Which lens for low light event + portraits?

Hi everyone, although I like to study the photography topic, I’m really a noob when it comes to practical terms.

I would like to take pictures at a family event which will take place in a garden in the evening/night.

Well, my gear is quite modest, and I know I don’t have what I need to take good pictures of both the place and the people there. I’m looking to rent a nice lens to carry around as I take pictures (and enjoy the party too! So I’m just taking one 😅). So I would really appreciate some advice on what to rent.

There are the four lenses I found while digging, two are primes, two are zooms:

  • Canon RF 24MM F/1.8 IS STM: it’s fast, with IS, but I’m not sure about portraits with this focal length.
  • Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 L II USM: super fast, no IS, still not sure about portraits with this focal length.
  • Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM: IS, quite fast, zoom lets me take portraits, but I’ve read it’s not very sharp.
  • Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8 L IS USM: IS, quite fast, zoom lets me take portraits (not strongly as the one above but still).

Here’s my situation:

  • I have Canon Eos R10 with the EF adapter.
  • My hands are shaky, so without IS I need to be at least at 1/125…
  • I like to keep ISO really low (<6400) if I can.
  • I kind of pixel peep (I know I don’t have the right because I’m crap but I can’t resist) so I like to take as sharp pictures as I can.

Which lens would you reccommend? Since I’m renting them I was thinking about going all in with the expensive ones, the cost won’t increase much. The primes are so bright I feel comfortable they will be bright enough, but I don’t know if I can take good portraits at 24mm. On the other hand, zooms let me do more things, but I don’t know if I can handle f/2.8 with my crappy and shaky hands.

Of course, if you can think of other lenses that would be perfect for the job I’m all ears!

Cheers

AlbertSpangler ,

Longer fast primes can give you that tiny depth of field that gives that lovely separation between the subject and background. Pair with a bounced flash (assuming you’re indoors)* and you can get gorgeous images.

Downside is if you’re in a smaller area, a longer lens can make it tricky to frame up properly (you may find yourself trying to become one with a wall). A shorter zoom can give you a bit more flexibility (forget a big range zoom, they’re too slow and you won’t use half of it).

*Read it back, you’re outside! A diffused flash (ideally off-camera) can give you that nice separation closer up even with a slightly slower lens. I would try the 15-35, and a flash with an extension cord (and a diffuser attachment or bounce card!). Flash can also ensure you get a nice shutter speed (dunno what the shutter sync is on a R10, but you should be fine with the hand shake), and maybe a decent pair of gloves in case it gets cold as the night goes on!

Obi ,
@Obi@sopuli.xyz avatar

It depends on what you’re trying to achieve. Are you doing candid portraits where the people are in natural positions and not looking at the camera (that’s the preferred style for things like corporate events), then you want something longer and as fast as you can get, no flash. If you’re going to have people posing in front of you and look at the camera then I’ll join the crowd and recommend getting a flash, with canon you might have a setting for “natural” or “ambient priority” to reduce the whole flashiness of it. In that case the 24s are probably fine, they’ll be a 38mm equivalent on your body, so not actually that wide and should work for single portraits or groups (zoom with your feet).

Here are my favourite lenses or combos to cover events, but keep in mind I do this professionally and definitely cannot enjoy the event as a guest at the same time:

  • 15-35f2.8 + 70-200f2.8
  • 28-70f2
  • 24-70f2.8

Personally I would never cover an event with primes as they just don’t offer me the flexibility I need but again different situations, in your shoes I’d probably grab the 24 and enjoy the pleasure of shooting around the 35mm length, my favourite prime length.

HKPiax OP ,
@HKPiax@lemmy.world avatar

Thanks a lot for the input!

Yes, I will be taking pictures of both the place and the people, especially of people being natural and not concerned about me, so I would avoid the flash for that reason too (also, the setup becomes too bulky with one).

I also enjoy very much shooting at 24mm but I’m not too comfortable with it in these situations, I’d like to be closer to the subjects but further from the scenery (if that even makes sense), but since I’m renting the lens I can go for something expensive which does both!

That 15-35 f/2.8, is it the RF one? It’s one of the lenses I’m considering. Do you have like a sample gallery I can take a look at?

Obi , (edited )
@Obi@sopuli.xyz avatar

Yeah the RF, I still haven’t updated my website since I got that one so I don’t have photos to share but this video was pretty much entirely shot on it besides a few with the 100mm macro, when I shoot video I also switch between full frame and a crop mode that gives me 1.6x.

