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Chat => Photography => Topic started by: addictweb on August 21, 2012, 10:56:04 AM

Title: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: addictweb on August 21, 2012, 10:56:04 AM
This Friday I'm going to watch a friend in a boxing match, then on Sunday I've got my boy's baptism. I though I might rent a lens from Fixation for both events, the question is, which one?

I've got a Nikon D70 (crop). I'm guessing the boxing will need medium-long range and low aperture. It's at the London Irish Centre in Camden (in case anyone has been there).

http://www.fixationuk.com/Fixation/Rental.html

Nothing jumps out at me as the obvious choice, why cant there be an 18-200 2.8 or even a 24-120 2.8 ...

I only have a 50mm 1.8 and a the stock 18-70.
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: zpyder on August 21, 2012, 11:21:49 AM
AFS 70-200mm f2.8 VR II ?

I'd consider the 50mm for the baptism though.

I recently did a friends wedding reception with my 24-105mm f4-5.6 L. I just whacked the ISO up, as I wasn't going to be selling the photos it didn't matter much about grain, the important thing was that I was there capturing the moments as they happened, as the official photographer charged an arm and a leg to stay after the cake cutting. (speaking of which, she was very professional, stood around with a sour face waiting for the cake cutting and then disappeared immediately...if I had a paid wedding gig I'd be smiley and friendly all the time...)
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: Rivkid on August 21, 2012, 11:31:57 AM
(speaking of which, she was very professional, stood around with a sour face waiting for the cake cutting and then disappeared immediately...if I had a paid wedding gig I'd be smiley and friendly all the time...)


Wow thats crap! Our wedding photographers were amazing - really felt like part of the celebration and stayed so late into the night. But thats off topic sorry! :)
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: addictweb on August 21, 2012, 11:55:15 AM
AFS 70-200mm f2.8 VR II ?

I think that might be the best option, my only concern is that it might be too long if I get to sit/stand quite close to the ring. It will also definitely be too long for the baptism, but like you say, I'll have my 50 for that.
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: Russell on August 21, 2012, 13:39:05 PM
Bit difficult to say without knowing how far away your going to be, something like the 17-55 f2.8 would be ideal for the baptism but not for the boxing, and your probably stuck with the 70-200 f2.8 for the boxing which will probably be too much for the baptism.  Only other one I could think of being good for both is the 24-120 f4, its only a stop slower than an f2.8 lens but you should be able to make that up with a stop of ISO easily enough and it might be long enough for the boxing and wide enough for the baptism but if its not your stuck with it.
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: zpyder on August 21, 2012, 14:23:24 PM
Lately I've been finding myself enjoying close-up shots more than the usual stuff (like the portraits of the reptiles in my zoo thread). If your friend is competing he's probably already got photos of him in the ring taken by friends and family. I'd take the opportunity to try and get something a little bit different, shots close up of the expressions on their faces, action just as a blow lands, or they dodge. A wide shot doesn't feel as intimate in those circumstances. With the 70-200 you'll have a bit of freedom, definitely won't be too far away (unless you're like 75m away) and worst case, will be able to try something different up close :D
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: Eagle on August 21, 2012, 21:46:07 PM
Pretty sure Canon did an 18-200 at some point.  Nikon too, I would think.  Pretty sh*tty glass though in both cases.
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: Mongoose on August 21, 2012, 21:57:03 PM
Nikons 18-200 was pretty good for the class of lens, but a lens with a range that long will always be slow and for the above you'll need f2.8 as a minimum. I think Sigma do a 50-150 2.8 but you may not be able to get that on rental. Otherwise the 70-200 is going to be your best bet. Inside a church you'll probably need the available darkness abilities of the nifty fifty anyway, esp with the D70 which I seem to recall has the same sensor as my k10 and therefore probably doesn't like max ISO much.
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: addictweb on August 22, 2012, 10:56:18 AM
Nikons 18-200 was pretty good for the class of lens, but a lens with a range that long will always be slow and for the above you'll need f2.8 as a minimum. I think Sigma do a 50-150 2.8 but you may not be able to get that on rental. Otherwise the 70-200 is going to be your best bet. Inside a church you'll probably need the available darkness abilities of the nifty fifty anyway, esp with the D70 which I seem to recall has the same sensor as my k10 and therefore probably doesn't like max ISO much.

Yep, I think I'll go for the 70-200. I like the idea of being able to get close up's of the fight. £45 for Friday to Tuesday, awesome!

D70 hates high ISO's, looks like a sandstorm at anything above 800.

EDIT: Booked it, next question - will I need a monopod?
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: zpyder on August 22, 2012, 15:18:10 PM
I've yet to find a camera that doesn't hate high ISO.I'd love to get my hands on a 1D or 5D to just do some side by side comparisons to see whether they really do live up to the hype...
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: Serious on August 23, 2012, 05:12:35 AM
For the baptisim, I tend to agree with the 50mm. No point in renting anything for that.

