[pres589]

So I was asked by a family member who is talking about doing some side work as an events photographer about equipment she might consider. This is not anything too serious; she doesn't plan on this becoming a big deal, mainly helping out friends with gatherings or events that they want photos of but don't need or want anything exhaustive. SO, here's what she's working with.

Canon SL1. This is a few years old, really small DSLR, 14mp I believe. Nothing amazing, nothing terrible.
Tamron 17-50 non-VC lens. This is the same one selling for $300 and I'm a big fan of even though I've not used it on Pentax.
Canon 35-80 version 1 from the early 90's. Film era zoom, f4 to 5.6 variable aperture, and I don't think this is useful at all.
Phoenix 70-210 or something like that. This is junk, let's not talk about it, AF doesn't work on the SL1 anyway.
A tripod, I think. Probably not that great but it's usable.

That's kind of it. I can push a single lens, not too expensive. Or should this be time for a real flash and a foamy thing or similar modding? My thought is that the 17-50 isn't really long enough. It's okay for walk-around, as usual, but something like an older 28-75 or similar would be more useful. Remembering the crop factor of the SL1 is 1.6x instead of the 1.5x of a crop Pentax, a quality full frame 24-70 or 28-75 would give some good focal lengths & fields of view useful for this sort of thing, and get a constant f2.8 max aperture. Or would you try to shoot a family reunion or small informal wedding with that 17-50? The other lens idea I had was something like the Canon 50mm f1.8 STM, as it's pretty fast and equates to ~80mm on full frame, which is solidly in there as far as classic portrait focal length.

Given a budget of $300 or so, max, what would you do? Go for the versatility off a 28ish to 75ish f2.8 zoom off the used market, or go for a new 50 f1.8 STM & maybe a flash like a Metz 24 AF-1?

[VoiceOfReason]

28-75 f/2.8 would probably be hard to beat at her budget and needs.

[C_Jones]

The 17-50 would be the closest she could probably get to having enough versatility to do what you have mentioned, accompanied with a flash. She could try that, which would most likely give her a lot of opportunities, and if she finds she needs more, she could invest in something similar to what you mentioned, being a 28 - 75ish zoom or 24-70 if she has the resources. The camera, lens and flash would be a starting point, and she can learn from actually shooting results what she finds is needed or works best. Keeping a reasonable ISO while using a flash and seeking good lighting for subjects will contribute to image quality, along with proper depth (F Stop).