Best lenses & flashes for weddings and receptions ?

[rogerdaltx]

For you Pentaxians that shoot weddings, receptions and similar social events

what lenses and flashes are in your kit? If you were starting from scratch

what glass would you buy for these type of events?

 

The only modern Pentax gear I currently own is a k100d with kit lens and 50-

200. These will stay in the bag as backup gear. I'm about to pull the

trigger on a k10d and the DA*50-135 f/2.8 is a given. The obvious pairing is

the DA* 16-50, but I have some reservations on that one. The Sigma 18-50 f/2.8

seems to have similar performance and with the savings I could almost add the

Sigma 10-20 or similar for the cost of the DA*. Of course the extra reach of

something like a Sigma 24-70 or Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 could be useful. My

starting budget is about about $2000 USD give or take for lenses which has to

cover wide to medium-tele; the DA*50-135 will take about $800 of the $2K.

 

If you have thoughts on two flash units with off camera control I'd appreciate

those too; I've spent a lot of time on lenses, but not near as much on

flashes. Actually flash performace is about the only reservation I have left

on my switch to Pentax.

 

Thanks for your thoughts

/Roger

[markus maurer]

Hi Roger

have you consulted <http://www.photo.net/learn/wedding/> ?

I would never leave the house without a macro lens like the

Pentax A-50mm F 2.8 or the Tamron SP 90mm 2.5 for any event.

It is just wonderful to take some real detail shots beside everything else and they serve as phantastic portrait lenses as well.

I used old automatic flashes like a Braun M380 and a slave Metz in manual mode with good results during my last events and one wedding.

I don't need an (too) intelligent P-TTL flash yet :-)

greetings, Markus

[afs760bf]

For most wedding shots, you need to move fast and only use one flash (formal portraits being the exception), so you'd probably want a nice zoom, such as the Tamron. I'm sure the Pentax is a fine lens but, as you say, it's expensive. My Sigma 18-200 does nicely with the flash, but I could stand something faster. I would also suggest getting the battery grip for the K10D. You won't regret it, especially for events.

 

You'll probably want a 50/1.4 or something maybe a little wider, but still relatively fast. I have a Sigma 24/1.8 that's a nice performer. I haven't decided which of the 2.8 zooms to go for yet.

 

Since most of the time, you'll be working with one flash, I would suggest going for the big Pentax (AF540 whatever). It works pretty well, but one of my complaints about the Pentax system is flash exposure consistency. Canon users have the same complaints, so it's not restricted to Pentax. I use mine on a camera-flip bracket with the extension cord. You can fire it remotely using the on-board flash as the control flash, but that causes more shadows than bouncing the one big flash from right over the lens - providing you have a suitable surface to reflect the light.

 

I've found that using the camera on Tv and setting the shutter speed to 1/60th works pretty well, while leaving the flash on P-TTL. You may have to go to manual camera and auto-flash for some shots, though, especially if you want more DOF than f4.5 will give you. The flash seems a little under-powered sometimes, or at least doesn't put out the power it needs. And I agree about a macro lens, especially for the hand, ring, and cake shots. I have the Tamron SP 90mm and the Vivitar (Kiron) Series 1 105mm macro. Both nice performers.

 

Good luck.

[william-porter]

<blockquote><em>For you Pentaxians that shoot weddings, receptions and similar social events what lenses and flashes are in your kit? If you were starting from scratch what glass would you buy for these type of events?</em></blockquote>

 

<p>I shoot with a K10D and an *ist DS as a second camera. You absolutely have to have two bodies. But if you've got the second camera as a backup, you might as well use it to shoot with, as it's much better to put the longer lens on one camera and the shorter on another and have 'em both handy. If I know that just one lens will do -- say, at the reception -- then I only use one body. I do wish that I had two K10Ds, as I find it slightly disconcerting to switch from one camera's controls to another, which of course I have to do constantly if I'm working with both cameras. I will either try to buy a K20D when it's available -- or perhaps buy another K10D since the prices have become so ridiculously low.</p>

 

<p>My main lenses are the Pentax DA* 50-135 f/2.8 (excellent) and the Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 macro. I bought the Sigma because it's cheaper than the Pentax DA* 16-50 f/2.8. I wouldn't mind having those extra 2mm at the wide end but it's not a big deal. I think the image quality from the Sigma is very good, I'm quite satisfied. NOTE carefully that Sigma makes two or three lenses with very similar specs. Be sure to get the one that has the word "macro" in the name.</p>

