Equipment Purchase Recommendations - Event Photography

I have an acquaintance who has asked for recommendations for a basic list of equipment to start doing event photography.  This person will be working alone and budget is important so my suggestions will be for a basic kit that includes high quality equipment that will meet the needs of an event photographer without extras or unnecessary bells and whistles.

For additional information on working an event check my June posts and look for "Finding Your Mojo in Event Photography".

If you have been a student of camera ads over the years you would think that the most important features for a camera were the number of megapixels and the highest shutter speed offered.  I guess advertisers need something simple to shout about but please don't make the mistake of selecting a camera based on the number of megapixels in its sensor.  There are many much more important factors but unfortunately they are not simple to talk about so advertisers tend to focus on other things.

General advice on selecting equipment:

If you already have lenses from an older 35mm system that will work with a new digital camera then you probably should go with that system manufacturer.  If not, you can go with any manufacturer that has a system that meets your needs.  I lean heavily toward Nikon or Canon because they have the widest selection of lenses and accessories plus the used market has lots of their equipment that can be bought at a discount.  Buying used lenses can save you lots of money and let you get a much better quality lens for the price of a new low end lens.  Buying used backup equipment is also a great way to go.

Don’t’ worry about the ads blasting you with information on megapixels.  The megapixel count is not really very important as all of the newer cameras can deliver an image that is high quality and detailed enough for enlargement to any size normally associated with event photography.  The availability of lenses, accessories, the ergonomics of the camera body, and the structure of menus and control buttons is MUCH more important than the number of megapixels.  Another very important factor for event photography is how well the camera sensor handles low light situations.

Here are some of the important camera functions that should have a dedicated button or wheel on the camera body.  Hold the camera in your hands and make the salesperson show you where these features are.  If the camera is not comfortable in your hands or if you have to go into a menu system to control these features then you should not buy the camera for event photography use.

Shooting mode – Aperture priority, shutter priority, auto, manual
Exposure mode – Evaluative, Center, spot(optional)
Exposure compensation
White balance
ISO
Exposure and focus lock
Image review with easy access to histogram and highlights warnings – You don’t want to blow the wedding dress!! (Probably have to set this up in the menu, ONE TIME)
Focus auto or manual – could be on body, lens or both

There are other nice to have features but this list is the must have features that you will frequently use and will need to be able to access quickly.

Check the range of ISO offered by the camera body and do some research on how the sensor handles noise as the ISO is increased.  I do not do this type of research but I suggest checking www.kenrockwell.com.  He does lots of research on equipment and gives honest evaluations.  If you have one camera that can deliver noise free high quality images for printing up to 8X10 at an ISO of 400 and another that can do the same at ISO up to 1600, the second body is well worth a few hundred in extra cost.
  

I recommend staying away from camera/lens bundles unless you carefully determine that BOTH the camera body and lens meet your needs.  Many of the bundles contain low end lenses that are very slow or that don’t cover a very good focal range.  Many also do not have image stabilization and I think that this feature is critical for shooting candid events without a tripod.  In many ways I think that your choice of lens is more important than your choice of camera body so a bundle that saves a little money but gives you a lens that doesn’t meet your needs is no bargain.

Both Canon and Nikon make a “do all” lens in the 18-135 or even better the 18-200 range that has image stabilization.  These are not fast lenses but they are sharp, can be used hand held at events and they cover a very good focal range.  These lenses are sometimes included in bundles that can save you a little money.  Just remember that image stabilization helps with camera movement NOT subject movement so it really does not replace the need for a fast lens in event photography.

For a low cost fast lens I would look to the used market and get a fast fixed focal length lens in the 60-85mm range.  Both Nikon and Canon have an 85mm f1.8 that has been made for many years.  The new ones are about $400 but a good used one could be bought on Ebay or from KEH.com.  These lenses hold their value well but you could save a little.  The large apertures on these lenses create beautifully blurred backgrounds and they are great for portrait work and long enough and fast enough to work close-ups at an event in lower light.  For even less money you could get a 50mm f1.4 on the used market but I think the 85mm would be more useful.

You will also need at least one hot shoe flash unit.  I recommend buying a dedicated unit made by the camera manufacturer.  The cheapest units have a fixed head that will not meet your needs.  Make sure the head will swivel up and rotate to both sides.  You will also want a diffuser of some type.  Some of the units come with a small diffuser or you could add a diffuser made by a third party.  Gary Fong produces a line of diffusers that is widely used.  Consider used if your budget is getting stretched.

So….my recommendation for a bare bones event kit on a budget is:

Camera body with the right features (Nikon or Canon)
At least 2 batteries – 3 is safer
Several memory cards – I would use four 4GIG cards and change cards several times during the event.  The cards are cheap and reliable but if you use one big card and it goes bad…disaster!!
“Do all” lens in the 18-200 range with image stabilization
Fast 85mm lens - used
Dedicated flash with swivel head and some type of diffuser

As soon as money allows:

Add a second camera body purchased used and a second used flash.  It is handy to mount a second lens and use the body and if you have an equipment problem during an event, having backup equipment saves the day.  It is much more "professional" to arrive for a job well prepared.  There is no second chance to do it right and if you accept the pay you have a responsibility to do everything in your power to see that the job gets done well.  Cameras break, cards have errors, and batteries die, Murphy's Law is in full force during events.

A tripod.  An inexpensive one will work just fine for the more formal portrait work.  Used is also a good way to go.

You will of course need a computer and some image processing software.  I recommend Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 as a total package for an event photographer.  It has great organizational tools, excellent darkroom tools, and easy ways to link to web sites for uploading images for customer viewing.

Hope this helps!