Lens suggestion for speakers at conferences

Hi,

I own a Canon 80D and I want to use it for shooting speaker photos and sometimes videos at conferences. So it is an indoor low light situation, but not awfully low. And speakers are moving (walking, gestures) but not as much as indoor sports.

What would you recommend for new lenses?

Currently I have the following:

• Canon EF-S 18-135mm 3.5-5.6 IS STM (nice general purpose, e.g. for video)
• Canon EF 50mm 1.8 II (sharp only stopped down to 2.8)
• Canon EF-S 60mm 2.8 Makro (never used it in low light)
• Canon EF-S 24mm 2.8 (great for wider shots, fast and sharp)

I am quite new to this kind of shooting, I am doing it for my company (but I am not a professional photgrapher). I have a budget for about 2.000 EUR/USD for lenses...

I have read many posts here and reviews from the-digital-picture.

I would say I need:

• fast lenses to stop motion
• IS might help for longer focal lengths (but not really on shorter focal lengths).
• Currently the sharpness of my pictures are diminished because of high ISO values, and not because of low lens quality. I even sometimes get better results with the 50mm wide open at 1.8 than stopped down to 2.8 (and increased sensor noise).
• Nice bokeh / background blur is important to show the speaker and not the stage behind

Would you agree with my list of requirements?

I have though of the following two lenses:

• Canon EF-S 17-55mm 2.8 IS USM
• Canon EF 70-200mm 4.0 L IS USM

And maybe some faster prime lenses for the most important focal lengths. I checked my best shots so far. There are many with 55mm, 80mm, and some great portraits with 100 or 150mm. So maybe on of the following make sense:

• Canon EF 85mm 1.8 USM
• Canon EF 100mm 2.0 USM
• Canon EF 135mm 2.0 L USM

They would be a good addition to the two zooms lenses, wouldn't they?

Or would you recommend the Canon EF 70-200mm 2.8 L IS II USM instead? It is definitely more versatile, but quite expensive and heavy compared to the others...

Thanks a lot!

Peter

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.

Pepege wrote:

Hi,

I own a Canon 80D and I want to use it for shooting speaker photos and sometimes videos at conferences. So it is an indoor low light situation, but not awfully low. And speakers are moving (walking, gestures) but not as much as indoor sports.

What would you recommend for new lenses?

Currently I have the following:

• Canon EF-S 18-135mm 3.5-5.6 IS STM (nice general purpose, e.g. for video)
• Canon EF 50mm 1.8 II (sharp only stopped down to 2.8)
• Canon EF-S 60mm 2.8 Makro (never used it in low light)
• Canon EF-S 24mm 2.8 (great for wider shots, fast and sharp)

I am quite new to this kind of shooting, I am doing it for my company (but I am not a professional photgrapher). I have a budget for about 2.000 EUR/USD for lenses...

I have read many posts here and reviews from the-digital-picture.

I would say I need:

• fast lenses to stop motion
• IS might help for longer focal lengths (but not really on shorter focal lengths).
• Currently the sharpness of my pictures are diminished because of high ISO values, and not because of low lens quality. I even sometimes get better results with the 50mm wide open at 1.8 than stopped down to 2.8 (and increased sensor noise).
• Nice bokeh / background blur is important to show the speaker and not the stage behind

Would you agree with my list of requirements?

I have though of the following two lenses:

• Canon EF-S 17-55mm 2.8 IS USM
• Canon EF 70-200mm 4.0 L IS USM

And maybe some faster prime lenses for the most important focal lengths. I checked my best shots so far. There are many with 55mm, 80mm, and some great portraits with 100 or 150mm. So maybe on of the following make sense:

• Canon EF 85mm 1.8 USM
• Canon EF 100mm 2.0 USM
• Canon EF 135mm 2.0 L USM

They would be a good addition to the two zooms lenses, wouldn't they?

Or would you recommend the Canon EF 70-200mm 2.8 L IS II USM instead? It is definitely more versatile, but quite expensive and heavy compared to the others...

Thanks a lot!

