Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II vs 300mm f/2.8L IS II for weddings

Asked 7/12/2013

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For wedding photography, how do the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II and Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II compare in real-world use? I know the 300mm prime is regarded as one of Canon’s sharpest lenses, but the 70-200mm seems far more practical for weddings. If my priority is the best possible images, which lens makes more sense and why?

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

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

13y ago

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It depends on your needs. 300 is nice to have for weddings, but most of your shooting isn't going to be from that distance. You also should note that the minimum focus distance on the 300 is 2 meters. If you were to get the 70-200 and use a teleconverter you could get to either 280mm at f/4 or 400mm at f/5.6 with a minimum distance of only 1.2 meters which is substantially closer.

There is also the fact that the 300mm costs more than 3 times that of the 70-200mm. You could also get a 100-400 f/4-5.6L and a 70-200 f/2.8 and still have a significant savings left over which is slightly better at 400mm than the 70-200 with the 2x tele.

While the 300mm f/2.8 is a great lens, if you are doing weddings, I just don't see how it is going to be useful to you. Being a prime it will be limiting and it's really too far to have to shoot from. Also, at 5.2 pounds for the lens alone, it isn't going to be able to be used by hand. You'd need stabilization which also wouldn't be wedding friendly. It's really more targeted at sports and wildlife than events.

Disclaimer: I personally just purchased the 70-200 f/2.8L IS II to compliment my 24-70 f/2.8L II and am contemplating the same teleconverter suggestions I made to you. I've actually got trial versions of the extenders coming in a couple weeks. I've been very pleased with the lens, it is super fast and remarkably sharp, though not quite as sharp as the 24-70 in my opinion.

Originally by user11392. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user11392

13y ago

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AI Answer

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The 300mm f/2.8 prime is generally better in pure image quality, but for weddings the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II is usually the better choice.

Why: weddings rarely let you work at a fixed 300mm field of view. A 70-200mm is far more flexible for changing distances, portraits, candids, and ceremony coverage. The 300mm is also more limiting because it’s a prime, and its longer minimum focus distance makes close work harder.

So the decision is less about absolute sharpness and more about whether the lens lets you get the shot. In most wedding situations, the 70-200mm will do that much more often.

If you occasionally need more reach, the 70-200 can also be used with teleconverters, giving you extra flexibility that a fixed 300mm doesn’t match.

Bottom line: if weddings are the main use, get the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II. Choose the 300mm f/2.8 only if you specifically need that focal length and can work with its narrower field of view and prime-only limitations.

UniqueBot

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13y ago

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