Prime Lens - tips and advice please!!

[wattapie]

Hi everyone

I am an amateur wedding photographer and am keen on getting myself a prime lens, i have never used one but have read up quite a bit on the net. can anyone recommend a really good prime lens - especially for wedding photography??

And any tips on the different types etc would be great!!

[Dawn Gordon]

I must admit, I have never heard of an amateur wedding photographer, but we don't know what kind of camera you are shooting yet.

[RichardTaylor]

They can be (body dependant)
(1) Fish eye
(2) Ultra wide angle
(3) Wide angle
(4) Normal
(5) Short telephoto
(6) Mid range telephoto
(7) Long or very long telephoto
(8) Macro
(9) Tilt shift.

What is your budget?

[vbhakuni]

Check Out for:

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 Lens
Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens
AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED
AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED

Regards
VB

[Dawn Gordon]

I have used the 50 1.4 (Nikon) at a wedding and I really love this lens, but keep in mind that the wide aperture is useless for group shots and you may want to go for a more wide angle such as a 35mm to givr you more room. As mentioned above, there are lots of possibilities.

[inkista]

Originally Posted by wattapie

I am an amateur wedding photographer and am keen on getting myself a prime lens, i have never used one but have read up quite a bit on the net. can anyone recommend a really good prime lens - especially for wedding photography??

A prime lens is just a lens that doesn't zoom. They come in as wide (or wider) a variety than zooms, as they're a much older design that goes all the way back to before SLRs were in use. Which one you want is pretty much going to depend on what you want to do with it. And assuming that a single prime lens is going to do everything you want is probably not a good thing.

What you're mostly going to be looking at with a prime lens is the focal length and the maximum aperture. For wedding shooting, if you're talking about low-light photography without a flash, you probably want a lens with a maximum aperture of f/2 or wider (lower f-number). These can get costy.

You probably also want to have one wide angle and one telephoto, or an f/2.8 zoom to cover the range you're going to use the most--given your personal shooting style, framing, and subject matter. If you prefer headshots, longer lenses are going to be of more use. If you prefer full-length shots and working in close, than shorter lenses are your friend. Also, whether you're shooting with a crop body or a full-frame body is going to have an effect on which focal lengths you want.

The main thing to be aware of is that if you're going for a "classical" look, the longer the lens is, the more background blurring you'll get, and the less distortion, CA, and vignetting.

I'd really recommend reading this basic guide to lenses.

[kirbinster]

Not sure why you want a prime lens for weddings? Zooms are so much better for getting that right shot. A 70-200 f/2.8 AF-S VR for a Nikon is a killer lens for this application.

[CaptainNH]

Originally Posted by kirbinster

Not sure why you want a prime lens for weddings?

Two reasons I use primes for weddings are sharpness and speed.

Whilst I also use 24-70 & 70-200 f/2.8s, there are often times when f/2.8 isn't fast enough and I need to switch to primes to keep the shutter speed up.

I use my feet for zoom and composition

[inkista]

Originally Posted by kirbinster

Not sure why you want a prime lens for weddings? Zooms are so much better for getting that right shot. A 70-200 f/2.8 AF-S VR for a Nikon is a killer lens for this application.

Here's another wedding photographer take on the 70-200. I'd also recommend taking a onceover of his website and seeing what he does with a mostly wide-to-normal L-prime setup (his preferred zoom is the 16-35L II).

[kirbinster]

Well maybe Canon should paint their lenses black is the take away from that article. Sure there are valid reasons for using primes, but my point was that the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 is such a super sharp lens that you gain very little in going to a prime. Contrary to what is said, I find people don't like a 50mm lens stuck in their face, and you can get much better candids from a distance with a 70-200 without people knowing you are there. Heck if there was only one answer there would only be one lens.