[haycyn]

So I have acquired a few different lenses. Can I have a recommendation of which one to use in an upcoming situation like this one?
DA-15mm limited.
70-200 sigma 2.8
Pentax 100mm WR 2.8.
I'm headed to the site in a bit to take some test shots.

[EJMzagsfan]

Does this make sense?

I think I have matured to the damn I suck phase! Cool chart.

[Tako Kichi]

I think I have matured to the damn I suck phase!

Don't worry I will be joining you soon. I've just bought my first DSLR after 30+ years of film SLRs and digital point-and-shoots and I anticipate starting from square one again as I learn the new camera.

[abmj]

So I have acquired a few different lenses. Can I have a recommendation of which one to use in an upcoming situation like this one?
DA-15mm limited.
70-200 sigma 2.8
Pentax 100mm WR 2.8.
I'm headed to the site in a bit to take some test shots.

If it is the same kind of fishing derby where you will be shooting from the audience, I'd suggest the 70-200, even though it will be much heavier. Punch up the ISO so you will have a decent shutter speed of at least 1/500, use the zoom to get in fairly tight and fill the frame. Check the first few for exposure and adjust the exposure compensation as necessary then go for it.

[pbmax]

So I have acquired a few different lenses. Can I have a recommendation of which one to use in an upcoming situation like this one?
DA-15mm limited.
70-200 sigma 2.8
Pentax 100mm WR 2.8.
I'm headed to the site in a bit to take some test shots.

In another life (when I used Canon) I used a Tokina 50-135 f2.8 to shoot Muscle/Body Building shows. Because in event photography you never really know where you will be standing or where they will put you, a zoom lens is your best choice. Also a zoom with a constant aperature is preferred. Not knowing your budget but from what I have read about Pentax lenses I would suggest the 16-45 F4 and the 50-135 f2.8. If you are using flash, then the 18-135 may be perfect for your needs.

A side note about the kids. I realize the instinct of a mother is to have your children with you. But if you want to do event photography seriously and you must bring the little ones... bring a teenager with you or a friend to keep an eye on the little ones so that YOU can keep an eye on the event. Event photography is very much about capturing a moment! You already have too much to pay attention to! Please no hate mail! LOL! I am a father and grandfather...

Lastly it's not the gear you use... although it helps... but you don't need $1600 lenses to make a living in photography! You do need good gear and you need to research the gear before buying it... there was a lot of good information in this thread... you just need to dissect the parts that pertain to you and implement them to your abilities and interests! Best of luck!

[interested_observer]

Interesting read.

A few things came to mind as I was reading through. A zoom in this type of situation is your friend. The other item is that perhaps a K5II would be a bit better in that it allows auto focusing in near dark conditions, and possibly locking faster. It would possibly support shooting in a wider range of situations. As others have pointed out its not really a gear thing, but if the budget allow, this may help (a minor suggestion).

In terms of lenses, here is a link that I found interesting. Norm and Tess up in Canada took very similar images, and the post was which one was taken by what lens. It boiled down to a $1600 Pentax 60-250 or a $500 Sigma 18-250. Take a look and see what you think. Its just a set of 1 shot from each lens, but it goes back to the gear question again.

• https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/227006-lens-comparison.html

In that you have some hand shakiness, does a heavier or lighter lens feel better to you? Which ever it is, that is the physical weight for a lens that I would tend to gravitate towards.

[haycyn]

I went to set up and test the lenses and I cannot shoot with the big lens yet. I can't hold it and I'm not used to the tripod enough.
At this event, I am the photographer not a wife in the stands trying to get good shots- that's where I messed up to.
As for the lenses I pulled out a couple of older film lenses- cheap Tamron zooms, 28-70 f/4 and 100-300 I believe f4 or near there. I have decided to take it safe and shoot in AV because I understand it the most, right now.
This is kind of a safe place for me to practice bc we put on the event so I am the client so to speak.
I really appreciate the advice and I am still dissecting and practi ing each recommendation.

