[DanLoc78]

I've been asked to shoot my coworkers' wedding. It will be a casual outdoor wedding In October, beginning at 3:30 PM. So I know I'm going to need a flash, I just don't know which one.

I have a hard time choosing the 540FGZ because of all the people that have had it get stuck in the hot shoe. i really don't want to deal with that headache. But is it a better choice for wedding photography than the 360FGZ? I know it has a higher guide number and swivels, but I was wondering if I could get away with using the 360.

Also, lenses...will I need to rent some lenses in addition to the ones I have? Right now I have the 2 kit lenses and the FA 50mm f/1.4. I can probably borrow the FA 43 ltd and/or the Sigma 17-70 from my dad. I was thinking of renting the fisheye lens for some creative shots...anything else I should have on hand? Perhaps I should rent the 50-135 DA*? Or maybe this is my excuse to buy it??!!

Any advice on wedding photography would be great! Thanks guys.

[vizjerei]

well I think the new ones will have better QC (540FGZ), mine still haven't got stuck yet and i have it for almost a year now. Anyways you should make/buy a flash diffuser, give you softer lighting for the wedding pic.

for lens, wide angle is a must, then i would use 50-135 or 70-200, a good fast zoom is the way to go.

[Matjazz]

I was in the same position with my coworker a year ago. If you're the main or perhaps the only photographer then I suggest you don't bother your self with primes as they're too much hassle and too much missed shots. It's more important to get the picture than to get it at best possible quality. A 18-50/2.8 or something in that range is a must. Primes perhaps for posed shots only. A fish eye is perhaps a good idea if there will be a party.

Flash must have swivel so AF360FGZ is out of the question. I suggest 540 or Mecablitz 58.

[dopeytree]

the 540 comes with a fabric diffuser its just a pain to put on so use that and leave it on angle it the flash at 45* and you'll be fine maybe shoot in p mode or av depending if you have a k10/k20d or below. I would recomend borrowing a second body for the some of the other lenses. I would prob shoot on iso 400. and use the kit lens for wide shots and use the 50-135 on another body and get some nice portraits at f4 / f2.8 or if possible try and borrow the 16-50?

Good luck the main thing is just shoot away.

I did my first wedding with a *ist DL and both kit lenses and the 540 flash... the photos were really good! Just shoot in raw and have plenty of batteries!!! You can see a few of mine on my website

[Wheatfield]

I've been asked to shoot my coworkers' wedding. It will be a casual outdoor wedding In October, beginning at 3:30 PM. So I know I'm going to need a flash, I just don't know which one.

I have a hard time choosing the 540FGZ because of all the people that have had it get stuck in the hot shoe. i really don't want to deal with that headache. But is it a better choice for wedding photography than the 360FGZ? I know it has a higher guide number and swivels, but I was wondering if I could get away with using the 360.

Also, lenses...will I need to rent some lenses in addition to the ones I have? Right now I have the 2 kit lenses and the FA 50mm f/1.4. I can probably borrow the FA 43 ltd and/or the Sigma 17-70 from my dad. I was thinking of renting the fisheye lens for some creative shots...anything else I should have on hand? Perhaps I should rent the 50-135 DA*? Or maybe this is my excuse to buy it??!!

Any advice on wedding photography would be great! Thanks guys.

Keep your equipment simple. A zoom is fine, as long as it is a fast constant aperture zoom. If it isn't, then you can throw your fill flash ratios out of whack as you zoom.
If you want to buy a lens for this, the 16-50 would be the better choice.
It is reasonably fast, and doesn't change aperture as you zoom.
I shoot weddings with the smallest kit I can drag along. The last one I shot, I used the 31mm f/1.8, 58mm f/1.4 and the 85mm f/1.4.
Too many lens choices can lead to having the wrong lens on the camera. I went many years shooting weddings with just the standard lens, and did very well that way.

[DanLoc78]

I have a K100D super as a backup. I plan to rent the fisheye at a minimum, and maybe the 16-50 DA* or the 50-135 DA* as well. Those won't autofocus on the K100DS, so I'd be stuck with the kit lenses for that body. I'll probably have another friend walk around with that camera and I'll be using the K10D.