 

<p>If the light is good or I'm shooting flash I also like the Pentax 16-45 f/4, but to be honest, I leave the Sigma 18-50 on most of the time. I carry the Sigma 10-20 with me, too, but don't use it much.</p>

 

 

<blockquote><em>If you have thoughts on two flash units with off camera control I'd appreciate those too; I've spent a lot of time on lenses, but not near as much on flashes. Actually flash performace is about the only reservation I have left on my switch to Pentax. </em></blockquote>

 

<p>I think your gut feeling that flash is not a strength of the Pentax system is right: it's not. But you can certainly make it work well if you practice. I have a pair of Pentax 540 fgz units. I'm happy enough with the units themselves (although one of them had a mechanical glitch and had to spend a month in Colorado at Pentax's repair facility). I'm not thrilled with P-TTL. I seem to have a fairly high number of subjects who are fast blinkers, that is, they respond to the P-TTL pre-flash and I get photos of folks with droopy eyes.</p>

[mc2imaging]

I have a pair of K10Ds and 540 flashes with Stroboframe Quick Flips. (We also have a

Novatron kit for shooting formals.)

 

As far as glass goes, the pair of DA* zooms would be excellent. You might save some $$$

with the Tamron, but the SDM focusing is probably worth the bucks.

 

As far as primes go, we use the FA35 f/2, FA50 f/1.4 and the D-FA 100 f/2.8 Macro.

 

I'm in a bind for time right now, but I'll try to post some samples of shots from the primes

tonight or tomorrow.

[william-porter]

Matthew,

 

I recently acquired the Pentax 35 f/2. It's a terrific lens but I find it useful mostly for personal photography. Do you use it shooting weddings? Where or how?

 

Will

[sebastien_lallement]

If you end up with two bodies (and that is a absolute requirement if you are serious about shooting weddings), I would suggest you stay away from zooms and opt for two good quality prime lenses, so your pictures will stand out from the crowd of other photographers' pictures taken with zooms. Two lenses that I have and I can recommend are the Sigma 24/1.8 lens as a fast wide and the Pentax 77/1.8 Limited for portraits. The 24/1.8 has a very convenient "macro" feature, allowing close-up pictures. Both lenses are very sharp, have pleasant color and bokeh and are very fast. Even if you prefer using flash, it is always good to have fast lenses, if only for throwing the background out of focus. With these lenses, you'll have a small kit, light, versatile and delivering top quality pictures in any circumstances.

 

Of course, there are other lenses that might be better suited (like the fabulous Pentax FA*85/1.4), but these two lenses are top performers that are readily available within your budget.

 

Cheers!

 

Abbazz

[markus maurer]

I agree with Sebastian. I used mostly the Pentax A-24mm F 2.8

and the A-50mm 2.8 macro or A-50mm 1.7 and the Takumar SMC 85mm F 1.8 or Tamron SP 90mm 2.5 macro during the last events. a combination of 36mm/75mm/135mm does a lot for me. I had the Tamron SP 17mm with me

as well sometimes. The quality of primes and especially the old

M42 SMC Takumar 85mm F. 1.8 is hard to beat and I happily accept the slowdown and hassle of lens changes for that. I will again use the 85mm for my next portrait session in a week :-)

[michellemandat]

I use a normal 18-55 and a Nikon flash SB25.

And to see how to use a Nikon flash on digital Pentax camera:

http://m.lemandat.free.fr

[stemked]

Since you probably don't want to take portrait shots with your flashgun on the side, a very helpful device to get is a Stroboframe Quickflip and appropiate cord/hotshoe adaptor for your flash. Otherwise you need to stick to all landscape shots.

[markus maurer]

Hi Douglas

I agree. Pentax should offer a new flash grip for P-TTL flashes, I love the old Pentax flash grip with the K10D & AF 280T or other automatic/manual flashes a lot. And you can even mount it on a tripod. And the lighting is so much better above and from the left side.

[denys_meunier1]

I use K10D with the grip,DA 16-50,50mm 1.4,540 flash and gary phong light sphere and sometimes the DA 55-200.

