Lens Rental Question: Canon 2.8 zoom

[mom2rtk]

I'm glad I got a chance to handle this lens at Baccalaureate. I have an idea of how to approach it now for graduation on Sunday.

I'm curious, what is the lowest shutter speed you guys would use on this lens? I know common sense says 1/200, but that would be tough. I went Aperture priority at 2.8 last night and ended up with some shots down to 1/50 or 1/60 that were great, but others blurry. I was trying to stay at 1600 ISO last night but will probably have to make friends with 3200 on Sunday.


IMG_9678 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_9674 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_9694 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

And not with this lens, but just because.


Class of 2013 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

 

[KCmike]

I think those shots looks pretty darn good. You say that was in the night last night? How was the lighting? It looked as if their was plenty of lighting in that room. My daughter had her scholarship award night last night and it was extremely dark in there. My pics looked horrible. The only fast lens I have is the 50mm.

I think this is the first time I've seen your son as well. Great portrait shot! You all must be extremely proud of him!

Big weekend for both us!

Mike

 

[jimim]

I'm glad I got a chance to handle this lens at Baccalaureate. I have an idea of how to approach it now for graduation on Sunday.

I'm curious, what is the lowest shutter speed you guys would use on this lens? I know common sense says 1/200, but that would be tough. I went Aperture priority at 2.8 last night and ended up with some shots down to 1/50 or 1/60 that were great, but others blurry. I was trying to stay at 1600 ISO last night but will probably have to make friends with 3200 on Sunday.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28159731@N02/8744522522/
IMG_9678 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28159731@N02/8744522596/
IMG_9674 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28159731@N02/8744522506/
IMG_9694 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

And not with this lens, but just because.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28159731@N02/8744522590/
Class of 2013 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

I think u did great for ur first time with it. Congrats on ur son too!

Jimi

 

[mom2rtk]

I think those shots looks pretty darn good. You say that was in the night last night? How was the lighting? It looked as if their was plenty of lighting in that room. My daughter had her scholarship award night last night and it was extremely dark in there. My pics looked horrible. The only fast lens I have is the 50mm.

I think this is the first time I've seen your son as well. Great portrait shot! You all must be extremely proud of him!

Big weekend for both us!

Mike

Thanks Mike! Yes, it was last night. It was in a church with a fair number of windows and at 7 PM it was still pretty light. Sunday graduation will be at the Church of Christ Auditorium which will have no daylight at all.

I'm surprised your 50mm didn't do the trick for you. That's faster than what I was using. How high did you go with the ISO? I'll go up to 3200 on my T2i. I'm sure your 60D can do at least that well. Are you shooting RAW? For some of these tricky lighting situations, that can help. You can even get away with underexposing a bit to get your shutter speed up then upping the exposure a bit in processing.

Timmy did get word today that he finished second in his class, so we'll at least have reserved seating. Which is good since there's a chance for thunderstorms Sunday. We lined up over an hour ahead of Robbie's graduation so I could get the seats I wanted. It would not be fun to fight that in the rain.

I think u did great for ur first time with it. Congrats on ur son too!

Jimi

Thanks so much Jimi! I took the lens along to my daughter's softball game tonight so got a little more familiar with it, and a little more used to carting it around. I'm starting to get used to it. Which is NOT a good thing. It's going to be really hard to give it up next week!

 

[nvtsallo]

I'm glad I got a chance to handle this lens at Baccalaureate. I have an idea of how to approach it now for graduation on Sunday.

I'm curious, what is the lowest shutter speed you guys would use on this lens? I know common sense says 1/200, but that would be tough. I went Aperture priority at 2.8 last night and ended up with some shots down to 1/50 or 1/60 that were great, but others blurry. I was trying to stay at 1600 ISO last night but will probably have to make friends with 3200 on Sunday.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28159731@N02/8744522522/
IMG_9678 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28159731@N02/8744522596/
IMG_9674 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28159731@N02/8744522506/
IMG_9694 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

And not with this lens, but just because.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28159731@N02/8744522590/
Class of 2013 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

Great shots. I love that lens but the weight sometimes is too much.

