A followup to my wedding film question from yesterday. It's still a tossup for me whether to shoot this wedding w/ a 35/50 or 50/90 combo. I have two bodies, an M3 & a new TTL. My leaning is toward a 50 'cron w/ a 90 Elmarit, though in typical shooting I almost always use a 35 'cron... Regardless, my instinct is that the facial "distortion" from the 35 in closeups is going to be less than appealing & that I can eliminate that possibility by going to the 50. And then the 90 is a suberb portrait lens... Of course I could always haul along all the damn lens, but I'd rather simplify & use two, one on either body.

Again, I'd appreciate any feedback & suggestions! Thanks--

-- Patrick (pg@patrickgarner.com), February 21, 2002

Answers

haul along all the damn lenses !

They all fit in your suit jacket anyway.

when you want a few people in focus, and if you want dynamic shots or view of settings, you'll use the 35mm. You are not going to shoot the ultimate bride & groom formal with that, so do not worry about facial "distortion"...

-- Jacques (jacquesbalthazar@hotmail.com), February 21, 2002.

28/50/90 or 35/90 would be my choice.

-- Michael Darnton (mdarnton@hotmail.com), February 21, 2002.

though in typical shooting I almost always use a 35 'cron

Go with what you're used to, especially when shooting a wedding for the first time. Use the 35 for your primary lens and bring the 90 for portraits. Facial distortion is a non-issue because if you're doing closeups you'll use a 90 right? The whole point of using an M is for classic photojournalism, and the 28 or 35 gives a nice feeling of "being there" without excessive distortion. The extra depth of field also comes in handy to cover any focusing errors made on the fly.

My other suggestion, and it may be sacrilege but it's important nonetheless, is to bring a flashgun and know how to use it. Yes, I know all about how the M is supposed to be an available light camera and blah blah blah, but the last situation you want to be caught in is to have the key moment that could be the highlight of the event and you're stuck without enough light to make your shot. Even if you think your event is going to be entirely predictable and out-of-doors in bright sunlight, don't tempt Murphy! Bring a light source that is under your control, just in case. I wholeheartedly recommend the Sunpak 383 with an OM-422 Omnibounce.

-- Anon Terry (anonht@yahoo.com), February 21, 2002.

get one of these Reporter straps http://www.optechusa.com/profess.htm#PRO%20STRAPS scroll down a bit keep some extra film in the pockets, and take along the extra lens while having the other two mounted. I think you'll appreciate the wideness of the 35 for some shots, and to me it seems the 90 would be good for some portraits/head shoots. cheers,

-- Patrick (svenburg@yahoo.com), February 21, 2002.

I would have to say the 35 Summicron is my choice for weddings. But, in my bag is always a 21/35/50 and 90mm lens.

-- chris williams (LeicaChris@worldnet.att.net), February 21, 2002.

You are not going to shoot the ultimate bride & groom formal with that

I wouldn't even shoot a formal with an M, period. Especially outdoors in the sun where I would want to use fill flash. For that, I have a Minolta Hi-Matic 9, an older rangefinder with a very decent 45/1.7 lens, hotshoe, metered manual, and leaf shutter that syncs all the way to 1/500.

-- Anon Terry (anonht@yahoo.com), February 21, 2002.

I suppose part of the answer depends on how you are shooting the wedding, candids or formal, or both. First I have never shot a wedding in my life, but I have done something similiar for 20 years, corporate open house/parties, which then appear in my magazine every month. When I started doing this I used a 35/50 combo, then it became just a 28 and now for several years I use only a 24, which is perfect because of the large depth of field. If you are doing candids and you have a large crowd at the wedding a wide lens is the only way to go, just mingle in with the guests and shoot away. I cannot imagine doing this without a flash.

-- Steve LeHuray (steve@icommag.com), February 21, 2002.

...bring a flashgun and know how to use it.

