[pinholecam]

I recently shot a friend's wedding with a K5, together with the hired professional (D90, D700) and 2 friends (A700, D7k)
The K5 shots certainly can stand against the other cameras (esp. D700, which is often considered a wedding workhorse).

The nice high ISO and fine non-patchy noise grain on the K5 certainly helps, as well as the improved AF and nice default Pentax colors.

[kawagià]

hello I work with my wedding k 2 5 with 16-50 and 50-135 with 2 flash, beautiful pictures, happy to work with pentax

[dinamojuan]

Hello Sky of Texas I was watching your Wedding photos, and I liked a lot.. great shots..I love the color and texture never seen on Canon...
I recently made a big change. After 7 years with Canon, taking Catalog Product and Food photography, I just Change everything to Pentax... (a lot of people will think I´m crazy I know) I loved Canon a lot, but I recently founded quite boring, and something was missing in the experience of Photography, now, I dont know whats going on but, a lot of people is asking me to do wedding photos.. so Im gonna star with that soon, I got a K20D with Grip, +18-55 ED, + the unique FA* 28-70 F2,8 (What a lot of weight LOL) What do you think about this equipment? I need to get a flash,.. but very hard to find in my country.

When I saw the Sky of Texas work, I noticed that it is what I´m want to get about images.

[hjoseph7]

Im keen to find anyone who is using the K5 for weddings.

Any feedback, on the quality compared to the so called big brands would be appreciated. In particular the overall IQ at 16 x 12 inch prints, how do you find the K5 handles highlights and what lenses do you guys use.

Cheers

Pete

Seriously I would go with the K-5 II, because of the focusing. I haven't done any weddings with the K-5 II yet, but I have done plenty with the Canon 5D and 7D. Both cameras are very heavy and large especially with the grip. Tack on some very large lenses and by the end of the day you are going to need some Bengay.

One of the good things about the K5's is the very quiet shutter, much quieter than the Canon's. This comes in handy when you don't want to raise the eyebrows of guests at the ceremony and/or finicky pastors with a constant loud CLICK. This was one of the main reasons I switched over to the K5.

The AF on the 7D is good, but the focusing on the K5 in low-light is better. The AF on the 5D is very slow,(not sure about the 5D II). I usually use just one focusing point(center), but on the 7D you can use several permanent focusing points which can come in handy. The playback on the Canon's is faster than on the K5(instant vs. 1.5 seconds), but on the Canon you have to hit the buttons 2x to get an image to pop back up on the LCD before you can zoom-in on it. This can become very annoying. With the K5 you can start zooming in on a playback image as soon as it appears on the LCD. The K5 lets you zoom-in on an image 32X the Canon 8X.

The White Balance is more flexible and much easier to use on the K5, but overall I think the White Balance on the Canon's is more stable, except in mixed lighting situations. Under Tungsten lights, both cameras behave about the same, meaning below average. Another good thing about the K5 is the wide dynamic range and overall picture quality. Some say the K5 even beats the Canon 5D II a full frame camera with 21 MG pixels in image quality !

The flash system on the Canon is slightly better, plus they have convenient power packs that take regular AA batteries. The ETTL on Canon flash can be very finicky unless you know what you are doing.

What Canon got going for it, is 3 excellent stable lenses that have stood the test of time and that cover the entire range of a typical wedding. The 16-35mm f2.8, the 24-70mm f2.8 and the 70-200mm f2.8.

"plus they have convenient power packs that take regular AA batteries."
*Correction* Pentax also has power packs that you can use with AA batteries

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Last edited by hjoseph7; 08-14-2014 at 01:26 PM. Reason: misprint

[bdp1]

wedding photos.. K20D with Grip, +18-55 ED, + the unique FA* 28-70 F2,8

You also want a second camera for back-up, and two flash units. A tele lens with decent speed. Liability insurance. Lots of practice for lighting, posing, group posing, crowd control, and a price that makes it worth your time.

[skyoftexas]

Hello Sky of Texas I was watching your Wedding photos, and I liked a lot.. great shots..I love the color and texture never seen on Canon...
I recently made a big change. After 7 years with Canon, taking Catalog Product and Food photography, I just Change everything to Pentax... (a lot of people will think I´m crazy I know) I loved Canon a lot, but I recently founded quite boring, and something was missing in the experience of Photography, now, I dont know whats going on but, a lot of people is asking me to do wedding photos.. so Im gonna star with that soon, I got a K20D with Grip, +18-55 ED, + the unique FA* 28-70 F2,8 (What a lot of weight LOL) What do you think about this equipment? I need to get a flash,.. but very hard to find in my country.

When I saw the Sky of Texas work, I noticed that it is what I´m want to get about images.

Hi dinamojuan,
I'm glad that I happened to notice your post. I only read this forum occasionally. They apparently pulled my post because I broke some rule about posting links to ones own web site. What kind of rule is that? And here you are asking questions about photography because you saw my web site. Is this a bad thing?

Anyway, thank you for your compliments. Changing your equipment is a viable way to recharge your creative juices. But even more than that, shooting in a different medium such as wedding photography will put give you plenty of things to learn and provide stimulation.

Regarding your equipment: I started shooting weddings with the K20D. It takes very nice photos. But when the lights get low, you will struggle somewhat, particularly with dancing shots during the reception. The way I handled low light, dancing receptions was to set the camera to AF-C, and let the camera select the focus points. It responded more quickly with those settings. Of course, you would get photos in which the focus point wasn't necessarily the part of the photo that you wanted to be in focus, but: C'est le vie. Just keep taking pictures and use what works. Sometimes, you get interesting shots unintentionally.