 

[mom2rtk]

Great shots. I love that lens but the weight sometimes is too much.

Thanks! I could learn to love that lens, in spite of its heft. I took it to my daughter's softball game last night so I'm getting more used to it. I know when I had the other version of this lens when my older son graduated it seemed even worse. It helps a LOT to have it on a black rapid strap so I can occasionally hang it at my side.

I still toy with buying the Sigma 50-150 f/2.8 OS but it's almost as heavy as this lens at 2.95 pounds compared to this one at 3.28 pounds. I have the non OS version of that lens but really lose out a lot by not having stabilization. I looked at the shutter speeds on what I took the other night at Baccalaureate and had clear shots at 1/50 and 1/60. I never could have done that on the non OS Sigma. But dang that Sigma is SO much lighter than this. And I do LOVE the 50-150 range. 50mm just seems so much more usable to me than 70mm (on a crop sensor).

 

[nbaresejr]

I looked at the shutter speeds on what I took the other night at Baccalaureate and had clear shots at 1/50 and 1/60. I never could have done that on the non OS Sigma.

Do not expect that to continue shooting people at those speeds. They pretty much have to be still for the IS/ OS/ VR to do its job. Moving subjects at those speeds will not be sharp.

You asked earlier about what shutter speeds to stay with and i would say 1/200 or faster should work. Shooting in RAW you should be able to bring some underexposure back in post. Also don't be afraid of ISO 3200, i have the same camera and its not that bad. Also you can run it through a noise reduction program if its excessive.

 

[mom2rtk]

Do not expect that to continue shooting people at those speeds. They pretty much have to be still for the IS/ OS/ VR to do its job. Moving subjects at those speeds will not be sharp.

You asked earlier about what shutter speeds to stay with and i would say 1/200 or faster should work. Shooting in RAW you should be able to bring some underexposure back in post. Also don't be afraid of ISO 3200, i have the same camera and its not that bad. Also you can run it through a noise reduction program if its excessive.

Yeah. I hear you on that. I didn't shoot at those speeds on purpose. I went with Aperture Priority of 2.8 and ISO at 1600 (there was a lot of natural light and thought I could get away with it) and was surprised when the speed ended up so low. I should have watched it closer but was happy some of the shots turned out OK.

That was sort of the point of having the lens in advance and testing it out. (Well, that and developing my arm muscles!) The venue on Sunday is much darker overall, but the stage will be brighter. I do think I will go into it at 3200 ISO and try shutter priority of 1/200 and see what that gets me. And yes, I do shoot things like this in RAW, and use Lightroom for noise reduction so I'll have some latitude with the images in processing.

I hope I can also get some nice shots of my son's friends. It's fun to surprise parents later with some images they would never be able to get with their own cameras.

 

[Pixel Dust]

Yeah. I hear you on that. I didn't shoot at those speeds on purpose. I went with Aperture Priority of 2.8 and ISO at 1600 (there was a lot of natural light and thought I could get away with it) and was surprised when the speed ended up so low. I should have watched it closer but was happy some of the shots turned out OK.

That was sort of the point of having the lens in advance and testing it out. (Well, that and developing my arm muscles!) The venue on Sunday is much darker overall, but the stage will be brighter. I do think I will go into it at 3200 ISO and try shutter priority of 1/200 and see what that gets me. And yes, I do shoot things like this in RAW, and use Lightroom for noise reduction so I'll have some latitude with the images in processing.

I hope I can also get some nice shots of my son's friends. It's fun to surprise parents later with some images they would never be able to get with their own cameras.

If you are comfortable, I would even suggest shooting in full manual, if you will be in a venue where the lighting will, most likely, not change (graduation type evens, obviously stage performance lights will change). Take a few shots before, to dial in the right exposure. The issue with the some of the semi-auto exposure modes, is that it can get fooled. One shot someone would be wearing a bright white shirt, then the next shot someone is where a black shirt. Or one of stage light just happens to be pointed right at you. You can always take a peek at the light meter in the viewfinder to check if the lighting is doing something drastic.

