Best budget lens upgrade for shooting weddings with a Nikon D3100

Asked 7/9/2012

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I’m new to photography and may be shooting a couple of weddings with a Nikon D3100. Right now I have the 18-55mm kit lens and the AF-S 50mm f/1.8G. I’m looking for a more suitable wedding lens on a budget of about $600 used, but I don’t want to buy something I’ll quickly outgrow. I was considering the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR DX. Is that a good choice for weddings, especially in low light, or would another lens or approach make more sense?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

14y ago

2 Answers

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First I'd like to address the other comments. They are correct if you present yourself as a professional photographer. While it may sound "snooty," it's true that you can't properly do a wedding unless you have some serious glass. You should have a collection that gives you 17mm-200mm and f/2.8 along that entire range. Prime is always better, but a 17-55 paired with the 70-200 would suit nicely. If flash is allowed during the ceremony, I wouldn't use less than 3 speedlights. One is a must for any situation. There is also a reason that many wedding photographers are using full-frame cameras and not entry level. The lenses will only get you so far, the camera needs to be able to make up the rest with quality high ISO.

If you're not getting paid and it's a favor, then that's a different story and you should be finagling some rentals. I would recommend explaining to a bride the need to have the proper equipment and propose the couple fronting the rental costs of an appropriate lens.

Indoor Wedding

For $100, you can have yourself a couple lenses that give you wide apertures and you should toss in a hotshoe flash as well. This would give you the opportunity to practice with glass that is more appropriate for weddings, will net you the much needed faster shutter, and I'm sure the bride would appreciate it as well.

Outdoor Wedding

For an outdoor wedding, you'll be battling the opposite end of the scale: harsh sunlight. With impossible luck, you may have a very thin layer of clouds as a natural diffuser and not need anything else, but you'll more likely have to fight the sun with more equipment. I'd pick up a good book on outdoor lighting. "Captured By the Light" by Ziser is a great book on wedding lighting and explains in good detail what to do. The gist of it is needing a couple flashes for a ceremony with light stands and remote triggers. This will let you control the light while working with the sun. You'll still want a constant aperture zoom lens so you'll have your full zoom range without worrying about the effectiveness of your flashes.

Otherwise, if you're looking for a straight answer to your question, you won't find one. If there was a lens that could suit wedding photography for $600, there would be a lot more wedding photographers. For that budget, you're going in ill-equipped and 2 minutes into the ceremony you will be thinking of excuses for the bride. We're not being rude, we're just being realistic and are speaking from experience. With all of the equipment and time that goes into wedding photography, $1k/wedding is barely breaking even.

Originally by user10283. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user10283

14y ago

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The 18-200mm is convenient, but it’s usually not a great wedding lens because its slow maximum aperture makes low-light ceremony shooting difficult. Weddings often happen in dim churches or venues, and on a D3100 you may struggle with underexposure or noisy high-ISO images, especially if flash isn’t allowed.

Your existing 50mm f/1.8G is actually more useful for weddings than the 18-200 in low light. Fast lenses such as a 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.4, or other fast primes are better suited to ceremonies and portraits because they let in much more light. If flash is allowed, at least one speedlight is highly recommended.

Given your budget, renting may be smarter than buying a superzoom. Wedding photography is demanding, and many photographers rely on fast glass across a useful range rather than one all-in-one lens. If this is a paid job, expectations are high and both gear and experience matter a lot. If it’s a favor, use your 50mm f/1.8G, keep ISO as high as you can tolerate, and consider renting a faster or wider lens instead of buying the 18-200.

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14y ago

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