Peter

I would say that most people who do this kind of shooting probably are using the 70-200 f2.8L II like you said.  That would probably be the first choice.  If that one was too much you could go with the Tamron 70-200 vc if you wanted the IS, or you could go with the 70-200 f2.8 non-is as well.  You will need to keep shutter speeds at 1/200th or higher at the long end, but if people are moving around, you will probably be at 1/125th or higher anyway.

The other ones you could consider are the Sigma 50-150 f2.8 OS, which covers all your most frequently used focal lengths with great iq and IS.   Another option is the Sigma 50-100 f1.8 ART which has a much wider max aperture, but a smaller focal length.

diness wrote:

Pepege wrote:

Hi,

I own a Canon 80D and I want to use it for shooting speaker photos and sometimes videos at conferences. So it is an indoor low light situation, but not awfully low. And speakers are moving (walking, gestures) but not as much as indoor sports.

What would you recommend for new lenses?

Currently I have the following:

• Canon EF-S 18-135mm 3.5-5.6 IS STM (nice general purpose, e.g. for video)
• Canon EF 50mm 1.8 II (sharp only stopped down to 2.8)
• Canon EF-S 60mm 2.8 Makro (never used it in low light)
• Canon EF-S 24mm 2.8 (great for wider shots, fast and sharp)

I am quite new to this kind of shooting, I am doing it for my company (but I am not a professional photgrapher). I have a budget for about 2.000 EUR/USD for lenses...

I have read many posts here and reviews from the-digital-picture.

I would say I need:

• fast lenses to stop motion
• IS might help for longer focal lengths (but not really on shorter focal lengths).
• Currently the sharpness of my pictures are diminished because of high ISO values, and not because of low lens quality. I even sometimes get better results with the 50mm wide open at 1.8 than stopped down to 2.8 (and increased sensor noise).
• Nice bokeh / background blur is important to show the speaker and not the stage behind

Would you agree with my list of requirements?

I have though of the following two lenses:

• Canon EF-S 17-55mm 2.8 IS USM
• Canon EF 70-200mm 4.0 L IS USM

And maybe some faster prime lenses for the most important focal lengths. I checked my best shots so far. There are many with 55mm, 80mm, and some great portraits with 100 or 150mm. So maybe on of the following make sense:

• Canon EF 85mm 1.8 USM
• Canon EF 100mm 2.0 USM
• Canon EF 135mm 2.0 L USM

They would be a good addition to the two zooms lenses, wouldn't they?

Or would you recommend the Canon EF 70-200mm 2.8 L IS II USM instead? It is definitely more versatile, but quite expensive and heavy compared to the others...

Thanks a lot!

Peter

I would say that most people who do this kind of shooting probably are using the 70-200 f2.8L II like you said. That would probably be the first choice. If that one was too much you could go with the Tamron 70-200 vc if you wanted the IS, or you could go with the 70-200 f2.8 non-is as well. You will need to keep shutter speeds at 1/200th or higher at the long end, but if people are moving around, you will probably be at 1/125th or higher anyway.

correction:  Forgot you were on a crop sensor and you will probably need to be more around 1/320th or higher to prevent hand shake.

I would say that most people who do this kind of shooting probably are using the 70-200 f2.8L II like you said. That would probably be the first choice. If that one was too much you could go with the Tamron 70-200 vc if you wanted the IS, or you could go with the 70-200 f2.8 non-is as well. You will need to keep shutter speeds at 1/200th or higher at the long end, but if people are moving around, you will probably be at 1/125th or higher anyway.
correction: Forgot you were on a crop sensor and you will probably need to be more around 1/320th or higher to prevent hand shake.

Okay, thanks, this helps... But in this case IS would still make sense to reduce hand shake at the long end. Altough 1/125 is need to stop motion, right?

The other ones you could consider are the Sigma 50-150 f2.8 OS, which covers all your most frequently used focal lengths with great iq and IS. Another option is the Sigma 50-100 f1.8 ART which has a much wider max aperture, but a smaller focal length.

I didn't had those on my list. I will have a look!

Thanks a lot!

Peter Kwok wrote:

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.

Thanks for your advice!

It will be used more at conventions centers. And no way to influence light.

