/lenses/ni...-lens-reviews/nikon-16-80mm-f28-4e-vr-dx.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=nikkor+16-80&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=

If you don't mind giving up a little on the short end:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/207358-USA/Nikon_1929_Zoom_W_A_Telephoto_AF_Zoom.html
Copies of this lens used start out on e-bay well under $300

Just my personal preference but if I had to settle for a shorter range, I would give up on the short end for the kind of work you state.

 

[Guidenet]

Hello, I am looking for a lens for my Nikon D90 that is good for portrait and group shop photography like weddings. I am looking at wide angle lens in the $700-800 range. Someone has reccommended this lens but wanted other opinions. Thanks

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/550954-REG/Tamron_AF016NII_700_17_50mm_f_2_8_XR_Di_II.html

I think it's a good choice. One of my daughters is a successful wedding photographer and has been for around ten years. She is rather petite and has small hands so has resisted my suggestions she move to FX. Her camera of choice for many of those years was the Nikon D90. Starting last year, and as of this January, she has finally exchanged her cameras from five D90 bodies to five D7200 bodies for her business. When she started out, she used a Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 I lent her and a version 1 of the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VR.

Right away, she rejected the 17-55 as being too beastly but it took a few years to see the light on the 70-200. Today, she understands what a lot of full time wedding photographers are understanding. It's a long, stressful day, and you don't need to lug around long heavy glass. Her primary kit is two lenses, the Sigma 17-50 f/2.8 OS HSM and the Nikon 85 f/1.8G. She has two or three of each for herself, her assistant and a possible floater. One camera is also set up with a wedding sofa and a fifth is used for backup in case a camera is in for cleaning, service or repair. For some reason, she insists on her team all using the same gear which she supplies.

She has streamlined it all down to a fairly fast and light weight wedding kit. Who am I to argue? She is quite successful, traveling around the US and sometimes overseas. Today, both her 70-200 f/2.8 lenses stay in the van unless one of the two helpers want to lug one of them around. Not her. She tells me it doesn't take long for an intern or floater to learn, they can do just fine not exceeding 85mm. In fact, she will tell you she can do a great job with just the 17-50 f/2.8 if she had to.

Personally, I have the older Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 non-VC screw drive model still in the safe for the day I might want to use DX again which is likely to be never. The lens is just so good, I hate to sell it. The same for my old Nikon D300. They gather dust, but I love them both and really don't need the small amount they'd sell for.

So, in summary, I think that Tamron would make you a great lens, but for only $419 you can get the excellent Sigma 17-50 my daughter prefers with OS. That price reflects a huge $250 instant rebate good until the end of the month. Stabilization is nice to have, especially at that price.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/689623-REG/Sigma_583306_17_50mm_F2_8_EX_DC.html

If I were shooting wedding on DX, that's my choice too.