PENTAX Wedding kit!

*Adrian Owerko* · 11-16-2008, 09:40 PM

I have a friend who shoots with PENTAX he did a wedding this year with excellent results with a K10D & sigma 17-70mm & sigma 70-300mm & x2 af540fgz's. I have offered to be his bag caddy for the next one. So I can get some watch & learn, as I want to get into this wedding game soon!
I said he can use what I have on the day.. But what would be best to take?

What I have in the magical land of Pentaxia..

K10D & Grip

K100D & DA 18-55MM & DA 50-200MM (PENTAX Kit Glass)

AF360FGZ
AF540FGZ

PENTAX (PRO Glass)

DA* 16-50MM f2.8 (Sheriff) f2.8 DA* 50-135MM (Deputy Sheriff) f2.8 DA *200MM f2.8 (The Outlaw)
DA 14 f2.8 (The Knight In Shining Armour )
DA 70MM f2.4 LTD & 40MM f2.8 LTD (Portrait King & Queen)
DA 35MM f2.8 LTD MACRO (Prince Charming)
DA 10-17MM fisheye (The Court Jester)

Also have 2 bogen light stands with umbrellas / Softbox and a lastolite triflip reflector & other bits

cupic · 11-17-2008, 06:13 AM

If your mate wont take You Take Me(you have a impressive lenses collection)

cheers

**Peter Zack** · 11-17-2008, 06:29 AM

Well, Take it all. You can never have enough backup gear in case something fails. It happens and wedding/event shooting is hard on gear. Things break and you don't have the same time to 'baby' your gear as you would when just shooting for fun. If you looked at my kit, you'd think I was crazy. Every lens has a backup mate, I shoot with 2 cameras but carry 3, I have 6 flash units etc etc. There is nothing worse than when a most needed lens, camera or flash is having an issue when you have no time.

I would have both bodies set up, One with the DA50-200 and the other with the 16-50mm. The 70 mm will be used (if time permits) for portraits and more artistic shooting. But good zooms are invaluable. If you want to get into this seriously, you will want to add a DA*50-135mm or either the Sigma (my favourite) or Tamron 70-200mm f2.8 zoom to the kit. The DA50-200mm is fine in good light but frankly doesn't cut it for both IQ and speed inside a reception or church. The 10-17 will get very limited use but can take a few good creative inside shots as well as the 14mm. The 35mm will be good in some situations.

I'm saying take it all and I mean have a bag with the spare gear locked in the car trunk. Keep the 'working' kit to a minimum. 2 cameras and 2 lenses should cover almost everything you need. I would suggest you consider an FA50mm f1.4 as well. It's nice to have a good fast lens in the church were you can take natural light images and prevent having to shoot flash shots all the time. I try as much as possible to not use the flash so as not to be a constant bother for the service. The photographer should be part of the group and not stand out any more than necessary. The 50mm can get you far enough away and fast enough to shoot indoors with good results. Plus it focuses fast.

Livewireshock · 11-17-2008, 07:39 AM

Never leave fate to chance.

If you leave any lens behind, Murphy's Law is bound to strike.

*Leaf Fan* · 11-17-2008, 07:50 AM

Originally Posted by Peter Zack

I try as much as possible to not use the flash so as not to be a constant bother for the service. The photographer should be part of the group and not stand out any more than necessary.

I will attest to this from a groom's point of view. Although it was many years ago one of the things that sticks out in my mind about our photographer is how he almost became part of the family that day. His personality and pleasantness was almost more important than the finished photos (almost).

My wife and I had been part of a wedding party 2 weeks prior to our own wedding and the photographer was a nightmare. Barking orders, yelling about us joking around during the time between church and reception, trying to get us to stay together ALL the time, etc. so the contrast to our own photographer was noticable.

In the end the photos turned out great as well and EVERYBODY commented on how nice the photographer was. This made our wedding day even more memorable. (and I couldn't even tell you what kind of camera equipment he used....)

BBear · 11-17-2008, 09:51 AM

Adrian,

I just did my 3rd wedding this saturday, and one thing I defintely realized: no time to swap lenses! Extra body is a MUST!

Regarding your collection, you have a very nice list, and i feel like you will fall in the same traps I did: trying to make use of all lenses!

There is no time and it is no practical. At least this is what I am coming to figure out.

What I brought to this wedding saturday:

16-45
50-135
35 f/2
77 ltd

I could probably get around ONLY using either two zooms or the two primes. I did use all 4 lenses, but in the mess i even lost a lens cap.