So longer focal length I guess. And the powerpoint, I did not thought about this one. Hmm, I suppose mostly with powerpoint, but I want to focuse more on the speaker than on the slides in the background.

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.

Thanks for these tipps. I dont't have much experience with video yet, this is definitely helpful!

Sorry, I misread your original post. I thought you will be shooting primary video. Still shots are easier.

I can handhold my 70-200 f4 IS at 1/30s. I get too tired holding a heavier f2.8 lens to wait for the right moment.

The problem is catching the speaker with no motion blur. 1/60s can freeze facial motion about half of the time. You need to capture peak action, not mid sentence. It is easier for me, since I shoot singers and I know their music. Get to know the speakers and you can anticipate their moves. Hand motions are hard to freeze, unless you have enough lights to shoot 1/250s. I like the blur when it adds to the character.

Some speakers are more photogenic than others. On average, it takes 10 shots (not a burst of 10 virtually identical shots, but single shots) to get one with no facial blur, shut eyes, or funny non-professional looks. Then walk to the other side of the hall and repeat the process. You don't know which way the speaker faces will fit the layout of the publication better.

Check your exposure, especially in locations that have spot lights on the lectern. You can't fix blown highlight on the forehead in post. Experiment then settle into manual if the speaker is not walking away from the spot lights.

Pepege wrote:

Peter Kwok wrote:

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.

Thanks for your advice!

It will be used more at conventions centers. And no way to influence light.

So longer focal length I guess. And the powerpoint, I did not thought about this one. Hmm, I suppose mostly with powerpoint, but I want to focuse more on the speaker than on the slides in the background.

The purpose of the PowerPoint background is not to show its content, but to add impact. Picture Steve Jobs in front of a slightly blur huge image of an iPhone. For that, you need a tele-zoom lens and shoot from sitting on the ground. Pick your front row seat before the start.  BTW, wear black, not because you want to look like Jobs, but to be inconspicuous.

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.

Thanks for these tipps. I dont't have much experience with video yet, this is definitely helpful!

Pepege wrote:

diness wrote:
I would say that most people who do this kind of shooting probably are using the 70-200 f2.8L II like you said. That would probably be the first choice. If that one was too much you could go with the Tamron 70-200 vc if you wanted the IS, or you could go with the 70-200 f2.8 non-is as well. You will need to keep shutter speeds at 1/200th or higher at the long end, but if people are moving around, you will probably be at 1/125th or higher anyway.
correction: Forgot you were on a crop sensor and you will probably need to be more around 1/320th or higher to prevent hand shake.

Okay, thanks, this helps... But in this case IS would still make sense to reduce hand shake at the long end. Altough 1/125 is need to stop motion, right?

The other ones you could consider are the Sigma 50-150 f2.8 OS, which covers all your most frequently used focal lengths with great iq and IS. Another option is the Sigma 50-100 f1.8 ART which has a much wider max aperture, but a smaller focal length.

I didn't had those on my list. I will have a look!

Thanks a lot!

Hi, I spent the night reading reviews of the suggested lenses. I had the best feeling with the Sigma 50-100 1.8 I went into the next shop and bought it. The aperture is just awesome. The focal length is much smaller, but 90% of my best shots so far during keynotes have been always between 50-100mm.

Thanks to all replies, it was really helpful for me. I am still considering a 70-200 2.8 for the future, but currently I am more than happy. 1.8 rulez

Here is a shot of my dog I did directly in the shop.

My 14 year old Golden Retriever. Sigma 50-100mm 1.8

I've been photographing conferences for about 5 years, 2/year. For the last 2 years, I rented the EF 70-200mm 2.8 L IS II to use on my 70D. For me at these events it is now a must have lens. For this lens and my 100-400II, which are about the same size, I also rely on a hand strap to carry these around in comfort on the 70D.

I wanted to suggest the sigma 50-100 1.8 but just saw that diness did and that you already bought it!! I guess it's a wonderful lens, post some more photos if you can!

Have fun

my favorite lens for this kind of work is the EF 135mm f/2L

If you really have the budget, 70-200 f2.8 II, no looking back from this one.