It’s a great lens very sharp and it has IS and all that. I do question whether it’s ideal for “wildlife” style event photos, I’d rather something a bit longer to give myself a better chance people don’t notice me, but I think for your situation it might make sense since you’re also a guest and won’t spend your time actually hunting, and the 1.6 crop gives you a bit more reach. Be warned the RF autofocus with an RF body is amazing and will ruin EF with adapter for you.

HotsauceHurricane ,

Sounds like someone needs a nifty fifty!

Camera stuff

https://lemmy.one/pictrs/image/4e9787c7-402f-47c8-bebb-827a63f2871e.jpeg

e_t_ Admin ,

One thing to keep in mind is the R10 has a APS-C size sensor. That means that the effective focal length of those lenses will be higher than on a full frame camera. I believe Canon uses a 1.6 crop factor for their APS sensors. So, while a 24mm lens is very wide-angle on a full frame camera, it will be only moderately wide on your camera.

For portraits, a moderately long lens usually produces more pleasing results than wide angle. Wide angle lets you capture more of the scene around a person, but then it's more of a landscape that includes people, not a portrait. A portrait should focus on just one (maybe two) subjects.

Of the lenses you mentioned, the 15-35 is probably your best bet. It's a "L" lens, which is Canon's top-of-the-line. It's fairly bright.
You might also look for Canon's 50mm f 1.2 or f 1.4 "L" lenses. With the crop factor, 50mm is comparable to 80mm on a full frame.
Your subjects will fill the field of view. You might have to take a step or two back, but they'll look better than when shot with a wide angle lens close up.

HKPiax OP ,
@HKPiax@lemmy.world avatar

Thanks, I feel like this a lot. I love taking pictures with my “cheap” 50mm, and if I didn’t restrict myself to one lens only I’d bring that too because I just love it.

The 15-35 is the one tempting me the most, I’m just asking knowledgeable people if it will be enough for me with my crappy hands given the low light environment :)

e_t_ Admin ,

Do you already have the 50mm f1.8? That's a good portrait lens. Not as sharp or as bright as the much bigger, much more expensive "L" 50s, but still brighter than a f2.8 lens.

If you've got the 50mm, my advice is to take that to the party as your only lens. If you're going to spend money on something, spend it on a flash.

With a flash, you should be able to stop down, even at night. Try f/4 or f/8. That will boost sharpness. If you're concerned about weight, consider the Canon EL-100. It weighs 6.7oz without batteries. I'm guessing it takes either 2 or 4 AA batteries.

chemical_cutthroat , (edited )
@chemical_cutthroat@lemmy.world avatar

I would stick with a prime. You may think you’ll use the zoom, but I have a feeling you’ll probably end up finding a distance you are comfortable with and shooting from that, instead of adjusting your zoom with each shot.

Since you’ll be shooting low light and you aren’t confident in the steadiness of your hands, you’ll definitely want some form of image stabilization, otherwise you will miss out on shots. Really, your best friend is going to be flash. I’d recommend getting a speed light to help with AF and lighting, so you can get those crisp low iso shots that you will want. If you aren’t comfortable with an external flash, then I’d say to rent it ahead of time and do some work before hand to learn the ins and outs.

Out of the lenses you’ve posted, I’d recommend the 24mm 1.8 with image stabilization. Though I would aim for something closer to 35-50mm focal length. Remember, you are running a crop sensor, so all of your focal lengths will be might shorter than advertised. A 50 will act like a 35 and a 24 will be something like a 15-18. I’m a Nikon guy, so I don’t know if that knowledge translates directly to Canon, but I don’t think there is too much of a difference. I had the math backwards for whatever reason, but I stand by my advice.

Good luck and happy hunting.

sic_semper_tyrannis ,

You have the crop factor backwards. It’ll increase the effective focal length. Multiply the crop factor by the focal length of the lens

chemical_cutthroat ,
@chemical_cutthroat@lemmy.world avatar

Edited. Thanks. I don’t know what got into me.

IMALlama ,

Agree on using a speedlight, but if flash is in the picture stabilization won’t be as necessary. I wrote up a fairly similar reply on the .world version of this post.

HKPiax OP ,
@HKPiax@lemmy.world avatar

Thanks a lot for the help!

I have experience with a 24mm prime and I was never truly satistied with landscape/scenery pictures because it was too narrow for them, and neither with portrait pictures because it was too wide. Of course, this is with it in my hands, there certainly are people out there who can use it better than I do.

I’m using a RF 15-30 f/4.5-6.3 when it’s bright outside and I like it a lot, I like the flexibility it gives me, that is why I’m tempted by the absolute brightness of the primes I’ve found, but also I’m tempted by the flexibility those zooms give me.

I don’t think I’ll be using an external flash because I fear my setup will become too cumbersome to carry around, and I prefer the feel I get from pictures when there is no flash involved :(

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