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If they want you to do the group shots quickly, posing will be the least of your worries - you'll just be trying to get everyone in the same place. Make sure you have a list of groups so you don't miss anyone. Keep them happy and smiling if possible.

 

I hope you have some experience with fill flash outside. Maybe the weather will cooperate and it will be cloudy or overcast. You don't say what time of day you'll be doing this.

 

Of course all the stock answers apply; i.e., you should have a backup camera body and flash, plenty of extra supplies, etc.

 

Your style will determine which lens you'll use the most. I'd go with the 28-70 for most of the shots. Try to look at a lot of wedding pics between now and then.

 

Good luck.

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The Tamron you mention is probably a nice choice. I use the Sigma 18-200 for my all-around lens. Of course, you'll eventually find all sorts of other lenses that you absolutely need :)

<i>Second : I think I've read some where on net that when you want to take picture of a person in front of a sky or water there are chances that cameras meter might be fooled so one has to meter of the sky take reading and then focus on the person to get a proper exposure. If this is right how do i do that ?</i> <p>

 

You may be getting confused with something you read about using fill flash, but if you meter off the sky, and let's say you get an f-stop of 16, and then you move down to the people and take the shot at f-16, the people will be under-exposed because, in simple terms, they don't reflect as much light as the sky, and you've set your camera to expose for the sky. Your desired f-stop for the people might be, for instance f-8, or even f-5.6. The darker your subject, the more light it's going to need.<p>

 

Cheers

If you decide on the SunPak, make sure you use a safe-synch on the hot shoe. Or find a voltage meter and measure the trigger voltage. I'm not sure about the D200, but many DSLRs can be fried with anything over six volts passing back through the hot-shoe. Of course, you'd have to use the 383 on auto and the camera on manual, most likely.

 

And, as Mark suggested, read up on the use of flash.

 

Cheers

You might want to compare the Tamron and Sigma 18-200 lenses for yourself at a camera shop. When I did that, I bought the Sigma. It's more compact, has a shorter throw, and focuses faster. At least it did on the Nikon I tested them with. There's a lot of difference between 200mm and 300mm, though, like 300mm to 450mm equivalent.

I did not move from Canon to Pentax. I have a son-in-law who has Canon. I shot only film (35mm and medium format) until about six months ago. I started looking for a DSLR and ended up with Pentax. A couple of observations.

 

1. You are correct about the lenses. Pentax supply in the long tele lenses is insufficient for the demand, and therefore they are expensive. You are also correct about fast, wide zooms - hard to find.

 

The newer lenses for the digitals will not work on your film camera - they are made for digital only. I have the 10-17mm zoom and the 12-24mm zoom - very nice lenses, but only good on the digital cameras. In short, you probably won't be satisfied using the same lenses for both systems, although the Pentax DSLRs are backward compatible for all Pentax lenses, with some limitations.

 

2. SR is a very nice feature. Pentax claims three to four stops, I think, but it's probably more like 1.5 to 2. Anything over about 300mm and you'll want it on a tripod anyway, so you'd turn off the SR. I think the other major players will go to some type of IS in the camera because that's what people want. If Canon can put it in it's P&S cameras, surely they can put it in the DSLRs.

 

3. Can't answer for Pentax's management, but they're having a hard time keeping up with demand for the new cameras and lenses, so I think they're making money. I'd guess they have made the decision to stick with it. They have new USM lenses in the works for the next couple of years.

 

4. "Less than ideal" JPEG output is a frame of mind. Pentax made the decision deliberately to go with what they think is a more "film-like" look for the default output. But you can shoot in RAW, or you can use the bright mode, or you can up the default saturation and sharpness and probably not tell the difference from the outputs of the others.

 

5. PK/A adapters preserve the auto-aperture function of the Pentax lenses of the KA and newer variety. If you have a simple K-mount lens, you can use it, but you'll have to set the aperture and focus manually, and change a couple of functions in the camera setup menu.

 

6. Pentax ships a RAW converter with the camera that does a pretty good job, and you can convert from RAW to JPEG in camera if you want. Can also change to B&W in camera.

 

Cheers

So, Robert, how is the monastery?

The uncropped version is a great portrait - simple and powerful.

The reason you find conflicting info is because both lenses are excellent. I would not rate any 105mm macro lens ahead of the Kiron. I have them for my Pentax and for Konica. But I have a Tokina for Pentax, too, and I'm very impressed.

 

I'd be willing to bet you can't see any difference in practical applications.

