EOS R50 lens recommendations for church photography

[kingkirby_268]

I’ve searched the forum to see if I could find an answer for my question but wasn’t able to find one. I just bought my R50, upgrading from phone. The kit lens is 18mm - 45mm. Normally I would take pictures of family members at home, on vacation, you know regular life. That guy that will always pull out his phone to capture the moment. I’ve become the de facto church photographer and I wanted to upgrade my equipment and skill set. The church is approximately 160ft x 80ft with a balcony around 3 of the walls. The balcony is approximately 12ft high. I want to be able to take photos at church without getting in persons way. I want to be like a fly on the wall. Not needing to be right next to the person to get their emotions in the photo. I’ve taken sample photos with the kit lens and I don’t think it allows me to achieve my objectives. My budget is $250.00. Can I get some recommendations please?

[Waddizzle]

“ want to be able to take photos at church without getting in persons way. I want to be like a fly on the wall. Not needing to be right next to the person to get their emotions in the photo. “

I am uncertain about your intentions or needs.  You want to capture faces of people in pews?

Or, are you looking to photograph people in or near the pulpit?

[kingkirby_268]

Both actually. 

[Waddizzle]

Okay, it’s going to be hard to capture facial expressions without people noticing someone moving around with a camera that is pointing straight at them.  

Do you have a budget for a lens?  

I would recommend only RF mount lenses, such as the 24-240mm or 70-200mm.

[kingkirby_268]

My budget is $250.00

[shadowsports]

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@kingkirby_268 wrote:

My budget is $250.00

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Greetings,

This is mission impossible on your budget.  You chose a great beginner camera, but the 18-45 is only good for landscapes and snapshots

Other lenses to consider:

RF-S 55-210

Shop Canon RF-S55-210mm F5-7.1 IS STM | Canon U.S.A., Inc.

RF 24-105 f4~7.1

RF24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM

RF 24-240

RF24-240mm F4-6.3 IS USM

Bottom line.  Depending on lighting, you will be challenged shooting indoors with any of these lenses.  Its important you go into this with proper expectations.

[ebiggs1]

"My budget is $250.00"

I would say, sorry, it's not going to happen. Besides the Canon RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM Lens being around $800 bucks (on sale!) it will almost certainly be too slow unless your church is uncharastically brightly lighted.

The Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens, which would be my best choice and probably could get the job done but it is ten times your budget price.

Caon does have a lens that will be able to get some but likely not all church shots; it is the RF-S55-210mm F5-7.1 IS STM and although it isn't in the budget it doesn't smash it either. They are around $350. It is still a very slow lens but the budget is a severely limiting factor.

Two other things that are in the budget because they are totally free is to set the R50 to shoot raw format and not jpg. Second, d/l the DPP4 photo editing app from the web site. Practice holding the camera steady. These things can get you two extra stops, perhaps even more, which I am sure you could use.