I’m glad you found the post helpful.

You never did let me know how you got on! If you have a link to your stuff, feel free to post it here in the comments so I can check it out =D)

Dan

I’m glad you liked the post and thanks for taking the time to tell me =D)

If I recall correctly, the 550D is a cropped sensor, so your 18mm is only giving you a 27mm field of view, or something like that. The widest I’ve shot on is a 14-40mm (not cheap) full frame camera (not cheap either and total overkill) but I have a friend who still shoots the clubs using a Sigma 10-20mm on his cropped sensor camera. You have to be careful to avoid too much distortion when you’re using a lens that wide but I’d say wider is better for clubs; after all, you can always step a little bit closer to your subjects but, in a packed club, it’s sometimes difficult to step back!

A wise man never spends money unnecessarily and remember, the final image is more about your vision and skill than your gear; so I might suggest waiting and giving the 18-50mm a go before deciding to buy a chap wide lens in the hope that you get some work.

If you do decide to go wider, the Sigma 10-20mm is a very good lens, I’ve used it for landscape and architecture work too. I think it can be had relatively cheaply these days because its designed only for use on cropped sensor cameras whereas their new 12-24mm can be used on both cropped and full frames and is a superior lens all round, so the pro’s are buying that one instead!

Good luck and happy shooting for the future =D)

Also iam currently contemplation whether to purchase a new (cheap) lense, i currently have a 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lense with a canon 550D. Do you think I will be fine with the lense i have now?

I’m glad you enjoyed the article.

I know what you mean about the name plates. Sometimes it’s better to stand further away and set you zoom to the maximum length (200mm) as this has the effect of ‘flattening’ elements in the image, meaning the nameplate will seem less unsharp.

To be totally honest though, it’s pretty difficult to get both the speaker and the nameplate in focus. Moving further away and stopping down your aperture both help but they both mean your sensor is receiving less light from the subject and you have to do something to compensate (such as boost the flash or the ISO).

I tend to find the best compromise, then add contrast and clarity to the image (or just the nameplate) in post.

Hope that helps,

Dan

Dan