lens with low F-stop recommendations

[tenison1]

Hi, I forgot to mention a lot of important information in my last post so i'm making it again. I'm going to do an aftermovie for a concert in a pretty small venue and i'm looking to buy a new lens for it because my current one does not perform well in low light settings. It's really important that the lens is a bit small and performs well in low light videography. I'm a student so i don't have a really big budget so cheaper recommendations would be nice. My budget is about 200/250 euros. I am working with a canon 1300D body. I have experience using the default lens on that and also with the EF-S 18-135mm F/3.5-5.6 lens. Any help would be appreciated!

[kvbarkley]

The best bang for the buck with pretty good lowlight performance would be the "nifty fifty": The EF 50mm F/1.8

[rs-eos]

Agreed that the EF 50mm f/1.8 would do well in low light, but that lens doesn't have IS (image stabilization) as does your EF-S 18-135mm.   So you'd need to take that into account for your video project.  If you'll be on a tripod, no issues.  If not, would you be able to use a gimbal or other stabilization setup?

Another option you could pursue if the lack of IS wouldn't be an issue is to rent a lens.  Definitely heavier and larger than the 50mm f/1.8, but look at the EF 50mm f/1.2 L.  That would double-the amount of light gathering over the f/1.8 or at least eight times the light gathering of your 18-135mm (if at f/3.5).

Having said all that, another thing to be mindful of when working with wider apertures is that depth of field will be narrow and sometimes incredibly narrow.  Will depend upon how far your camera is from the subjects you're capturing.

[zakslm]

Also, you may wish to consider the EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM. No IS, but pretty good low light performance and decent sharpness wide open. 

[ebiggs1]

The problem the  EF 50mm F/1.8 will bring along with its great low light ability is a 50mm lens on a Rebel body is a  difficult to use focal length (FL). In a small room it may be impossible to get good coverage. As with any large aperture lens depth-of-field (DOF) will be a problem.

A 35mm lens will be a better choice but will be more expensive. A zoom is always the easiest to use but in a fast aperture will be even more expensive. So, if you can pull it off the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens would be my recommendation. IMHO, I would sell the two lenses you have to help offset this purchase because you won't use them any longer after getting this wonderful lens. It is the best Canon has to offer for a Rebel. Good luck.