rscheffler
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JimmyJames wrote:
I got to use the 100-300 for my first graduation event. I handheld the lens and it is doable for one 90-minute high school ceremony but on days where there are two or three university commencements, I'll be on a monopod for sure. The lens will be a workhorse for event photographers everywhere.
jtford9 wrote:
What are you using on the “sub-100” side of a graduation event? Personally I bit the bullet for the RF28-70 and I really like having the RF85 1.2. That’s enough weight right there so I can’t imagine adding anything heavier than the RF70-200 2.8 on the longer side.
Not JimmyJames, but will comment. 
I use the RF 28-70, RF 70-200/4 and 200-400 to cover the local university's convocations that take place on-stage in a concert hall (a professional venue for commercial stage productions). Lighting is good color quality at ISO 3200 1/500 @ f/4.
I use the 28-70 mostly for pre and post ceremony candids, portraits of VIPs in the chancellor's procession and overall views the events. I also use if for some angles when working from the wings of the stage. I decided on the 28-70 for events to eliminate frequent lens changes of fast primes while still getting that fast prime look and quality without having to carry multiple separate, relatively heavy lenses, even though it is a large and heavy lens itself. IMO this kind of work is a forte of the 28-70/2.
I like the 70-200/4 because it's so light and compact and I can get away with f/4 at this venue. It's pretty much permanently attached to a second body for random quick shots when the 28-70 is on the main camera. I still bring the 85/1.4L IS and 135/2 for occasional specific uses, but find I'm using them less, particularly the 135, to the point where I'm not carrying them and will instead bring them out for specific uses.
The 200-400 is on a monopod for covering on-stage activities when I'm working from the sides of the seating area, or in an empty row 2/3s of the way back (reserved for graduands in case of overflow). I like the 200-400 for this because I can be farther back and at the same level, or higher, than the podium. The seating area is a shallow bowl style typical of most theaters, so when at the front closest to the podium, which is located at stage right, you're actually about 4 feet below stage level and therefore very low, shooting up at the person, which provides limited compositional options. With 400mm, and 560 with the TC, I can include on-stage guests in compositions with the speaker at the podium, while the zoom lets me better cover a range of activities. Compared to other photographers usually covering these events with only a 70-200, I can get much tighter compositions and backgrounds that better show the context of the event. I'm also not moving around as much at the front near the podium and causing a visual distraction.
I've contemplated whether a 100-400 would be good enough. It probably would be, considering high ISO on current cameras is very good. Or the 100-500, though I feel like f/7.1 is pushing things farther than I'd like. But maybe I should try one.
The 100-300 in place of the 200-400 would probably work well for me, too, I think. I could use it bare or with 1.4x TC. For on-stage aspects it should also be able to replace the 70-200. And I could probably live without 560, or just use the 2x (but it would mean more things to carry, which I'm trying to reduce). Where I couldn't live without the 70-200 is general candid coverage in the concourse/mezzanine areas where the 100-300 would just be obnoxious, IMO. But here I could also just use an 85 and/or 135 to complement the 28-70.
There was a rumor of Canon developing an RF 70-300/2.0-4.0 lens, which IMO would be a much more interesting event lens than the 100-300 simply because it would be smaller and lighter (though still similar in size to a 70-200/2.8. IMO that aperture range would also be acceptable, though likely would still be slower than f/2.8 at 200mm.
I also still want Canon to make an RF 70-135/2L IS to complement the 28-70. Most events I do would be suitably covered up to 135mm.
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