Does this sound <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00Kv8a"> familiar? </a>

I know for me, it was hard moving from film to digital when it comes to the flash. I shot (and still shoot) Konica 35mm and Koni-Omega and Omegaflex medium format. So everything with the flash is done manually on the camera and in manual or auto mode on the flash.

 

Now things like TTL and P-TTL get in the mix and it's like I'm a newcomer all over again. With my K10D and AF-540 flash, I am getting so I can get a decent portrait and bounce the flash using P mode on the camera and P-TTL on the flash, or by using a stofen omnibounce, which seems to help. But if I don't want to play around with it, I set the camera to manual, dial in the f-stop and shutter speed, put the flash on auto and set it for the ISO I want, and usually get a decent picture.

 

I think the issue is that we're having to re-learn flash with new capabiities and new terminology, and it's not easy.

 

Cheers

So what does 1.2 really do? I think the only thing that 1.11 did was to remove the user's ability to fix back-focus - but of course they didn't tell you that.

 

I haven't updated since 1.10, which was a good update because it allowed the wireless flash to be controlled by the on-board flash. I'm not sure what good the next two have done. I haven't missed them.

 

Perhaps someone could explain why we need the last two.

I don't think your post will be deleted, but I would have to say I'm delighted so far with my move to Pentax K10D and associated gear.

 

If I go to the dpreview site and read the forums, I can read about 5D's that freeze up in moist weather, big Nikons that don't work, and Pentaxes that are useless. It's always possible to get a lemon. We just all hope it's not us.

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Also depends somewhat on the power of your flash. If your flash doesn't have enough power to expose by bouncing off the ceiling, then you won't get a proper exposure.

 

As to the angle, if you're using an omnibounce or something like that, then about 45 degrees will work, but that's not the same as bouncing it off the ceiling.

 

Bouncing off the ceiling depends on the distance you are from your subject, but usually it's at least 70 degrees from the horizontal.

 

Cheers

The RAW files should be about the same. They will contain all the information, and it's up to you to do the post-processing. The only difference you would really have is the lens and the chip that captures the image.

Yes, by all means, go to a store and play with them. The D80, I think, is a step up from the Rebel. But if you think you like the Rebel, ask to handle a Pentax K10D. And have them put a battery grip on it.

Nikon has more of the market and can do more things with more lenses, etc.

 

But it's hard to beat the K10D right now at the entry level, and you can use any Pentax-A or newer lens. As to image quality, the dpreview test takes the standard parameters for the most part. Pentax purposefully decided to use a different look for the default - it's a little softer than Nikon. But you can change the default settings by selecting "bright" or by upping the saturation, sharpness, and exposure. When you do that, it's pretty hard to tell the difference.

 

Nikon does have superior lens selection if you can afford it. But for most photographers, Pentax has plenty. Pentax has two powerful, dedicated flashes that can be fired remotely using the on-board flash as either control or flash. Pentax does not have TTL for the K10D, which is a small annoyance, but does do a nice job at P-TTL and manual.

 

For the price of the K10D, I don't think you can beat it. I compared to the Nikon D80 when I bought, and chose the Pentax. Others probably made the other choice. Lots of factors involved in individual decisions.

 

Cheers

Could this be solved by simply giving the church a CD with low-res images on it for their web site? Maybe the church could get what they want without you giving up your rights to the original photos, if that is important to you for some reason.

 

You state that you "decided" to bill per picture and retain copyright. Perhaps that decision should have been discussed with the church? Maybe it just wasn't what they were expecting.

 

I've documented the history of our church for the last 23 years. I have them in albums, and have provided the church with albums. The pics are used on the web site as well. The subject of copyright has never come up. Not sure why anyone else would want them. I take family pics every year at Christmas for the church families. If the families or the church want extra pics, they can pay for the prints if I don't have enough extras floating around. I guess I've never seen any reason for all the complications.

 

Cheers.

Adorama is good but, as Zach says, you need to make sure the item is actually in stock. They have a habit of not telling you your item has to be back-ordered until you get the rest of your order in the mail Actually it's not a bad idea to call any of the on-line dealers to see if their web site is accurate about in-stock items.

 

I have used Amazon with success, but they have gone to this "Usually ships within three to six weeks" thing for camera equipment. You could wait a long time.

 

I've never had a problem with B&H.

Well, then, Einstein SHOULD have been a photographer.

I know you said prime, and Godfrey's suggestion would probably be best for that, but the 12-24 is a really nice lens and would let you frame the shot like you wanted it, maybe.