My interest for photography really sparked when I shot for UCLA’s Daily Bruin newspaper in 2005. I was a super bookworm, so all I did was study and manage my cyber cafe business in Atlantic City, NJ. Wanting to be more active because college was supposed to be the most “cherished years” in my life, I gave sports a try.
To this day, I am neither a spectator nor participant in sports. However, being on the court side for basketball games or shooting the Mercedes Cup with Andy Roddick allowed me to look at sports through a different lens (literally).
While I used all zoom lenses back then, I now use all (at least most of the time) prime lenses. An extra stop matters a lot in weddings due to low lighting situations and bokeh (aesthetic blur) for isolation of subjects. Someone asked me what bags and equipment I used, so here it is!
Bodies
Canon EOS 1D Mark IV SLR Digital Camera – truly the flagship with up to ISO 102,400 and 45 focus points (39 cross points) at 10fps // 1080p video
Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital Camera – it has beautiful color and is full frame // 1080p video
Lenses
Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens – approximately 35mm on 1.3x frame
Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM Autofocus Lens – quite possibly my favorite lens on the 1D Mark IV
Canon Telephoto EF 135mm f/2.0L USM Autofocus Lens – great for ceremony shots and portraits because of the low aperture. Compared to the 70-200 f/2.8, that extra f/0.8 sometimes matters. Just be sure to shoot at a higher shutter speed because this lens is very sensitive.
Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM Autofocus Lens – while it produces beautiful shots, I keep this in my bag and only use during emergencies; my preference is the Canon 135mm f/2.0L – NOTE: I don’t always bring this one.
Accessories
While I own and use Shootsac, the Tamrac Pro System 8 is what I use most often because I can just pop that bag on any carry-on suitcase and I am off!
Canon Speedlite 580EX II – (2x) – super quick recycle time and full manual.
PocketWizard Plus II Transceiver/Relay Radio Slave – (3x) combined transmitter or receiver.
Impact Mini Phono Plug to Female Hot Shoe Cord for Pocket Wizard (12″) – I prefer a female shoe over the plug-in one.
Photoflex LiteDome XTC Extra Small Softbox Kit for Shoe Mount Flashes – if I don’t have my AlienBees, then this will be my next choice (especially for small shoots); it works with my Canon Speedlite 580EX II.
SanDisk 16GB Extreme CompactFlash Memory Card – (4x) UDMA fast speeds for transfer and video recording // I carry these with my loose 8gb / 4gb cards.
A substitute for L-lenses are the regular USMs, which are really good too. I started with those before I upgraded.
Cheers,
Lawrence Chan
P.S. Buy insurance, which reminds me I need to do the same. Plus, this is the lineup I use. If you’re starting out, rent and test first. Not everyone fancies primes.
P.P.S. Live in Denver? Meet me next week on May 13th for a SmugMug meet.
Pingback: Denver SmugMug on May 13th | Tofurious | Professional Photographer Blog Themes | Wedding Photography Tips | Free Downloads
That is four lenses.
But I only bring three for sure.
What insurance company do you recommend?
I use a local company in Pasadena, CA. I suggest looking around because rates change (based on location too).
My wife and I use Hill and Usher, and they’re pretty well thought of in the industry. We recently had a body and lens stolen at a ceremony, and we had the check that we needed for replacements inside of a week.
Thanks for the look! Can you recommend any insurance carriers for photographers?
HP
Nice post Lawrence. Great gear, I love Canon.
I agree with everything except for the 135 2.0 choice for a wedding:
I have both the 135, and the 70-200 IS. I find that the IS( Image Stabilization) on the 70- 200 will help compensate even more than the extra .8 of a stop for shooting in low light. I also find that as you stated, the 135 is super sensitive and even at 1/125 of a second, I need to really make sure I am dead still. This is not the case with the 200 IS. It is a much more versatile lens, especially if you are shooting in low light in a church and have limited ability to move around. The ability to have focal lengths from 70-200 at a constant F2.8 is an incredible creative tool. Primes are beautiful pieces of glass, and seem to be all the rage nowadays, however, if I was a new shooter and filling up my gear bag, the 135 2.0 wouldn’t be on my list.
