AboutSteve Meltzer Expertise I am a professional photographer and I've been shooting for newspapers, magazines, commercial clients and artists for over 30 years.
I have shot stock photography for dozens of years and in 1977 created West Stock (Seattle, WA) which was one of the first to produce stock photo CDs and later one of the first to establish an online stock photo slaes site.
I have a new book on digital photography "PHOTOGRAPHING ARTS, CRAFTS AND COLLECTIBLES (Lark Books, 2007)which is available at Amazon.com, eBay.com and in bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders. I have another book, CAPTURE THE LIGHT which will be puiblished in November, 2008.
I write 20-30 feature articles and columns for regional and national publications a year.
My education includes studying with photographers like Cornell Capa, Duane Michels and Oliver Gagliani (from the Ansel Adams Center.)
Expert: Steve Meltzer Date: 4/23/2007 Subject: Wide/superwide lens choices
Question Hi Steve ....I am new here and I must say this looks like a very good site.
I have been very interested in photography in general for many years and I am
seriously considering doing real-estate photography (interiors/exteriors),
architechtural photography and maybe wedding and corporate photography out in
Dubai.
My ideal camera would be ($$$!) Canon 1Ds mkII but based on advice I've recieved and with 12.8Mpixels and a full frame sensor I've pretty much settled on the EOS 5D but I'm not sure which is the best lens combination.
The options I currently have in my head are;
1. 16-35L f2.8, 24-70L f2.8 and 70-200L lenses, or
2. 15mm f2.8, 24-70L f2.8 and 70-200L lenses
3. Or a 3rd option (sigma?, tokina?)
Which of the above lens combinations is best? - or is there a better 3rd alternative ?? I've heard the 16-35L has a considerable amount of distortion at 16mm and is a bit 'soft' between 24mm and 35mm, then again with option 2, regularly swapping lenses between a 15mm prime and the 24-70L is pretty unappealing due to possible ingress of dust.
Maybe you know of a 3rd option?
Thanks in advance. John
Answer John
Hellooooo. You are new to photography and buying a gaga load of gear without thinking about learning what you need to know to shoot itneriors or weddings.
And if you think there are no photographers in Dubai who don't have twenty times the gear your are truly out of touch.
Step one. Decide what in the world you are going to do. Shooting a wedding is different than shooting architectural interiors. It requires diffrent gear! Different lighting.And a different knowledge base.
In fact your focus on camera and lens is dumb. Professional work is about lighting. Worry about getting the lighting gear you need and learning how to use it.
And it sounds like you don't really understand digital cameras. Getting a 12 MP or a 10 MP camera doesn't matter. What matters is what you need to produce. Which camera makes your job easiest.
Do you know about all the "features" in these cameras. Do you know which ones you'll need for itnerior shooting versus wedding photography?
You need to start at the beginning not at the end. Crunch time is now. What can you do? Do you have a talent for itnerior shooting? Do you even like doing that? Have you ever done it?
And the same for weddings. No one can shoot all these different areas well. Be smart, figure out what you do very well and what you can offer that the photographers in Dubai don't.
I don't mean to sound hard John but gear does not a photographer make and I'd rather burst your bubble before you are stuck in the desert wondering what went wrong. There's a lot to learn and a lot of gear to get if you are serious. Worrying about which lens is better then another is kind of lame when you don't know the first thing about photography.
