[Fireball]

Well, I have a dillemma here. I have found the following for sale locally at a killer price (stay tuned):

50-200 for about 95-100 USD
Sigma DG500 Super for ~190 USD

At this point in time, I'd like to choose one piece over the other...unless I finally cave in (and dig into my student loans) and purchase both pieces.

Hence, I need some advice.

My current lens setup consists of the following, on a K10d:

Tamron 28-75 2.8
and
P/K Chinon 50 1.4

I do not find myself "wishing" for a longer reach on my camera 99% of the time, but there is the other 1% of the time where I may be walking around and be like, "cool, I wish my lens was longer".

I will eventually be purchasing a 70-200 2.8, but at this point in time, it is out of the picture (at least, until I finish University).

Advice, please?

I'm also a little fuzzy on the "advantages" of buying an external flash for the type of photography I do (photojounalistic portraiture)

Thanks in advance!

Cheers,

TW

[kjao]

If you don't find yourself needing the longer reach 99% of the time, get the flash then. You can always pick up a M135/3.5 or M200/4 cheaply for that 1% time. The prime will probably give you better IQ than the zoom most of the time anyway.

cheers
Kenny

[Fireball]

Nobody can provide any insight?

I know a lot of gurus are out there, but is my question too "stupid"? ;-)

I've done whatever research I can about external flash, but need someone to explain it in detail to a rock like me.

[SpecialK]

After your research, what is it that you do not understand about external flash and its uses?

[dmdctusa]

For a good introduction to flash use check out the stobist.com blog-site. Just about everything you need to know about flash photography can be found there or through the site links.

There are some good tutorial as well as a series of assignments and follow up discussion.

[Fireball]

I understand the usage of external flashes, but I do not know if having one will prove to be any benefit to my style of photography (not sure if that makes sense, but it does in my head!)

I understand that external flashes give a greater range, and greater latitude in its usage than an onboard flash. However, once again, I do not know in what sort of situations would an external flash prove its usefulness over an onboard flash.

Am I making the slightest bit of sense here?

Thanks in advance for your continued help!