 

[jimim]

If you are comfortable, I would even suggest shooting in full manual, if you will be in a venue where the lighting will, most likely, not change (graduation type evens, obviously stage performance lights will change). Take a few shots before, to dial in the right exposure. The issue with the some of the semi-auto exposure modes, is that it can get fooled. One shot someone would be wearing a bright white shirt, then the next shot someone is where a black shirt. Or one of stage light just happens to be pointed right at you. You can always take a peek at the light meter in the viewfinder to check if the lighting is doing something drastic.

I second this if u have the time. Started to learn manual has deff improved my shots. I think the camera sensors get fooled like u said. I have been very surprised at how much faster shutter speeds I can get in manual and not be underexposed compared if I was on ap and let the camera decide. I just look at my histogram after I shoot and the pic and go from there. I don't look at the exposure meter in my viewfinder. That's just me and I'm still learning but it deff seems to be helpful for me.

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[jimim]

Great shots. I love that lens but the weight sometimes is too much.

It is a tank. I almost bought it a few months back but for how much I would be using out past 100 mm right now for the point in my life I'm at with my shooting it wasn't worth it. I ended up with moving towards full frame with buying the new 24-70mm 2.8 and getting the 85mm prime for now. It has spotted my fine so far bit I do want to get the 70-200 eventually.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[jimim]

Thanks! I could learn to love that lens, in spite of its heft. I took it to my daughter's softball game last night so I'm getting more used to it. I know when I had the other version of this lens when my older son graduated it seemed even worse. It helps a LOT to have it on a black rapid strap so I can occasionally hang it at my side.

I still toy with buying the Sigma 50-150 f/2.8 OS but it's almost as heavy as this lens at 2.95 pounds compared to this one at 3.28 pounds. I have the non OS version of that lens but really lose out a lot by not having stabilization. I looked at the shutter speeds on what I took the other night at Baccalaureate and had clear shots at 1/50 and 1/60. I never could have done that on the non OS Sigma. But dang that Sigma is SO much lighter than this. And I do LOVE the 50-150 range. 50mm just seems so much more usable to me than 70mm (on a crop sensor).

I see u have a black rapid strap. I use this in the parks? How do u like it? I was thinking of getting one for June's trip but didnt m ow if I was going to lime it. I'm a in and out of my bag guy. It gets old and thought of maybe keeping my camera out more if I has this type of stap. I just do t like my cMera in for t of me when walking and I have 2 little ones now to worry about.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[mom2rtk]

If you are comfortable, I would even suggest shooting in full manual, if you will be in a venue where the lighting will, most likely, not change (graduation type evens, obviously stage performance lights will change). Take a few shots before, to dial in the right exposure. The issue with the some of the semi-auto exposure modes, is that it can get fooled. One shot someone would be wearing a bright white shirt, then the next shot someone is where a black shirt. Or one of stage light just happens to be pointed right at you. You can always take a peek at the light meter in the viewfinder to check if the lighting is doing something drastic.

I totally see your point, and it makes far too much sense for me to do it. I tend not to venture out of the semi-auto modes and am not sure if I want to do it for the first time at graduation. I'm sure I'm far more afraid of full manual than I should be, but I am. I will be taking photos mostly of kids on the stage, but will also be turning occasionally to take photos of kids walking down the aisles and in their seats. And more than likely I'd forget to change some settings back.

This will be another situation where I will struggle with my desire to get good photos at a same time I want to stay in the moment as mom.

On top of everything else, we got our tickets today. We'll be sitting in the 4th row. He really came through with great seats for us. So as it turns out, I could end up not even needing the long lens! Oh well, it will be in my bag in case I need it. And I really won't know for certain until we get there which I prefer. So I'll be prepared either way. I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

 

[mom2rtk]

It is a tank. I almost bought it a few months back but for how much I would be using out past 100 mm right now for the point in my life I'm at with my shooting it wasn't worth it. I ended up with moving towards full frame with buying the new 24-70mm 2.8 and getting the 85mm prime for now. It has spotted my fine so far bit I do want to get the 70-200 eventually.