For the boxing a high speed lens is essential. Depending on how far you are away from the action the focal length matters. Therefore the 85mm f1.4 should be a good option. £33 for a day isn't cheap though.
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: Mongoose on August 23, 2012, 20:25:19 PM
For the baptisim, I tend to agree with the 50mm. No point in renting anything for that.

For the boxing a high speed lens is essential. Depending on how far you are away from the action the focal length matters. Therefore the 85mm f1.4 should be a good option. £33 for a day isn't cheap though.

could be a good call, I once did an ice-hockey match from way up in the stands with a 90mm f/2.5. If you're accurate with the focussing you can crop really tight with a nice piece of prime glass on action shots.

Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: addictweb on August 23, 2012, 21:28:06 PM
Ive gone for the 70-200 to give me the flexibility. I figure the ring will be well lit so hopefully I wont have to go too high ISO, its also a relatively small event so I think I'll be able to get reasonably close to the ring.

Decision made now, we'll see how it goes tomorrow night.

I've borrowed a manfotto monopod in case I cant keep steady enough but hopefully I wont have to use it.
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: Mongoose on August 24, 2012, 08:53:26 AM
good luck and don't forget to post us some results :)
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: zpyder on August 24, 2012, 14:51:05 PM
http://digital-photography-school.com/tips-on-shooting-ringside-an-introduction-to-boxing-photography

Spookily good timing, ish...
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: addictweb on August 24, 2012, 18:28:26 PM
http://digital-photography-school.com/tips-on-shooting-ringside-an-introduction-to-boxing-photography

Spookily good timing, ish...

90% of that is taken verbatim from a forum reply I read earlier today, hopefully it was by the same person and has not been copied.

My main concerns are going to be that the lighting will be terrible, I wont be able to get into a good spot in front of the crowd and that if I do get up close I dont have a wide angle lens. Time will tell!

Either way there's nothing to lose, no one is expecting any shots from me so if I dont get any there's no harm done.
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: addictweb on August 25, 2012, 07:53:34 AM
Well! The 70-200 2.8 wasnt much good. Even at ISO 1200 it wasnt fast enough, couldnt get above 40 on the shutter which meant everything was blurred. I quickly changes to my 50mm 1.8 which was fast enough but slightly long for ring side.

Its massively tough to frame shots with the fighters moving around the ring so fast and you have such a limited focal length.

I think I got one of two worthwhile shots, sadly the guy I was backing is now in hospital, needless to say, he didnt win.
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: Clock'd 0Ne on August 25, 2012, 11:12:59 AM
That's a real shame, sorry to hear your mate is in hospital too, hopefully he'll have a speedy recovery.
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: addictweb on August 28, 2012, 08:56:23 AM
A couple of the better ones:

(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7698099/Images/Cian/2012-08-24%2022.16.48.jpg)

(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7698099/Images/Cian/2012-08-24%2022.10.41-2.jpg)

(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7698099/Images/Cian/2012-08-24%2022.11.08.jpg)

(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7698099/Images/Cian/2012-08-24%2022.15.03.jpg)

(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7698099/Images/Cian/2012-08-24%2022.15.41.jpg)

Frustratingly most of them are slightly soft, and all required massive noise reduction because of the high ISO.
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: zpyder on August 28, 2012, 09:52:34 AM
I like #2 and the last one. I think they're pretty good given the environment and the subjects.
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: Clock'd 0Ne on August 28, 2012, 13:12:38 PM
Number 2 is great, the black and white really gives it a nice feel  for me. Nice job!
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: Mongoose on August 29, 2012, 08:54:52 AM
#2 is a winner for me, the black and white really works and the slight softness doesn't bother me at all.
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: addictweb on August 29, 2012, 09:37:27 AM
Have downloaded SilverFX for lightroom and it's got me making everything black and white. I'll upload more soon. A colleague of mine asked for the RAW of one of the shots and produced the below which I love.


(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7698099/Images/2012-08-24%2022.19.06-2.jpg)
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: Russell on August 30, 2012, 22:33:16 PM
Got to say the 2nd one is really good, love it how you can just see some of the other boxer out of shot.
Title: Re: Which lens? (rental)
Post by: addictweb on September 02, 2012, 18:54:45 PM
Thanks, I really liked the second as well, and the one processed by someone else above, so I've gone black and white with the whole set (http://flic.kr/s/aHsjBRWqgu).

(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7914706520_0b127a67df.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/27382349@N02/7914706520/)
2012-08-24 22.11.04 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/27382349@N02/7914706520/) by addictweb (http://www.flickr.com/people/27382349@N02/), on Flickr

(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8172/7914705796_9cbb2128bd.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/27382349@N02/7914705796/)
2012-08-24 22.11.35 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/27382349@N02/7914705796/) by addictweb (http://www.flickr.com/people/27382349@N02/), on Flickr

(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8450/7914715186_72df7140a7.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/27382349@N02/7914715186/)
2012-08-24 22.13.37-2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/27382349@N02/7914715186/) by addictweb (http://www.flickr.com/people/27382349@N02/), on Flickr