Lens suggestion for speakers at conferences

Pepege wrote:

(...)

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

I have these lenses and they are very fine lenses indeed. I prefer the 70-200 most of the time, but that has to do with taste.

I'm not too sure about video. I don't do video. Once I did a test video with the 70-200 and the sound of the IS was way to loud to be useful. You'll need an external mic for that. Or a tripod and switching IS off.

The IS and AF of both are good. But they add to your skills of holding the camera to reduce camera shake. I have some nice shots at 1/20 at 200mm, tack sharp, but where the subject was capable of making large movements creating useless photos. Peter Kwok adressed this.

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...

Well that is a fine lens indeed!
What it adds -compared to the f/4- is shallow DOF and a whole stop of light.
The costs -apart from money- are weight and size. Not always a problem, but it might be intrusive and it might be troublesome to use for a longer period of time, like holding it up without monopod for 10 minutes.

Aditional:

I'd shoot RAW to be able to restore some Powerpoint imaging in post processing.

If you're going to be at different places with different light, be early and do something with a grey card to have the WB okay.

Thanks, both to your, for your suggestion!

I also bought a monopod now including some lens plates. And I am glad that you considered 2.8 as too slow, this makes my investment in the Sigma 1.8 feel right!

Thanks again!

Peter

RedFox88 wrote:

Pepege wrote:

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

both are too slow for indoors in conference rooms

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

eithervwill work

• Canon EF 135mm 2.0 L USM

probably too long for aps-c indoors

Thanks for your advice, it underpinned my decision to go for the Sigma 50-100 1.8 which will remove to need to switch between 3 primes...

You didn't mention external flash. They are great if ceiling is near white for bounce flash

Ah, right I own a 420EX. But I rarely use it. I often forget to use the ceiling and therefore don't like to use a flash. Thanks for reminding me.

Some great advice here that I have read with great interest.

Based on only brief experience I would add: 1) for group shots such as speakers in a panel discussion, you will need something wide if you can get close in. I like the EF 35mm f2.0 IS but it sometimes may not be wide enough on a crop body. 2) I find it hard to time shots for the brief pauses speakers generally take - catching them in mid sentence does not work that well. An applause line is a great opportunity for good shots if they not only pause but also smile while the audience reacts. And 3) if you plan to use fill flash, study and practice ahead of time!

Best of luck.

2ndact scene1 wrote:

Some great advice here that I have read with great interest.

Based on only brief experience I would add: 1) for group shots such as speakers in a panel discussion, you will need something wide if you can get close in. I like the EF 35mm f2.0 IS but it sometimes may not be wide enough on a crop body. 2) I find it hard to time shots for the brief pauses speakers generally take - catching them in mid sentence does not work that well. An applause line is a great opportunity for good shots if they not only pause but also smile while the audience reacts. And 3) if you plan to use fill flash, study and practice ahead of time!

Best of luck.

I have a EF-S 24mm 2.8 that I could use for group shots. And since I am very pleases with my new Sigma 50-100 1.8 I already fancy the Sigma 18-35 1.8. But first I will practice to see what I really need...

Thank you!

It will take me some time to try out all those tipps I got here!

Good advice - as long as the shutter is not too noisy compared to the sound level in the room.  If it is a small event it could be distracting but otherwise  sounds like the way to go.  Thanks.

Two days ago I used my new Sigma 50-100 the first time during a talk.

I was quite happy with the lens. The venue was not really large (about 50 participants). If audience is larger, more focal length on both sides would be nice (e.g. a 70-200 on FF).

In this case I was happy with my FL of 50-100 and also the aperture. The venue was brightly lit. All the more, I was surprised about the ISO needed (mostly 500-1000) to get a shutter speed of 1/125 and shorter. I think noise is starting to be visible on 100% crops above ISO 640. Above ISO 1000 it is distracting.

The handling of the sigma is great. I like the smooth zoom ring. The weight is okay. I sometimes used my monopod, sometimes I hold it freehand. Freehand is working if you don't have to shoot the whole day.

What I found out: I need to be more accustomed to my gear. I tried P, Av, and M with and without Auto ISO. I used continuous and AI servo. The mid autofocus point (with recomposing) and dedicated autofocus points. But I definitely need more practice. I had too few keepers due making mistakes with my camera.... And whitebalance was quite off, when set to manual. I had to adapt it in post.

Here are some of my best shots. RAW, post processed (Exposure, sharpness & noise with DXO Optics Pro):

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5

What do you think? Any tipps for improvement?

My tip is to make a new thread for the new topic, perhaps even in another subforum, in order to 1) reduce commentary on the old topic (I almost started writing a lens recommendation before I reached the comment where I found out you already got a lens)  and 2) get more interested viewers of your new question.

ttbek wrote:

My tip is to make a new thread for the new topic, perhaps even in another subforum, in order to 1) reduce commentary on the old topic (I almost started writing a lens recommendation before I reached the comment where I found out you already got a lens) and 2) get more interested viewers of your new question.

Thanks, I posted my photos here:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4122036

Any feedback welcome!