Canon 60d Gear Recommendations?

[nvtsallo]

Hello,

I am new here and am going on our 4th trip to WDW for the christmas events. I have a Canon EOS 60D with the 15-85mm usm lens and was curious if there where anymore suggestions to cover all photo ops while maintaining time with my family. I was looking at the 50mm 1.8 or 70-300mm usm is or should I just go with what I have. My biggest concern is getting good character pictures both day and night. I would buy the 24mm or 35mm prime lens but they cost too much. Another option was to try out the new Canon S100 camera for characters and rides and just use the 60d for parades and night. Any suggestions that are not $2k lenses would be greatly appreciated. I did shoot with the 18-200mm last year but found it was lacking in sharpness and autofocus.

 

[VVFF]

Hello,

I am new here and am going on our 4th trip to WDW for the christmas events. I have a Canon EOS 60D with the 15-85mm usm lens and was curious if there where anymore suggestions to cover all photo ops while maintaining time with my family. I was looking at the 50mm 1.8 or 70-300mm usm is or should I just go with what I have. My biggest concern is getting good character pictures both day and night. I would buy the 24mm or 35mm prime lens but they cost too much. Another option was to try out the new Canon S100 camera for characters and rides and just use the 60d for parades and night. Any suggestions that are not $2k lenses would be greatly appreciated. I did shoot with the 18-200mm last year but found it was lacking in sharpness and autofocus.

The 15-85mm should cover you for character shots unless you want characters in stage shows. That would need a 70-300.


Sounds like you are worrying too much about capturing everything. You mention a 50mm F1.8, a 70-300mm and a 24mm F1.4 lens. Those are all VERY different lenses for very different purposes. The 15-85mm should cover you for 95% of your purposes at disney. In fact, I think the 18-200mm should have been just fine...perhaps you were running into aperture limitations rather than sharpness limitations?

Can you post some samples you have previously take to get an idea of your shooting style? Its impossible to randomly recommend a lens without knowing why you would need a lens other than the 15-85mm.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'd probably to a completely different direction.

If you don't have an external flash, that would be my first priority. It will give you far better lighting in what turns out to be a lot of very poorly lit character meeting locations. It will also give you a far better recycle time than the pop-up flash, which is critical in character meets. The last thing you want to do is have your flash show "busy" after the first few shots.

If you really want to go with a lens, I'd go with the Sigma 30mm f/1.4. This gets you one stop better than the 1.8 which will be far better in the dark rides. I personally like the 30mm length far better than the 50 mm length, but that's a matter of personal preference. And it's a sharp all-around great lens.

Good luck and have fun. You have a great camera. Don't go home with regrets. Use it!

 

[nvtsallo]

I did go on a day trip with the 430 ex2 and it was just too much weight and the subjects were overexposed to me. I am just concerned with the reach at some of the parades of only 85mm. I do want to have fun. Any suggestions on camera settings to get more in focus character shots. I have narrowed down to getting the 35mm 1.4l and/or 70-300mm for just incase but if its only going to come in handy 10% of my shots then its not worth it. I will post some examples. Another thought was to bring the new canon s100 for the characters and indoor rides to have less to carry but i am unsure if thats the wrong direction. Would the 270 ex be a good flash? I also ordered the gary fong diffuser for my pop up. Anymore thoughts are appreciated.

 

[mom2rtk]

I did go on a day trip with the 430 ex2 and it was just too much weight and the subjects were overexposed to me. I am just concerned with the reach at some of the parades of only 85mm. I do want to have fun. Any suggestions on camera settings to get more in focus character shots. I have narrowed down to getting the 35mm 1.4l and/or 70-300mm for just incase but if its only going to come in handy 10% of my shots then its not worth it. I will post some examples. Another thought was to bring the new canon s100 for the characters and indoor rides to have less to carry but i am unsure if thats the wrong direction. Would the 270 ex be a good flash? I also ordered the gary fong diffuser for my pop up. Anymore thoughts are appreciated.

