Originally posted by normhead If you're not trying different F-stops with your images, you're settling.
What I'm saying is you don't have time to "try different F-stops". The bride walks down the isle once and you get one series of shots to capture that. You better know what you are going to shoot before the music starts playing.
Most event photography (wedding, music, sports) is about capturing that split second in time. You don't control your lighting and you get one shot to get it right.
Originally posted by Aristophanes My understanding is the most popular glass for Canon FF is the f/4 zooms. And by most popular I mean outsells all the other glass combined. That's what my shop tells me.
Originally posted by rawr ndeed - the f4 17-40L, f4 24-70L, f4 28-105L and the 70-200 f4 as examples. Workhorse lenses, very good, very popular in Canonland, even amongst wedding photogs.
The 24-105L was the kit lens (might still be) for the 5D when I bought mine. I don't know a lot of upper end wedding togs that shoot a lot zooms. I was using the 24-70L, 85L, & 135L pretty much exclusively. I have a friend who shoots with the 5DII and the 35L, 50L, & 85L 90% of the time. She does keep a wide angle zoom in the bag but I forget which one she uses.
When you are working all day on a wedding weight does become an issue. We shot a wedding several years back that literally started with sunrise photos and ended well after midnight. The Contax 645 turned my arms into jello the next day.... But even by that evening I was feeling it. Big F/2.8 zooms are not fun for all day use, so I can see why people would opt for smaller & lighter zooms. The 24-105L is an excellent lens. The old 24-70L was decent, but nothing special.
I'm sure there are a lot of people using F/4 zooms for wedding work. There are a lot of people using Rebels as well. I'm sure there are more Rebels being used for wedding work that 5DIIIs, but that is a function of cost and not a reflection of what gives the best image quality.
In a room with a lot of people (wedding/concert/field of play) it can be hard to really isolate your subject. In a crowded room F/4 would probably be the smallest I would shoot my 85mm (depending on subject distance). I try to keep ISO down and shutter speed up as people are moving about. Many times I only want a DoF of 12" +/-. Working with primes I know exactly what my working distance needs to be and my aperture needs to be for a given lenses. With zooms I was getting sloppy and zooming in without adjusting my aperture to give me the DoF that I wanted. I also love the way the 85mm lenses render the subject. I have to change my working distance on the K-5, but its worth it. A 55mm might give you the same FoV on and APS-C as an 85mm on a FF, but the 55mm lens will always render like a 55mm lens. Its just not the same. My main reason for wanting Pentax to produce a FF body is so that my 85mm gives me a wider FoV and I can get back to my previous working distance. It is too long on an APS-C for many applications.
I realize that dirt photographers, architectural, macro, & street photographers have different needs and probably never shoot below F/5.6. Portrait & commercial togs that work in a studio and control their light also have different needs.
The reason Canon makes the 50mm and 85mm F/1.2 is because professionals buy and use them. Fuji has announced that their new 56mm will be F/1.2 because people at that price point want it. It is a very diverse market with a lot of different needs.