I can't buy anymore gear. Not wo selling some, and I think the big zoom will probably go.

[abmj]

Ok, if you can get "on-stage" or up close and personal, the 28-70 might work but I would probably suggest the longer zoom, 100-300 mm, assuming it is auto-capable. Some old film lenses are not. If it is, f/4 should be more than fast enough and the longer reach will let you stay back and capture the event rather than become part of it.

Frankly, if I were doing this and could not hand-hold the 70-200, I would use my 18-135 mm but you have to work with what you have. The 100-300 comes closest.

[Rondec]

I went to set up and test the lenses and I cannot shoot with the big lens yet. I can't hold it and I'm not used to the tripod enough.
At this event, I am the photographer not a wife in the stands trying to get good shots- that's where I messed up to.
As for the lenses I pulled out a couple of older film lenses- cheap Tamron zooms, 28-70 f/4 and 100-300 I believe f4 or near there. I have decided to take it safe and shoot in AV because I understand it the most, right now.
This is kind of a safe place for me to practice bc we put on the event so I am the client so to speak.
I really appreciate the advice and I am still dissecting and practi ing each recommendation.

I can't buy anymore gear. Not wo selling some, and I think the big zoom will probably go.

I don't know what focal length would be best, based on where you are standing, but I would consider the DA *50-135 or Sigma 50-150 in place of your 70-200. My wife shoots weddings and we rented the Sigma 70-200 f2.8 and she didn't like it at all. It was too heavy for her to use for any length and she had a lot more camera shake with it as a result. She does a lot better with the DA *50-135 and the DA *200.

If you could reach with a Tamron 28-75 f2.8, that would probably be about the cheapest way to go.

[pbmax]

I went to set up and test the lenses and I cannot shoot with the big lens yet. I can't hold it and I'm not used to the tripod enough.
At this event, I am the photographer not a wife in the stands trying to get good shots- that's where I messed up to.
As for the lenses I pulled out a couple of older film lenses- cheap Tamron zooms, 28-70 f/4 and 100-300 I believe f4 or near there. I have decided to take it safe and shoot in AV because I understand it the most, right now.
This is kind of a safe place for me to practice bc we put on the event so I am the client so to speak.
I really appreciate the advice and I am still dissecting and practi ing each recommendation.

I can't buy anymore gear. Not wo selling some, and I think the big zoom will probably go.

I get what You are saying, but you leave some questions still unanswered as to which lenses would work for you. But before you answer these questions (whether on the forum or to yourself) I think the problem is that you have the wrong lenses for the job you wish to do. I sell gear all the time to revamp and change to my needs. A carpenter wouldn't make a very good piece of furniture if all he had was a wrench and no hammer. Your gear are your tools. You need the right tools to good photography. Don't be afraid to sell off something, to get a better "hammer"!

Ok, questions...

1. Where are you standing? Are you in the crowd? or on the Stage? Can you choose your location? These answers will decide what lens is the most appropriate. On the stage, 28-75 or 16-45 is perfect. On a platform in the crowd, the 70-200 on a monopod.
2. Is the light changing during the course of the event? Meaning do you start shooting early morning, ending late afternoon? Or is the light the same all day long? If the light is all day long there is no reason to keep changing your exposure settings. Test your exposure and your white balance before the event starts.
3. Are the older lenses auto focus? In the camera you have, can you select the focus point? If you can select the focus point that would be best and using auto focus also the way to go. You aren't there to be artsy with a manual focus, manual exposure lens. You are there to capture the event, to document!

And one last comment about heavy gear. If you have a 10 pound camera that you are using all day, by the end of the day it will feel like 40 pounds! I never used a monopod either. Until the day I was to shoot body builders in Toronto! I was to stand in one place for 9-10 hours with a heavy Canon 30d and 70-210 zoom... Thank goodness for the monopod!

Hope this all helps... I have gotten some great information as well from the thread... You always are learning! Don't worry about getting "great" images till you find a way to get "good" images!

