what camera is best for wedding photography

-- larry ahlgrim (larryahlgrim@oconto.net), July 19, 2001

Answers

Hasselblads are common, as John said. However, in the U.S. I would say that Mamiya is more common. Some people love the 6X6 square format of the Hasselblad and the older TLRs like the YashicaMat 124G and Rolliflex. Others, myself included don't like the format. With Mamiya, you get a choice of 645 (6cmX4.5cm) or 6X7. The 6X7 format is very close to an 8X10 aspect ratio, so there is very little cropping of the negative. The disadvantage of 6X7 is that the cameras are rather large and heavy compared to 6X6 or 645 formats.

If you are not interested in the expense of medium format, and instead want to use 35mm, it really doesn't matter what camera you use. Keep in mind that the ability to enlarge will be limited to about 11X14, and some people will even say 8X10 with 35mm though. With 35mm, the most important thing is to have good lenses. Either prime lenses, or the big, expensive f2.8 zooms are recommended, but you can get away with some of the better consumer zooms. The most important things other than lens is that you are comfortable with the camera, and you have a good powerful flash. It doesn't really matter which brand camera. I prefer Canon, others prefer Nikon, Pentax, Minolta, etc. Just make sure you are comfortable with it.

Whatever you go with, you need to have at least two camera bodies. There are multiple reasons for this. One is to have a backup if something goes wrong. Another is so you don't have to change lenses as often. Yet another reason, at least with 35mm, is so you can hand your assistant the camera to reload film, while you keep shooting. Most medium format systems have interchangeable film backs or inserts, so you just change those to keep shooting.

-- Brad Hutcheson (bhutcheson@iname.com), July 19, 2001.

Hi Larry,

I go to quite a lot of weddings (I'm a bellringer not a bigamist!) and my perception is that the most common camera used nowadays (well, at least at Church of England weddings in Hampshire) is the Hasselblad. (And, by the way, the most common films used are Kodak Portra 160 and Fuji NPS 160. And the most common hymn chosen is "All things bright and beautiful".)

Medium format holds sway over 35mm because of the need for large prints. In decades past, the Rolleiflex TLR was the medium-format camera that held sway, but an SLR makes it possible to swap between lenses for group shots, couple shots, and closeups. That's a shame in a way: the quiet "snick" of a Rolleiflex shutter is much less disturbing to a church service than the "Twackpop!" of a motorized Hasselblad.

Mind you, once the couple are walking back down the aisle together and the bells start ringing, you could use a rocket-engined shutter and nobody would hear it. :-)

Later,

Dr Owl

-- John Owlett (owl@postmaster.co.uk), July 19, 2001.

I've done the Hasselblad wedding thing in the past with older 500 bodies. Were I serious about getting into it again, and had to buy my own equipment to do it, I'd get a 6x6 leaf-shutter SLR that offered TTL flash.

I say this as someone whose Rolleicord sits unused because I don't like the square; but you don't have to flip the camera back and forth and it allows you to sell 10x10 albums pretty easily. The only affordable option is a Bronica, but if you're rich you could go Hassy or Rollei.

Lighting equipment will be a more complex decision than the camera.

-- John O'Connell (boywonderiloveyou@hotmail.com), July 20, 2001.

I shoot a few weddings every summer, and note a few trends. The posed photo is not popular with my customers. They want candids, and a photojournalistic style. They don't get big enlargements; many are happy with an album of 4X6 prints. This all adds up to 35mm. Because I really like the dial-in fill flash with the Nikon system, my basic wedding setup is an F100 with an SB-28 on a bracket, a 28-100 zoom, and Fuji NPH (rated at 320) in the camera. This covers 90% of the wedding. A few wide angle and telephoto shots of the ceremony rounds out the selection. I recently had some Fuji Frontier 8X10s made from this combination, and they were great.

-- Phil Stiles (stiles@metrocast.net), September 06, 2001.