[mcmanamey]

We also spend most of the reception w/ our flashes pointed straight up (if the ceiling is low

enough). Since we got our first prime, I have become HOOKED. We've been talking about

adding the phong bong ( :-D ) to our bags.... I just can't make up my mind right now.

 

meanwhile: below are a few examples from our primes.<div></div>

[mcmanamey]

Oh, I forgot to mention the above pic was taken w/ the 35mm prime. The next one down

was taken w/ the 50mm. We primarily have been using the primes for formals and during

the reception.

 

I also wanted to add that I have not found the 540 flash to be underpowered. We've lit an

entire church from the balcony before. It's also handy to be able to slave em together and

trigger one of em from many feet away for extra light spread. I also wind up taking a lot

of my pics dragging the shutter - usually 1/20th - 1/60th so i can get as much ambient

light as possible.

 

It has shown some interesting - and yeah, irritating quirks. I've had the disco ball at one

reception absolutely throw me - one shot, I'm blowing people out, very next shot...

NUTTIN. black. It was a dance floor w/ a very low ceiling so I did nothing but bounce

from the ceiling, and as near as we can figure, the camera would catch bouncing from the

disco ball and meter from that. I've gotten much more reliable results on that by going to

full auto flash, instead of using the TTL.

 

Also - here's a BIG warning... We were shooting a Tanzanian Catholic wedding, and again

I was having massive flash problems. One shot great, next shot - black. In that case, the

problem was an OLYMPUS (!!!!!) camera being used by a friend of the couple. It really took

us watching the video we shot AND reviewing all the pictures before we figured it out!

 

The olympus camera's pre-flash was triggering MY 540 flash! AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGG!

So, if the timing was right, the flash hadn't had time to recycle. I think BATTERY PACK is

next on our to-buy list. That, and a new rule banning all Olympus cameras from any

wedding we're paid to shoot ;-)<div></div>

[mc2imaging]

While I like primes for alot of things, when shooting a wedding, I prefer to keep a zoom on one body while using primes on the other. You have to be ready for anything, so I have one camera that is.<br><br>

 

When shooting things where we can take a little more time with (details, formals, etc.), I use the 35mm f/2 A LOT. I've posted this image before, but we got the 100mm Macro for a fast tele to use from the back of the house:<br><center>

<img src="http://www.photo.net/bboard-uploads/00NMGi-39871884.jpg"><br><b>

D-FA 100mm f/2.8 Macro from about 100' out.</b></center>

[mc2imaging]

This is a standard shot that we do at every wedding. I like to bring the couple down the isle and shoot wide to capture the feel of the auditorium as a whole while keeping the couple as the dominant element. The only lens that I have that is wide enough to execute this shot consistantly (other than a fish-eye) is the 18-55mm kit lens. I'd like to add the DA14 to the kit for this type of shot, but I'm worried that it may get TOO wide for a people shot.<br><br>

 

<center><img src="http://geocities.com/mcmanamey@sbcglobal.net/mc2imaging/WeddingPhoto_files/Tideman1.jpg"></center><br>

Sorry it is so small, it's all I had handy...

[markus maurer]

Hi Maria an Matthew, thanks for the interesting insight.

I had really good results with manual flash bounced and the integrated reflector card of the Braun Ultrablitz 38M on the Pentax grip above and from the left side and dragging the shutter of the K10D at around 1/45 F 5.6 and ISO 200 during my first wedding photo session. Of course the lovely room with white ceiling but dark furniture helped, otherwise I would have been forced to increase ISO. For the group shoots outside in full sun I used an additional Metz slave from the right with the same settings.

greetings, Markus<div></div>

[markus maurer]

I love this group shot just after my setup:-) I used the K10D with the

Pentax-A 24mm at F8 1/180 and ISO 200 with the Braun 38M flash for fill. 36mm is a good focal lenght for me since its wide but does not distort a lot at the edges. I did not use my Tamron SP 17mm (equ. 25.5mm) on group shots for that reason. Since this photo session was in the full sun, I had no chance the get some texture in the sky here.<div></div>

[markus maurer]

Manual settings helped a lot for extremly high contrast scenes like here.<div></div>

[rogerdaltx]

Everyone thanks for your input and thoughts. I think the two DA* zooms are going to be my primary lenses for a wedding / reception kit. I need to sell off some EOS gear first and may wait until next month to order them to see if any rebates are added for the DA* after the current rebates expire on 1-31-07.

 

Thanks again

/Roger