What's your opinion of shooting weddings with DX?

Panza

Senior Member
Tell me your thoughts and honest feelings about this.

Would you use a DX camera as your main camera at a wedding?
What are the strengths, weaknesses, shortcomings?
Does the D500 or specific lenses fix any of those shortcomings?
 
My opinion is that the DX cameras including the D500 are not appropriate for a main camera for weddings or any pro work. That does not mean that you can't do a good job with a DX camera though. I have shot some great work with my d7100 but I think if you are going to call yourself a pro you really need pro gear if this is what you plan to do for a living.

This i just my opinion though.
 

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
One of those occasions when FX would be the best,possibly a D750 to better cope with the interior shots when flash may not be allowed,after saying that ime not sure its all that quiet in relation to other Nikon FX for the during service shots,you should research that.
 

Panza

Senior Member
My opinion is that the DX cameras including the D500 are not appropriate for a main camera for weddings or any pro work. That does not mean that you can't do a good job with a DX camera though. I have shot some great work with my d7100 but I think if you are going to call yourself a pro you really need pro gear if this is what you plan to do for a living.

This i just my opinion though.
I'm surprised that this seems to be the general consensus for weddings. I guess it's the low light performance being as free of noise as possible? Over FPS burst and reach
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
I'm surprised that this seems to be the general consensus for weddings. I guess it's the low light performance being as free of noise as possible? Over FPS burst and reach
I concur with Don.

While I have been asked, I won't shoot weddings. If I did, though, I wouldn't want to shoot them with DX. In part for the reasons you've already mentioned but also for some artistic reasons of my own.
 

singlerosa_RIP

Senior Member
I think that DX with good glass can do a fine job. While I don't do weddings for pay, I've shot a few for friends in the distant past when I only had DX (D100) and everyone was satisfied with the results. I've seen many "pro" wedding shooters use AP-C.
 

Daz

Senior Member
So to go against the grain a little bit, I shot my first wedding with a D3200 and a D3300, Both DX, Both "Consumer" models and I am more than happy with the results I got with them (as were the couple), I did put the best glass possible on them for the day though!! If you know how to handle a camera and know how to get the best out of it, it doesnt matter if you are shooting Full Frame, Crop, Mirrorless or Micro 4 thirds you will be able to get the shots you desire.

HOWEVER I would agree with Don when it comes to low light, there were a few shots, when the sun had gone I was BEGGING for more ISO and I just could not physically do it due to the noise. If I had my FX I could of got the shot I was looking for no problem

I now shoot with one FX and one DX for the weddings that I do so I guess in practice yes I wouldn't shoot full DX now but I have done and am not adverse to it :)
 

Panza

Senior Member
[MENTION=13090]Horoscope Fish[/MENTION] - One of those, once you go Full-Frame, you don't go back to crop, scenarios? The FX photos and blur ARE what really grabbed me when I first started using FX. Hrm

@singlerosa I don't doubt that there are those who manage with Crop. I wonder what difficulties they have.

@Daz - I had shot one (outdoor) wedding and several indoor events with my old D7000. I'll admit, when the interior lights became dim, the ISO of the photos I had taken with my 80-200/2.8 were unusable and I was hoping to be able to use the D7000 + 80-200/2.8 set for candids. I stuck to my 35mm f/1.8 DX and 18-105 Kit lens because they were in range of my SB-700 Flash.


Since the D7000 is such an old camera (ISO looks terrible north of 1600), I was hopeful that the noise from modern DX would be managed better. I rarely find myself shooting above 6400, maximum 8000 ISO now a days.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
[MENTION=13090]Horoscope Fish[/MENTION] - One of those, once you go Full-Frame, you don't go back to crop, scenarios? The FX photos and blur ARE what really grabbed me when I first started using FX. Hrm
Yeah, sort of... I still love my DX kit and if I had to shoot an event (e.g. wedding) with one I certainly could; I'd just much prefer to use an FX setup.

In all fairness, though, it could also be that I'm simply not that good a photographer.
 

RocketCowboy

Senior Member
Very tough to generalize, since each wedding will be different and may have more (or less) obstacles to deal with that would benefit one body over the other.

I tend to agree with FX for two reasons: better low light performance - AF and ISO noise, and quieter shutter.
 

Moab Man

Senior Member
Unless you have the lighting to avoid DX noise I wouldn't do it. My experience is having shot one wedding with a FX as prime shooter and a DX shooter as a second floating around.

As to the D500, that is still a speculated unknown.
 

Panza

Senior Member
Yeah, sort of... I still love my DX kit and if I had to shoot an event (e.g. wedding) with one I certainly could; I'd just much prefer to use an FX setup.

In all fairness, though, it could also be that I'm simply not that good a photographer.
I did browse through your Flickr last night and I thought everything was quite solid. The gear just gives us confidence really ... : )
 

aroy

Senior Member
As long as you have fast glass there is nothing that prevents you from shooting weddings with DX. The major advantages of FX over DX (of the same generation) are
. Lower noise at high ISO. If you are going to shoot with strobes/flash that does not matter much as current DX are good enough at ISO 400/800
. Wider FOV with wides. You can fit in wider groups at the same focal length. If you use 24-70 then the wide angle shots will be less wide.
. Better battery life, at least in most cases.

Here in India for quite some time the D300 and then D90 was a favourite with mid level photographers, of course all of them shot with either flash or strobes. Now of course every one has a d800/D810. Most of the Canon shooters also use strobes here. If you are not going to use external lights/flash/strobe, then low noise at high ISO is an advantage, but that can be overcome with faster glass. I personally have used the 35MM F1.8 DX exclusively at F1.8 in thousands of indoor shots, most without flash/strobes.
 

J-see

Senior Member
Besides the low light performance, I am, in general, not in favor of using a DX for anything I can frame with an FX.

Since my aesthetic preferences remain identical regardless which of both I use, I'll always be 1.5 times the distance from my subjects using the same lens which makes my image quality take a hit. With short lenses it'll matter less (unless landscaping) but the longer the lens, the greater that difference in distance will be.

I only use DX for the shots where I need "more" reach.
 

Blade Canyon

Senior Member
You can get better bokeh portraits with FX, but no matter what camera you use, it's more about your posing, lighting, and creativity. Here's a wedding album that came in the top four in a national contest of the Wedding and Portrait Photographers Association. This entire wedding album was shot and edited on an iPhone. So, no matter what camera you use, study up on poses, candids, and lighting:

The Wedding of Josh and Amber (Select shots taken with the iPhone) – Jerry Ghionis
 

Panza

Senior Member
You can get better bokeh portraits with FX, but no matter what camera you use, it's more about your posing, lighting, and creativity. Here's a wedding album that came in the top four in a national contest of the Wedding and Portrait Photographers Association. This entire wedding album was shot and edited on an iPhone. So, no matter what camera you use, study up on poses, candids, and lighting:

The Wedding of Josh and Amber (Select shots taken with the iPhone) – Jerry Ghionis

"The photography was my gift, I wouldn't dare be seen photographing a regular client's wedding with an iPhone..." I think he was cute though. Lol
 

Panza

Senior Member
Crop or Crap
Oh gosh, I remember the first time watching this. I could never get into Zack's videos because he annoys me when he starts flicking his fly swatter and making noises. He was worse than "The Angry Photographer" whom always claims things are "The Tits".
 
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