I'd say, bring it all (murphy's law) but dont be to demanding, you could probably do it all with the DA*s you have it. (in your case, they are the fastest anyways... so no arguing here)

Eigengrau · 11-17-2008, 10:37 AM

If I had those options, I would shoot with the DA* 16-50 and 50-135 mounted on your two bodies, and then have a bag sitting in the car or a corner somewhere with everything else. These two are going to be as fast as anything else in your arsenal, plus you have the convenience of zooms. Keep at least one flash mounted the whole time and you won't encounter any shots that you can't take. You don't want to be switching lenses all of the time, and second-guessing which lens to use typically impedes creativity. Keep it simple.

That said, during the reception, or during another slow time, you can get some really nice "specialty" shots with your wide-angle, fisheye, or macro. During the ceremony, you might want to use your DA*200 from the back while your friend gets up close and personal for some more intimate shots.

The wide-angles, macros, fisheyes, and super sharp primes are nice, but ultimately aren't the shots that really count - no matter how artistic your stuff is, there are a few shots that just have to be taken, otherwise, in the bride's eyes, you've failed. Lens resolution and bokeh quality don't matter nearly as much as just getting that moment recorded.

Good luck, hope it goes well! You have a great selection of hardware, so there should be plenty of opportunity to get really creative.

rparmar · 11-17-2008, 12:16 PM

Between the two of you there's nothing too fast. I'd take the FA77 or even the Cosina 55mm f/1.2 for low light candids. Maybe get a fast 50 at least?

BBear · 11-17-2008, 12:22 PM

Originally Posted by rparmar

Between the two of you there's nothing too fast. I'd take the FA77 or even the Cosina 55mm f/1.2 for low light candids. Maybe get a fast 50 at least?

He doesnt have anything faster than f/2.8!

I do agree with the 77 f/1.8 for the reception candids (i used it a ton) but it is not in his list...

And though it'd be great to have it available, IIRC i took many f/1.8 but at ISO800 or 400... so yeah, had i not had the f/1.8, somehow i could still manage the shots. Not ideally, but still doable.

kerrowdown · 11-17-2008, 12:25 PM

And there’s me thinking a dark suit and a white frock was the essential wedding kit.

Steady now keep it clean.

*Adrian Owerko* · 11-17-2008, 02:51 PM

Thanks for all comments guys.. Thinking along the lines of the DA*16-50mm & af540fgz
on 1st (friends) K10D with grip. 2nd K10D with grip DA* 50-135mm & af540fgz. Using the DA 35mm ltd macro for the cake and flowers that could be mounted on the K100D.. These macro shots will not go bigger than A4 print size...I find the DA* 200MM sharp @ f2.8 this on a mono pod @ the back of the church we hope will work while the other is up close with a future fast 50! Yes a fast 50 is what is needed for low light in the church.. The wedding is not until April next year.. And I am eyeing the DA*55MM.. Or I will get a FA 50MM @ a good price while everyone is upgrading to the DA*55MM. But the price might be right by then for the DA*55MM It all depends were the aussie dollar is?. As this will make my lens lineup were I want it to be for event photography... All the wedding photogs in my town shoot nikon or canon.. So haveing a friend shooting weddings with pentax can help both of us.. 2 pentax wedding photogs in a city of 1 million may start a revolution LOL (: The thing about losing the lens cap. Might invest in some cheap generic ones. And keep the pentax ones @ home.

regards

Adrian

**Peter Zack** · 11-17-2008, 03:28 PM

From you last comment, a final thought. Don't buy a new lens 2-3 weeks before the first job. You need to have it and use it for awhile. Shoot a couple hundred frames with the new gear to be completely familiar with the strengths and weaknesses.

*Adrian Owerko* · 11-17-2008, 03:43 PM

My birthday is in the 1st week in march. Perfect! 9 weeks out from the wedding gig. That fast 50 or 55 could make a nice birthday present I will tell the wife (:

rparmar · 11-17-2008, 04:03 PM

Originally Posted by Adrian Owerko

My birthday is in the 1st week in march. Perfect! 9 weeks out from the wedding gig. That fast 50 or 55 could make a nice birthday present I will tell the wife (:

A great plan!

You could shoot the whole gig on this one lens.

Consider the FA43 as an alternative.

vievetrick · 11-17-2008, 07:15 PM

Taking up knitting, me whinning about wedding disaster:(

Skip all my whinning and go to about post #12 and beyond for some good info. You have already got some good stuff and Peter knows his stuff so listen him grasshoper.

Good luck