Going Small

As I had mentioned previously, the plan was to use my 60D with the 24-70 f/2.8 zoom and my 7D with the 70-200 f/2.8 zoom to cover the Synod Assembly of the Upstate New York Synod in Rochester.  This combination worked really well allowing me to isolate individuals at the podium and also get group shots when needed.

It was necessary to shoot at ISO 1600 with the lenses wide open at f/2.8. Shutter speeds were still a bit slow for handholding at the longer focal lengths and image stabilization would have been really helpful.

For Friday evening's worship service, however, I decided to go in a different direction and only used my 60D with the 40mm pancake lens. Worship was in the same room as the meetings, and a bit less formal than would be the case in an actual Church sanctuary, allowing me to move around and get up close to subjects.

I utilized live view a lot which made shooting much quieter and let me hold the camera down or up as needed. Here are some examples, all with the 60D and 40mm pancake using ISO 1600. All except the shot with the font in the foreground are made at f/2.8. That particular shot was made at f/4 to gain a bit more depth of field.