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Just curious what you think of the 85mm prime. I keep trying to come up with alternatives to the 70-200 2.8 lenses for times I want more reach in a fast lens.

I see u have a black rapid strap. I use this in the parks? How do u like it? I was thinking of getting one for June's trip but didnt m ow if I was going to lime it. I'm a in and out of my bag guy. It gets old and thought of maybe keeping my camera out more if I has this type of stap. I just do t like my cMera in for t of me when walking and I have 2 little ones now to worry about.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I do like the Black Rapid. I tend to have my camera out at all times and it's really great to have the option of hanging to my back occasionally. When I am walking through a big crowd though, I carry the lens barrel in my hand, but other than that I let it hang.

I checked out bags this week too. I've never been happy with what I have, but don't know what I DO want. When I described it to the guy at the camera shop he said "Oh, you want the Mary Poppins bag!" And he was right. Instead of getting a bigger bag, I picked up a bigger small bag (a holster bag). I had one already, but it wouldn't fit my camera with any of my longer lenses attached. And if I carry the camera on the black rapid strap, I can easily carry a couple lenses, my wallet and cell phone in the holster bag.

 

[jimim]

Just curious what you think of the 85mm prime. I keep trying to come up with alternatives to the 70-200 2.8 lenses for times I want more reach in a fast lens.

I do like the Black Rapid. I tend to have my camera out at all times and it's really great to have the option of hanging to my back occasionally. When I am walking through a big crowd though, I carry the lens barrel in my hand, but other than that I let it hang.

I checked out bags this week too. I've never been happy with what I have, but don't know what I DO want. When I described it to the guy at the camera shop he said "Oh, you want the Mary Poppins bag!" And he was right. Instead of getting a bigger bag, I picked up a bigger small bag (a holster bag). I had one already, but it wouldn't fit my camera with any of my longer lenses attached. And if I carry the camera on the black rapid strap, I can easily carry a couple lenses, my wallet and cell phone in the holster bag.

Sorry I just saw this! I got the 85 cause I don't want the weight of the 70-200 and didn't need that reach for now. I love it. I think it's razor sharp and just a great lens. That freed up money for my 24-70 mm and now ill sell my canon 17-55 mm 2.8 to cover the extra cost for the canon 2.8 that I got. So between those 2 I have the reach I need right now in my life with young kids.

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[mom2rtk]

Sorry I just saw this! I got the 85 cause I don't want the weight of the 70-200 and didn't need that reach for now. I love it. I think it's razor sharp and just a great lens. That freed up money for my 24-70 mm and now ill sell my canon 17-55 mm 2.8 to cover the extra cost for the canon 2.8 that I got. So between those 2 I have the reach I need right now in my life with young kids.

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Thanks for the feedback. I have been struggling with where to go next for fast reach. I just don't think I want to carry anything really heavy enough to buy it. I'm leaning more this direction since sometimes I find myself wanting something even faster than 2.8.

 

[mom2rtk]

Well, graduation is over. It was a great day. I didn't do as well with the photos as I hoped, but it's really hard when there are so many unknowns. But I have enough to do the scrapbook pages I hoped for, so it will be fine. They also had a photographer there so I'm hoping they got some better angles.

It was lovely having reserved seating. No standing in line 90 minutes in advance waiting for everyone to rush in to find spots. But the seats were indeed a little closer than I would have preferred, so the angle sort of severe.

I had been told by a counselor that my son would be coming down the aisle right next to me, so I had my 17-55 lens ready and was actually taking a couple practice shots down that aisle waiting for him when I realized they were coming down the next aisle over. Oops. Camera was all set up for something different. So I turned off the flash, but forgot to change my settings. This is all I got. I had the camera on program mode when the flash was on so the without the flash the camera gave me 1/15 on the shutter speed:


IMG_9998 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

These are the top 1% who were seated on stage. I felt good about most of the on-stage stuff. I used 3200 ISO and chose 1/200 for shutter speed. The camera chose 4 or 4.5 for aperture:


IMG_0005 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_0020 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_0052 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_0066 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_0070 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

When the Superintendent recognized the top 1% he asked the parents to stand. Which is all grand, unless you're holding a huge lens and using your arm rest to steady your arm! I still got off a couple shots, but missed my focus a bit:


IMG_0196 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

I did better with presentation of the diplomas since I was seated again:


IMG_0211 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_0227 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

And a shot outside with my 17-55 lens back on:


IMG_0319 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

Overall I felt like I did better with the 70-200 lens than I did 2 years ago at my first son's graduation. With help here, I found settings I was happy with. So thanks to everyone for the recommendations!

 

[Luvscrappin]

Momtrtk,

WOW, I think you got some awesome shots at your sons graduation! I also rented the 70-200 IS 2.8 for my son's graduation and bought the 17-55mm 2.8

I got some decent shots, but yours are so much better! This was my first son to graduate from this HS and I had no idea where they would come in from, etc. I had to change lens at the last minute, but I cant complain. I did most in auto because I was too afraid to "miss the moment" by adjusting the settings. The best shots were the ones I took outside the high school over the weekend with my son in his cap and gown. ( he was so kind to cooperate and not complain, lol)

Anyway, congrats on your son's great accomplishments and kudos on your pics!

 

[mom2rtk]

Momtrtk,

WOW, I think you got some awesome shots at your sons graduation! I also rented the 70-200 IS 2.8 for my son's graduation and bought the 17-55mm 2.8

I got some decent shots, but yours are so much better! This was my first son to graduate from this HS and I had no idea where they would come in from, etc. I had to change lens at the last minute, but I cant complain. I did most in auto because I was too afraid to "miss the moment" by adjusting the settings. The best shots were the ones I took outside the high school over the weekend with my son in his cap and gown. ( he was so kind to cooperate and not complain, lol)

Anyway, congrats on your son's great accomplishments and kudos on your pics!

Ahhh..... so you totally understand the challenges of the day!

Thanks for the kind words. And congrats on your son's graduation!

I really do think the unknown nature of all this really was the most frustrating part of it. Of course it helped that our older son graduated there 2 years ago. But it really is hard to balance wanting to be in the moment with wanting to have the shots to remember it by.

I totally got lucky with son #1. The kids were seated in 2 different sections. I happened to choose seats on the right side. Or I probably wouldn't even have been able to see him walk the stage. They had one section come down one side of the stage, and the other group come in the other way.

I'm so glad you got some shots you like outside the high school. I thought about asking them to do that, but didn't think I'd get any buy in. I do think I'm going to as my son this week to visit one of the historical homes in town and let me take a few more photos there. I'm hoping to squeeze that in before I have to return the lens in a couple days, but not sure yet if we'll get it done that soon.

I totally feel for you needing to change lenses at the last minute. That's the sort of thing that really makes events like this so challenging. You'll notice that's exactly the problem I had when they marched in. I honestly thought about carrying a second body (I have my old Xsi still) but figured the family would totally think I had gone off the deep end. If I had it to do over, I'd probably do it anyway.

 

[KCmike]

Looks great Janet! Congrats on such wonderful accomplishments for your son. Our graduation was Saturday and there was reserved seating for us too. We chose to sit on the left side and of course they walked from left to right so I missed the best angle for receiving the diploma and walking off stage. I did get some decent shots of other angles. My baby girl graduated Magna Cum Laude and .04 from Summa Cum Laude. I couldn't be anymore proud of her. I will try to post some shots as I get them uploaded over the next few days. It has been one of the most non stop weeks of my life. From award nights for the twins band accomplishments, to my daughter's scholarship awards, to graduation and then the graduation party on Sunday, and tonight was my son's tennis team awards. Several nights we got home after 10pm and my body is just running on fumes. 4 more days of High School for my youngest two while my daughter has one college course final exam tomorrow. Yep, she graduated from High School Saturday yet still has a final tomorrow because of a college credit course. 5 days away from vacation too! Whaaat? All we have planned is where were staying in Orlando for the band trip. Help!