help for fast and inexpensive lens to shoot in theater

[ilnonnovinci]

Hello to all.
I need some help in order to pick a fast lens for shooting in theaters and music concert halls with a Canon 50D. My girlfriend is flutist and she asked me to make her some photos during one of her performances and I'm not sure I will be so close to be able to fill the frame with the Canon 50mm f/1.8 II. In a previous attempt with my old Canon 350D with the 55-250mm f/4-56 IS, I found out that, in order to fill the frame without cropping, I shot mostly with focal lens in between 100 and 220mm. Unfortunately, the small aperture of about f/5-5.6 and the max iso of 1600 resulted in slightly blurry photos. This was mainly due to the movement of the subject rather than camera shake.

So, I have identified some lenses that can be purchased at a similar, reasonable price:
canon 85mm f/1.8 USM at 349euros
canon ef-100 f/2 USM at 429euros
sigma 105 ex dg f/2.8 at 449euros
sigma 50-150 ex dc hsm ii at 649euros (for this I will sell the 55-250)

Can you help me? I should buy the lens on Saturday. Please mind that I will not consider lens such the Canon 70-200 L because way out of budget and because I'm not sure I will shoot a lot of performances. If can help I also have a Tamron 2X to extend the range of prime lenses.
Thank you

[RichardTaylor]

From the information give, I would consider the 100mm F2 mainly because of the reach and the maximum aperture of F2.

[zona5101]

the faster the better so the 100f2 has merit...

the 50-150 is constant f2.8 and will give you a lot of flexibility for a stop of light over the 100. I have not shot this lens but our good friend Candleman says this is one of his favorites and I trust his opinion. You could probably search the threads here and find some discussion on it.

Good luck with what ever you choose.

[jdepould]

For my money, I'd go with the 100/2.

[inkista]

I'm with everybody else: EF 100mm f/2 USM (be careful to get the f/2, not the f/2.8 Macro). Or consider renting the EF 135mm f/2L USM or EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM Mark II.

f/2.8 without stabilization (Sigma: OS, Canon: IS) is going to be a bit of a crunch for theatre shooting between the 1/focal_length rule and acceptable iso limits. You really want f/2 to widen your safety margin.

[ilnonnovinci]

thanks to all. I think that renting a lens will be the best things to do right now.

[inkista]

Originally Posted by ilnonnovinci

thanks to all. I think that renting a lens will be the best things to do right now.

Yeah, it sounded a little like you were in a last-minute crunch and buying a lens in a panic for what may be one-time or occasional use. This is exactly the kind of situation where renting makes more sense: you get to try out the more expensive gear, but you're not out of pocket a whole lot of cash. Depending on where you are, you can probably find a local store that rents equipment, or you could go with an internet renter, like lensrentals.com.

If this is your first long fast prime, I'd also suggest getting it a day or two ahead of the event to practice with it, preferably in the venue, but at least in similar lighting conditions. During an event is not the time to be learning how to use a piece of gear. Too much adrenaline can sometimes get in the way of getting a good shot.

In low-light shooting with a long lens, the main thing to watch is your shutter speed. While you may want a slower speed to blur subject motion, you need good handholding technique, and you ideally want to have your shutter speed at 1/focal_length or faster (i.e., with a 100/2, you'd want to be at 1/100s or faster) to mitigate camera shake. Some folks throw in the crop factor or double the number for safety margin because everybody has different handholding capabilities and lenses differ in weight. If you think you're going to routinely go below that shutter speed, look into another form of stabilization, like a tripod, monopod, or IS to help you out.

Obviously, you also want to pay close attention to your focusing, given that shooting wide open is going to leave you with very little DoF. When in doubt, increase the ISO and avoid underexposure. You can always process noise out, not so much any motion blur you get. Shooting RAW is also good so you don't have to worry about white balancing until post.

The 135L is a good stage shooting lens, and can be handheld with good stage lighting, but the 70-200/2.8L IS USM can probably let you use slower shutter speeds if you wanted to catch a bit more motion blur in your subject. I use a 135L when I go to Comic-Con panels.


Canon XT/350D. EF 135mm f/2L USM. iso 1600, f/2, 1/250s.