I'm not that enthusiastic about using kit lenses. You need wider apertures for weddings, and the best quality lenses you have. Therefore, I would work primarily with the FA 28-70mm, f/2.8 lens .That lens is legendary, but I don't envy you the weight. I have been spoiled by the Limited primes. I would only use the 18-55 when I needed a wide angle shot. It would be good if you had a bit more telephoto reach. The 100mm f/2.8 macro serves as a dual purpose lens for me. It allows you to do ring shots as well as close ups, and it is very light.

You need to plan your strategy for using flash. Flash is essential for wedding photography. The good news is that the K20D works well in pTTL mode with a flash that is dedicated to Pentax pttl. However, learning about bounce & off camera flash will greatly improve you photographs. (Perhaps you know about this already?) There are not that many options for Pentax dedicated flashes. I used Metz for awhile. They are good, but not very sturdy. Unfortunately, I have a bad tendency to drop things and all my Metz flashes broke when dropped. So I learned how to use flash manually, bought some very sturdy Yonguno flashes, and have managed with a system using off camera and bounce flash. You mentioned difficulty getting equipment in your country. What country is this?

There is also post processing tricks, which I'm sure you have some up your sleeve. But I will be glad to offer advice that may help. Again, thank you for your heart warming compliments. Please keep me in touch (via email?) with the progress in your changes. It sounds exciting.

Regards,
Michael
skyoftexas

[dinamojuan]

Hi dinamojuan,
I'm glad that I happened to notice your post. I only read this forum occasionally. They apparently pulled my post because I broke some rule about posting links to ones own web site. What kind of rule is that? And here you are asking questions about photography because you saw my web site. Is this a bad thing?

Anyway, thank you for your compliments. Changing your equipment is a viable way to recharge your creative juices. But even more than that, shooting in a different medium such as wedding photography will put give you plenty of things to learn and provide stimulation.

Regarding your equipment: I started shooting weddings with the K20D. It takes very nice photos. But when the lights get low, you will struggle somewhat, particularly with dancing shots during the reception. The way I handled low light, dancing receptions was to set the camera to AF-C, and let the camera select the focus points. It responded more quickly with those settings. Of course, you would get photos in which the focus point wasn't necessarily the part of the photo that you wanted to be in focus, but: C'est le vie. Just keep taking pictures and use what works. Sometimes, you get interesting shots unintentionally.

I'm not that enthusiastic about using kit lenses. You need wider apertures for weddings, and the best quality lenses you have. Therefore, I would work primarily with the FA 28-70mm, f/2.8 lens .That lens is legendary, but I don't envy you the weight. I have been spoiled by the Limited primes. I would only use the 18-55 when I needed a wide angle shot. It would be good if you had a bit more telephoto reach. The 100mm f/2.8 macro serves as a dual purpose lens for me. It allows you to do ring shots as well as close ups, and it is very light.

You need to plan your strategy for using flash. Flash is essential for wedding photography. The good news is that the K20D works well in pTTL mode with a flash that is dedicated to Pentax pttl. However, learning about bounce & off camera flash will greatly improve you photographs. (Perhaps you know about this already?) There are not that many options for Pentax dedicated flashes. I used Metz for awhile. They are good, but not very sturdy. Unfortunately, I have a bad tendency to drop things and all my Metz flashes broke when dropped. So I learned how to use flash manually, bought some very sturdy Yonguno flashes, and have managed with a system using off camera and bounce flash. You mentioned difficulty getting equipment in your country. What country is this?

There is also post processing tricks, which I'm sure you have some up your sleeve. But I will be glad to offer advice that may help. Again, thank you for your heart warming compliments. Please keep me in touch (via email?) with the progress in your changes. It sounds exciting.

Regards,
Michael
skyoftexas

Thanks a lot Skyoftexas!, Thanks a lot for your reply, sorry if my English is not clear at all, I´m In Colombia (South America) you can see my site dinamoestudios dot com, there are a lot of canikon products here, but no Pentax sellers, everything needs to be imported from USA or Canada. I decided not to buy the 18-55, now I only have the FA* 28-70 f2,8 and Use a Canon with a wide angle lens when needed.
I´m looking for a dedicated Pttl,HSS ,rear curtain sync Flash, imported but here es almost imposible, and imported is about double price. Anyway, what flash do you use or recommend.. I´m interested in the Pentax AF 540, And will have to study and test a lot, because dedicated flash is something new to me, I´ve alway worked with slave flashes in studio. Do you think this flash is good enough for all the hard work of a wedding? (you mention a yongnuo for manual flash, wich one can I use, they are very affordable and easy to get here, but I dont know if they supports hss and rear courtain sync in the pentax

Just for curious, what gear do you use?
What software do you use ? The pictures look so natural

my email is juancreativo hotmail com

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Last edited by dinamojuan; 07-29-2014 at 08:36 AM.

[skyoftexas]

Hi dinamojuan. I have never used a Pentax flash, but I'm sure they are fine. I have used Metz 52 af-1 & af-2. They have all the things you are looking for. The Yonguno's are very good for simple, manual flash work. I use 560II and 560III. They are powerful, easy to work, and very tough. Mine have hit the ground multiple times and still work fine. But I only use manual off camera or bounce flash. They may not be sophisticated enough for you.

[dinamojuan]

Hi dinamojuan. I have never used a Pentax flash, but I'm sure they are fine. I have used Metz 52 af-1 & af-2. They have all the things you are looking for. The Yonguno's are very good for simple, manual flash work. I use 560II and 560III. They are powerful, easy to work, and very tough. Mine have hit the ground multiple times and still work fine. But I only use manual off camera or bounce flash. They may not be sophisticated enough for you.

Thanks skyoftexas, I decided to buy one metz 52AF-1 its less expensive and as you said, they have all I need. I´m curious about the PP process you use.

[skyoftexas]

I forgot to mention that your work is excellent.