I'll probably end up getting the 540 because of the swivel. On amazon they have the Sto-Fen Omnibounce diffuser listed as an accessory for the flash. I assume this is a wise purchase to soften the flash. anyone out there have this diffuser?

[rfortson]

I have a K100D super as a backup. I plan to rent the fisheye at a minimum, and maybe the 16-50 DA* or the 50-135 DA* as well. Those won't autofocus on the K100DS, so I'd be stuck with the kit lenses for that body. I'll probably have another friend walk around with that camera and I'll be using the K10D.

I'll probably end up getting the 540 because of the swivel. On amazon they have the Sto-Fen Omnibounce diffuser listed as an accessory for the flash. I assume this is a wise purchase to soften the flash. anyone out there have this diffuser?

AFAIK, the 16-50 and 50-135 will autofocus on the K100DS. The point of the "Super" was to give it SDM support. And, even if it was older, the lenses would still AF, just using the screw drive, not the SDM.

Pentax's 17-70 is the only lens that I know of that won't AF on older cameras. But even there, the Super is supposed to support SDM.

[Matjazz]

I can confirm that K100D Super works with SDM lenses like a charm. DA* 200/2.8 gives a whole new meaning to continuous AF.

[DanLoc78]

what does AFAIK mean?

[Venturi]

what does AFAIK mean?

As Far As I Know (AFAIK that is)

[sharko]

Keep your equipment simple. A zoom is fine, as long as it is a fast constant aperture zoom. If it isn't, then you can throw your fill flash ratios out of whack as you zoom.
If you want to buy a lens for this, the 16-50 would be the better choice.
It is reasonably fast, and doesn't change aperture as you zoom.
I shoot weddings with the smallest kit I can drag along. The last one I shot, I used the 31mm f/1.8, 58mm f/1.4 and the 85mm f/1.4.
Too many lens choices can lead to having the wrong lens on the camera. I went many years shooting weddings with just the standard lens, and did very well that way.

How was it shooting a wedding with only primes? I've often wondered if anyone has had success with only fixed focal length lenses especially since I don't own too many zooms.

[LaRee]

I have a K100D super as a backup. I plan to rent the fisheye at a minimum, and maybe the 16-50 DA* or the 50-135 DA* as well. Those won't autofocus on the K100DS, so I'd be stuck with the kit lenses for that body. I'll probably have another friend walk around with that camera and I'll be using the K10D.

I'll probably end up getting the 540 because of the swivel. On amazon they have the Sto-Fen Omnibounce diffuser listed as an accessory for the flash. I assume this is a wise purchase to soften the flash. anyone out there have this diffuser?

I like using the sto-fen omnibounce on my 540 flash. But I also like to point the flash straight up and pull out the built in diffuser keeping it pointed parallel with the flash. For fill flash it works quite well this way. Using the k10d built in flash as a controller for using your 540 off-board works well.

Saturday I took a ton of wedding photos and I used the sigma 17-70 and the tamron 28-75 almost exclusively. I put the 43 ltd on for exactly 2 shots. It was late by that time and I was worn out and pretty much done.
I feel like I got a lot of good images that the family will be pleased with. Shooting a whole wedding and reception with primes is beyond my ability.

[Wheatfield]

How was it shooting a wedding with only primes? I've often wondered if anyone has had success with only fixed focal length lenses especially since I don't own too many zooms.

It's just fine. I wonder how anyone can do it with zooms, quite honestly. The viewfinders are dim, flash power needs go up because of the slow apertures, resulting in long recycling times and missed pictures.
I consider myself quite lucky to have learned my trade before the advent of zoom lenses, as I don't need the false crutch that are zoom lenses.
I tried a 35-105 zoom lens many years ago when I still shot with a Nikon F3. I used it for one wedding job and went back to my primes.

[k100d]

there was a post on dpreview a while back where someone shot an entire wedding with an FA31 with no flash, results looked pretty good. just need to be creative and know how to get the right situations.

[vizjerei]

Yes it is possible to use prime to take the whole wedding, IF you have enough space to go around. It is great to use prime since they usually have bigger aperture, I did to used my 77 for a friend's wedding dinner with no flash, and photos are great But I wasn't the official photographer, and was stuck on the seat in one table :P