$200.00 burning a hole in my pocket...

[alisa_stieg]

Hi all,

Man, it seems like FOREVER since I've been on here! Hope you are all doing well!

 

Here's the deal; I was nominated for Teacher of the Year at my school and ended

up being a finalist, but did not win the competition all together. This is sad

because had I actually won, I would've gotten $1000.00 instead of the $200.00 I

got, but then again, I got my life back, so maybe it's just as well (I've been MIA for

weeks due to all the writing involved in this process)! LOL! At any rate, I've been

mulling around several ideas and I need some advice on how to best spend it.

 

I've purchased 2 flash units that are frustrating me to no end. The first one was a

Sunpak 383. I found myself getting very frustrated because I never could figure out

(quickly) what settings to put it on in order to get a good exposure, so I purchased

another flash (dedicated) that I THOUGHT was P-TTL (advertised as such on

ebay), but ended up being TTL instead. The fact that neither of these flashes

are "no brainers" for me is upsetting because I'm missing a lot of pictures that are

important to me. So I'm considering using my money to buy yet a third flash, the

540 AF.

 

HOWEVER, I really want a new lens. Currently, I own the kit 18-55mm lens, the

Tamron AF 70-300mm, and a SMC Pentax-F 1:1.7 50mm. I also own the SMC

Pentax-F 1:4.7-5.6 80-200mm but I NEVER use that lens. I am lacking in the 50-

70mm zone and am considering purchasing an 18-250mm lens (not sure which

one yet) and would like to put my $200.00 towards one of those.

 

The other piece of equipment I'm lacking is a light meter. I don't know how much I

would use one of these either at this point. My technique with my studio lights is

to experiment with the levels and adjust as necessary based on my LCD screen

(which, I know you will tell me is WRONG, but it's sort-of working for me at this

point.)

 

Now, if some kind person can explain to me how to use one of my flash units,

perhaps this would reduce my choices down to the last 2.

 

Thanks for your input!

Lisa

 

Any thoughts on my options here? I don't want to buy something that sits around

(like that 80-200mm lens).

[trw]

Always use the histogram for exposure in the studio, not the LCD image; they're deceptively bright in a dim studio.<br /><br />

<a href="http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html">Strobist</a> is the place to go to learn to use your flashes. I get great results with my Sunpak 383, 333D Auto zoom, and Vivitar 2800s. This a manual process, but not too hard to jump in with both feet.</a><br /><br />

There is even an <a href="

video</a> to get you up to speed on the lingo quickly.

[JAPster]

You could spent about $80-$90 and get yourself an ExposDisk. Thats a nice little precision filter-like thingie that you hand-hold in front of your D-SLR lens for just a few moments. You can use the ExpoDisk to turn your D-SLR into a Light Meter, and then you would not need a Light Meter. And you can also use the ExpoDisk to create a custom White Balance image thats "fine tuned" to your immediate ambient lighting situation. Then you use that ExpoDisk created grey image to set a Custom White Balance on your D-SLR. Then when you turn around and take the pictures, all the color tones come out very close to real-life. I have tested the ExpoDisk on my d300, and it produces color pictures with more accurate color hues than any of the built-in preset WB selections. You can use an ExpoDisk with any kind of digital camera that lets you adjust the WB. I would definitely recemmend it if you plan on taking lots of portraits.

[mcmanamey]

I don't know anything about sunpacks.... but my personal opinion would be to sell

both those flashes and buy a 540 - add a fong bong, and it's a nice portrait set up.

(And this is because we can give advice on the 540 through email, but don't have a

clue about the sunpack, so can't help.)

 

as for your light meter: Get a grey card ($10!!!!). Take a pic of it w/ your studio

lights, and when your histogram hits a dead center bell curve - you've got it. I've

actually forgotten how to use the light meters sitting around here... since we've gone

digital, we haven't picked em up!!

[mc2imaging]

Personally, I'd get a battery pack for one of my AF540's. Even with fresh batteries,

outdoors with a Fong Bong uses more juice than the AA's could keep up with...<div></div>

[daniel_tong1]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Alisa Stieg , May 16, 2008; 07:20 p.m.

I've purchased 2 flash units that are frustrating me to no end. The first one was a Sunpak 383. I found myself getting very frustrated because I never could figure out (quickly) what settings to put it on in order to get a good exposure, so I purchased another flash (dedicated) that I THOUGHT was P-TTL (advertised as such on ebay), but ended up being TTL instead. The fact that neither of these flashes are "no brainers" for me is upsetting because I'm missing a lot of pictures that are important to me. So I'm considering using my money to buy yet a third flash, the 540 AF.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

 

540AF is ok . Powerful, Wireless capability but pricey. A Sigma 530 ST is just as powerful without the bell and whistle at around $190. Use your manual flashes with cheap triggers. But all these can only be used in studio and manual set up. The image below is from 530ST shoot 40 ft away using a 300mm prime lens

 

 

<img src="http://www.pbase.com/danieltong/image/92495377/original

.jpg">

 

 

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>I am lacking in the 50- 70mm zone and am considering purchasing an 18-250mm lens (not sure which one yet) and would like to put my $200.00 towards one of those.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Superzoom is not recommended as the optical compromise only allows it to be barely effective between 40-150mm. FL at either ends are just so-so in desperate circumstance. This is my input

 

Daniel, Toronto