I have a 430EX and didn't like carrying it either. But I really hated missing photo ops when my pop-up was busy. So I did buy the 270EX mostly for Disney. It has less flexibility than the 430EX, but the smaller profile was just perfect for Disney. If you find your flash shots overexposed, they I would suggest dialing it down a bit with the flash exposure compensation.

I can understand wanting something smaller to carry. I just love character shots and can't imagine using something less than the best of what I have available.

I would think 85mm would be enough for most parades. But it depends on what you're after. If you want character close-ups on the floats, maybe not. But I doubt I go over 85 much at parades at all.

What parades are you talking about shooting? You might find your needs are different for the Electrical parade or the Halloween or Christmas parades. Something faster than a kit lens might be necessary. Although with the 60D you get good results at the higher ISOs..... It's all a trade-off. Only you can decide what's more important.

 

[photo_chick]

The first thing to remember is that we all shoot differently and the advice we each give is based on how we shoot.

If it were me, I'd go with the 15-85 you already have and a 50mm f/1.8 or if you can swing the price the Sigma 30mm f/1.4.

But having the equipment is one thing, using it well is another. 90% of getting the shot is the photographer.

 

[nvtsallo]

It might easier if i could explain over the phone if someone had the time. My goal was tv mode, 1/125, f7.1, iso auto up to 800 no flash aiservo, but not sure what that will yield. I want the character and my twins all in focus. I was going to use awb and portrait picture style. Again anyone will to lend an ear on call would be appreciated. Also what gear do photopass use?
630-303-6508

 

[boBQuincy]

I did go on a day trip with the 430 ex2 and it was just too much weight and the subjects were overexposed to me. I am just concerned with the reach at some of the parades of only 85mm. I do want to have fun. Any suggestions on camera settings to get more in focus character shots. I have narrowed down to getting the 35mm 1.4l and/or 70-300mm for just incase but if its only going to come in handy 10% of my shots then its not worth it. I will post some examples. Another thought was to bring the new canon s100 for the characters and indoor rides to have less to carry but i am unsure if thats the wrong direction. Would the 270 ex be a good flash? I also ordered the gary fong diffuser for my pop up. Anymore thoughts are appreciated.

I rented a Canon 35 mm f/1.4 for the Halloween parade and it worked great for that. This would also be a good lens for indoor rides although the 28 mm may be a better choice. I did not use the lens for much other than the parade and it is pretty expensive for such limited use. Have you looked into renting a lens to see how you like it? I used LensRentals and was happy with their service.

I use a Canon 220EX flash (the previous model to the 270) for character greetings and such, as Mom2RTK mentions it is mostly for the rapid recycling. A S100 would be slow to recycle and may not be a good choice for character greetings.

The built-in flash has low power and may only work at short distances with a diffuser. Canon's 220 and 270 have somewhat the same problem. I sometimes use the flash as fill for the available light, some character greetings have a decent amount of ambient light. For character greetings I would go with what Mom2RTK says, she photographs a lot of them and her results are very good!

 

[VVFF]

It might easier if i could explain over the phone if someone had the time. My goal was tv mode, 1/125, f7.1, iso auto up to 800 no flash aiservo, but not sure what that will yield. I want the character and my twins all in focus. I was going to use awb and portrait picture style. Again anyone will to lend an ear on call would be appreciated. Also what gear do photopass use?
630-303-6508

In Tv mode you can't select aperture so your plan won't work.

I think you are stretching to buy lenses to fix things that aren't necessarily the lenses fault at this point. Again please post some examples of photos that haven't turned out in the past.

Keep in mind depth of focus is based on focal length. If you zoom in massively...you'll need F7.1. But a typical character shot with kids is probably taken at 38-50mm focal length(35mm equivalent). At these focal lengths you probably only need F2.8 or possibly even less to get the people in focus. This will keep your iso lower. You'll want to use the pop up flash when the character is in shade or is backed up to the sun.