Um, that should have been, bring at least two flashguns and know how to use them. Like I said, don't tempt Murphy...

-- Anon Terry (anonht@yahoo.com), February 21, 2002.

By the way, I will be using an SF-20, coupled w/ the TTL, for fill flash!

-- Patrick (pg@patrickgarner.com), February 21, 2002.

Same as before, 35/50/90. 35mm for groups, 50mm for 80% plus of the wedding. 90mm for portraits. Bring two flashes and extra batteries is good advise.

Good Luck :-)

-- Alan Purves (lpurves@mnsi.net), February 21, 2002.

When I shoot a wedding it's with 35 & 75 on M4-P & M6. Use Metz 40MZ- 2 for flash. Formals with Hasselbld and/or Rollei TLR. Use 2400 Speedotron and Force 10 for formals. Fuji NPH 400 and Agfa APX 400 with Leica. Fuji 100 and Agfa 100 for formals. Have used F5 with 17- 35, 28-70 and 80-200 but without assistant it's a little heavy for an'ol' geezer like me. Shoot with what is the least you have to carry and think about! Good Luck.....

-- F. William Baker (atelfwb@aol.com), February 21, 2002.

By the way, I will be using an SF-20, coupled w/ the TTL, for fill flash!

You're going to run into problems if you try to use the SF20 for fill flash (assuming you are referring to outdoors fill). It's not even close to powerful enough to work well with the M's paltry 1/50 sync. If you HAVE to use this combo, I would use as slow a film as possible, and slap on a ND filter on the lens if necessary.

-- Anon Terry (anonht@yahoo.com), February 21, 2002.

A month ago I had a wedding to shoot, I took 21/28/35/50/90 combo, a big flash and a small one, my favourite 35 I just couldn't use, all was done with 28/50, next time I won't bring a third lens, and I'll stick to the small flash

-- r watson (al1231234@hotmail.com), February 21, 2002.

i agree with steve. i used a hassy swc (all speed sync) for the last wedding, where i was voluntered to take photo's. m equiv. would be 21/24mm. i also used an m6 with 35 cron, but the swc came out better. too much going on to use a tele, so i didn't; context, context, context/candid, candid, candid. let the "pro" do the posed shots.

-- chris chen (chrischen@msn.com), February 21, 2002.

Hello Patrick. For an all Leica M wedding photoshoot ..Two M bodies coupled with 35mm and 50mm lenses ..and Metz.60 which will deliver ceiling bounce shots. Regards.

-- Sheridan Zantis (albada60@hotmail.com), February 21, 2002.

Hi Patrick,

My brother who is also named Patrick shoots a lot of weddings. He uses a combo of a Canon Elan II with a 28-135 IS zoom and an M4 with a dual range 50 summicron. He uses two sunpak 383s when he needs to add light. I loaned him my Canon 380EX but he didn't like it. He gets paid well for the weddings he shoots and people like what he gives them. I have done a few weddings for friends to compliment the formal stuff they hired done. I usually used my M cameras with 35 50 90 and small strobe when light wasn't available. So much depends on how comfortable you are with your equipment and how close you like to work, and what you are trying to accomplish. Good luck!

-- Don (wgpinc@yahoo.com), February 21, 2002.

How about asking the client what sorts of shots they're after. So who are you shooting for? The clients or yourself? Usually a client will want wide shots and close ups. 35/90.

-- Kristian (leicashot@hotmail.com), February 21, 2002.

For me it was always a 35/50/90/135. They're small and cover al the bases. To many weddings where photos weren't permitted during the ceremony.The 135 covers the distance nicely when you're "sneaking" that shot from the back of the church, Also nobody hears the M going off. 90 for portraits, 50 for most shots and the 35 for the big picture. And yes a good flash because; trust me' Murphy will show up! Also take the extra body. The whole shootin match should weigh less than 20lbs.

-- Andy Wagner (awagner@midwest-express.com), February 22, 2002.