When I first entered the wedding videography world, I had no gear like most people. We all have to start somewhere.

Some come into the wedding videography industry with tons of gear, while others come in with a Canon t5i rebel and a nifty 50mm lens. If you shoot on a DSLR, you know what the “nifty 50” is. Once you decide to upgrade your gear, you will come to the same crossroads that I came to. Should you buy a zoom lens or a prime lens? Both lenses have their strengths and weaknesses. I am not here to tell you one is better than the other. I think you should have both personally. You can never have too many lenses in wedding videography. That is my belief.

Zoom Lenses

My initial instinct was to go with a universal zoom lens, a Canon 24-70mm. This is a good starter lens because it is an L series glass, which was Canon’s best line of lenses at the time. Most wedding videography needs consist of wide, normal, and close up shots. The Canon 24-70mm allows you to accomplish all of that with one lens. There are two problems with the lens: If you are not good at framing and composition, it may be difficult for you to accurately move from one focal length to another. Another setback is that the lens aperture is 2.8. When the reception comes, the natural light that we like to use is limited. While it is a useful lens, the Canon 24-70mm has limitations.

Everyone should have the Canon 70-200mm 2.8. Not the F4 aperture. I use this lens on every wedding, event, and anytime I need a sharp medium to close up shot. It is a heavy lens, so I only use it on a tripod. Outside of that, I recommend using the Canon 16-35mm lens. I use this lens strictly on Steadicam and Ronin shots. It is the opposite of the 70-200mm. It is a very light weight lens and known to get the job done.

Prime Lenses

Primes lenses biggest advantage to wedding videography is their low aperture. You can use a prime lens in just about any situation. Whether it is a 1.2, 1.4, or 1.8, it provides significantly more light than any zoom lens. The workhouse of the bunch is the 50mm 1.2 lens. The first advantage is that it is designed to be the closest thing to a normal eye focal length, which means that what you see on the 50mm is what your eye sees when it views things. The only disclaimer is that you need a full frame camera. The sharpness on this lens is impeccable. If you don’t get any other prime lens, do yourself a favor and buy a Canon 50mm 1.2.

There are other prime lenses that can be bought down the line as you grow in the wedding videography industry. Over time I accumulated a nice arsenal of prime lenses. With a prime lens you can compose your shot a lot quicker than with a zoom lens like the 24-70mm. A prime lens is also a beast at receptions when the lights go down and you need to maintain your image without sacrificing quality.

Here is my 2016 Lens Set Up:

· Bridal Prep

o 35mm 1.4, 50mm 1.2, 85mm 1.2, 100mm 2.8

· Ceremony

o (2) 70-200mm 2.8, 135mm 2.0, 24-70mm 2.8

· Bride and Groom Portraits

o 35mm 1.4, 50mm 1.2, 85mm 1.2

· Reception

o 16-35mm 2.8, 35mm 1.4, 50mm 1.2, 85mm 1.2

As you see, I have built a nice arsenal for wedding videography. It takes time. It does not happen overnight. I have purchased and sold a lot of lenses to get to where I am now. Like they used to say in film school, it is not the body, it is the glass. Well that is not entirely true, but you can never have too much glass aka lenses.