[interested_observer]

I went to set up and test the lenses and I cannot shoot with the big lens yet. I can't hold it and I'm not used to the tripod enough.

It sounds like there are several questions being asked:

1. How close are you able to stand to get the photos? 10 feet, 20 feet? This will determine the focal lengths that you will be using most.
2. Lighting conditions - the full gamut or late in the afternoon? need f2.8 or f4 lens - constant aperture or variable?
3. Then, for the focal length zoom, what are the available lens' physical weight and image quality available?

[kenyee]

I'm actually puzzled by the motion blur...in sunlight (shutter speed should be fast), that shouldn't happen unless you're doing a quick capture w/o framing (the SR system needs 1/2 sec to stabilize...you can see the green hand in the viewfinder). Did you look at the EXIF for the shots to see what focal length/shutter speed they were shot at?
The harsh sunlight pretty much killed you. You still should have been able to expose so the sunlight part is ok and pull all the dark parts up in post w/ the K-5's sensor...it's pretty incredible that you can take an underexposed part and pull it up so it looks good w/ that sensor.

And for your next event, I'd also use the 70-200 from your lineup for framing flexibility. Use a monopod to help hold it up.

p.s., those fish are tiny when you compare them to Stripers in the northeast...min size we can keep is 28" :-)

[Reliant K1000]

We've all screwed up I'm sure...it's that you learn from the experience is the important thing. 20 years ago, I was the backup photographer for a friend's wedding - I was there to get the candid moments (kind of what I'm known for amongst my friends) and the pro was there for the formal shots. There was this cute girl in a red dress and... well, I got a date out of it but my shots were sub-par to put it kindly. My mind was elsewhere!

I know when I have my 10 year old daughter with me, I have to be Dad 1st and anything else 2nd...and that's the way it should be. Even if my wife is there. It's getting less and less as she grows older, but as a parent you know what I mean.

Just having someone mind them while you photograph will keep you in the moment a lot better. You live and you learn.

[mike.hiran]

Just to re-emphasize what has been said a couple times already, but with the K5 it is worth repeating. Expose for the bright areas and correct the shadows in software after. The K5 has some really amazing ability to recover information from the shadows, but areas that are overexposed don't have as much of a chance of being corrected. Find the brightest thing on stage that you want to be exposed properly, take the photo info and put the camera in manual and shoot with those settings. Adjust everything later in post - Lightroom 4, which I've been seeing on sale for $50 after rebates lately at Newegg, has sliders where you can adjust shadows and dark areas independently of contrast and saturation so getting underexposed shots looking good is easy.

Glad things are improving and that you are trying to work through the issues constructively.

Also, using a monopod will help you a lot with the 70-200 - I put a ball head on the end of mine so if I need to make a change in the angle, it's very fast, plus I have a quick release plate that makes mounting and unmounting the camera a breeze.

And it seems you've got some awesome lenses now too - the 15, 100, f50, and 70-200 are all great pieces of glass. For event photography, I tend to bring a wide range to cover my options and to mix up the shots a bit - I'd bring the 15, 50, and 70-200. I'd leave the 100 at home just b/c the 70-200 duplicates, and the 70-200 will focus faster since the macro has a really long focus throw.

Good luck and let us know how things go!

[interested_observer]

....Adjust everything later in post - Lightroom 4, which I've been seeing on sale for $50 after rebates lately at Newegg, has sliders where you can adjust shadows and dark areas independently of contrast and saturation so getting underexposed shots looking good is easy. ....

Before I, go running off to the airport, I knew that there was one other item I wanted to post. Adobe is in the process of changing their business model so that you need to subscribe (read pay a monthly extortion fee), as opposed to buying it. As much as I hate Adobe, as Vagrant posted, go find a copy of Lightroom 4 that you can buy, load it on your system (and get a distribution CD if you can find one). This will be the last version you can find and not pay the monthly fee. Lightroom 4 is going away for Lightroom 5 that has the monthly fee. So you must hurry before they stop selling it. That said there are other software utilities that do the same thing - also with out the monthly fee.