In my opinion, you need to be ready for anything at a wedding, and if I’m bringing the minimal amount of equipment, I would always bring the 70-200 IS over the 135 2.0.
Now as far as sharpness, the 135 is my sharpest lens by far.
I use it almost exclusively for my fashion/editorial portraits when I’m using studio strobes.
It is tack sharp.
You’re right about the IS feature making it more reliable. Only if there was an IS on the 135…one day.
Hill & Usher is a popular choice for photographers.
Nice setup! From your experience, how do you rate the mk iv image quality compared to the 5d ii? I tried using a 1d mk iii for portrait work but it just didn’t compare to the 5d ii. Hoping things have gotten better with the 1d mk iv. Anyways, thank for sharing!
Nice setup! From your experience, how do you rate the mk iv image quality compared to the 5d ii? I tried using a 1d mk iii for portrait work but it just didn’t compare to the 5d ii. Hoping things have gotten better with the 1d mk iv. Anyways, thank for sharing!
It’s hard to compare with the 5DMII, but it does a pretty good job. That’s why I don’t call it my backup camera because I use both simultaneously ;)
I didn’t know you were from Atlantic City too!! Did you attend EHT high school? Back to the topic, I didn’t see you list the 85mm 1.2. What do you think about that one?
I didn’t attend EHT because I was raised in LA, but many of my clients came from EHT! My cousins went to school there – Jasmine and Stacie Yee.
I agree with shooting primes. I have the 80 to 200 IS but to me the 85 1.4 (Nikon guy here) is a much clearer lens. Photographers tend to abuse the zoom feature and try to get too close to faces during ceremonies when there is more going on around couple. I was able to capture the shocked faces of the entire wedding party on the alter when someone cleared their throat loudly during the big question. It was the shot of the day, and would have been missed with a zoom. With the high ISO of the Canon’s and Nikon’s it is better to shoot for the entire scene and zoom in later with the crop tool. You never get a chance to zoom out after the fact.
I have lot’s of different lenses in my bag but somehow I always end up using only two for wedding photography – Nikon’s awesome 50mm f/1.4 and even more awesome 14-24mm f/2.8. I know it is usually considered two wide for wedding or reportage photography, but I just love that lens. Sharpness is simply unbelievable.. I have tried different prime lenses in this diapason and they just can’t stand next to this monster 14-24!
Any thoughts on how the Tamron 70 – 200 2.8 and the Tamron 17 – 50 2.8 compare to similar Canon lenses. I know the Tamron version isn’t stabilized. Anybody ever had any experience with these lenses. Thanks!
Thanks for a great post Lawrence. I too am a big fan of primes, as I prefer to use natural light as much as possible as I find fiddling around with off camera strobes to be too fiddly for the high pace action of a wedding. With wide apertures and high iso’s our lives have become much simpler. By the way can anyone recommend a good camera insurer in the UK, as I too need to get a new policy. Ta Robin.
Yay for insurance! I invested in some equipment insurance right before my trip to Uganda and it was well worth it! My 70-200 fell off my camera body three days in…I could still use it but let’s just say I got to practice manual focusing! :P Anyways, my insurance company paid for the about 3/4 of the repair cost (full minus the deductible). Whew! :)
I’ve always wondered what to do about insurance! I know I need it, but I just have no idea where to start looking, or how much to get! I’d love to see a blog article about that! :)
I priced Hill and Usher when I needed to get insurance for a trip to El Salvador and Angola, and since I am not a pro, I went with Travelers. Rates are great. I haven’t had to use it, but its there.
I am slowly moving up to shooting more and more, and getting better gear. My favorites right now (Nikon) are 14-24, 24-70, 70-200. I should have the 24mm 1.4 in the next few weeks! What about a micro/macro lens?
Pingback: Does Gear Matter? | Photography Marketing Tips Free