 

[photo_chick]

It might easier if i could explain over the phone if someone had the time. My goal was tv mode, 1/125, f7.1, iso auto up to 800 no flash aiservo, but not sure what that will yield. I want the character and my twins all in focus. I was going to use awb and portrait picture style. Again anyone will to lend an ear on call would be appreciated. Also what gear do photopass use?
630-303-6508

First off, you can't reasonably preselect settings like that. It's going to change with each lighting situation and focal length. A short lens and you'll be able to get by with slower shutter speed. A longer lens and you may need to go faster than that. Second, remember that depth of field is controlled by three things. Aperture, focal length, an distance to subject. If you want precise depth of field specifications use a depth of field calculator.

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

You can control aperture in TV mode by setting the shutter speed then moving the ISO until it gives you an aperture you're satisfied with. I approach low light shooting this way because in those cases aperture isn't my main priority, but an afterthought. But if aperture were my priority I'd shoot in Av or M.

 

[nvtsallo]

Thanks i am going to just stick with my lense and try the 270ex ii and have fun. Any other suggestions i am open to.

 

[mom2rtk]

Thanks i am going to just stick with my lense and try the 270ex ii and have fun. Any other suggestions i am open to.

I think you'll enjoy having it along. I found it far easier to carry my camera around with the 270EX attached as opposed to the 430EX. It's not as top-heavy and prone to tipping over when I move around.

As for settings, I am not an expert in settings for flash. I've been trying to learn but hate to try anything out in the character meets. So while I typically shoot shutter or aperture priority without flash, I often just select my ISO and put it in Program mode for those settings. I just don't want to risk missing the shot.

The one thing I do is to take a couple test shots when possible and dial my Flash Exposure Compensation up or down a bit as needed.

I have been reading Bryan Peterson's new book "Understand Flash Photography". It's finally starting to make a little sense.

With twins and heading for Disney, I don't think you'll go wrong with a smaller external flash in your bag. I think it's a great choice. I hope you'll post some shots here when you get back!

 

[mom2rtk]

I rented a Canon 35 mm f/1.4 for the Halloween parade and it worked great for that. This would also be a good lens for indoor rides although the 28 mm may be a better choice. I did not use the lens for much other than the parade and it is pretty expensive for such limited use. Have you looked into renting a lens to see how you like it? I used LensRentals and was happy with their service.

I use a Canon 220EX flash (the previous model to the 270) for character greetings and such, as Mom2RTK mentions it is mostly for the rapid recycling. A S100 would be slow to recycle and may not be a good choice for character greetings.

The built-in flash has low power and may only work at short distances with a diffuser. Canon's 220 and 270 have somewhat the same problem. I sometimes use the flash as fill for the available light, some character greetings have a decent amount of ambient light. For character greetings I would go with what Mom2RTK says, she photographs a lot of them and her results are very good!

And your Halloween shots turned out great! I think it was money well spent (well, of course it was YOUR money, but still well spent!)

And thanks for the kind words.

 

[nvtsallo]

Please go to flickr.com/photos/69086871@N03

Here are a few. I had to block the family since my wife wants to remain anonymous but I am just struggling at getting those in focus and getting all of us sharp.

 

[VVFF]

Please go to flickr.com/photos/69086871@N03

Here are a few. I had to block the family since my wife wants to remain anonymous but I am just struggling at getting those in focus and getting all of us sharp.

Hey Nick,

Can you send me some full resolution JPGs from the camera to my e-mail? It looks like you did miss focus on the character shot but there was nothing technically limiting about the lens that should have caused this.

Make sure IS on the lens is ON. I will PM you my e-mail address.

 

[nvtsallo]

I ordered the speedlite 270ex ii, xtra battery, 18-135mm lens that came with my kit. 4 memory cards totaling 48gb class 10. Any additional lens suggestions like 55-250 or 70-300mm or sigma 50mm 1.4 are the only choices i have. Or nothing else.