Originally posted by gostwick Are there any pro photographers using the K7 successfully for wedding photography? I'm considering purchacing a K7 body to force my K10D to be my backup/alternate camera.
I shoot weddings and other similar events (have a Confirmation tonight) with a K20D and a K10D, and an *ist DS as my third, in-reserve body.
My impression is that the advanced Pentax bodies are ideal for serious landscape photography: weather-sealing, smaller bodies (lighter to carry when hiking into the field), outstanding prime lenses, all these are features that landscape (and possibly architectural) photographers would really benefit from. But you can use the Pentax cameras for anything you like, including wedding photography. Ash (whose posts I always respect and learn from) says he uses similar bodies and they are "more than adequate." I would agree, although I would prefer to say simply "adequate." I sometimes feel like I'm working at the edge of the camera's capabilities.
Actually, it's important to understand that shooting a wedding really calls for at least two, perhaps three, different types of photography.
1.
The wedding ceremony in the church usually requires that you shoot in mediocre-to-bad light, without flash. So you're shooting at high ISOs. Here, the ideal camera would be one that does well at high ISO and also auto-focuses well in low-light. A Nikon D3 that can shoot comfortably and cleanly at ISO 12800 would be nice, aside from the $5K price tag. If you stick with Pentax, it seems to me from what I've read that the K-x would be better than the K-7 for this part of the job. I've given serious thought to buying a K-x just for this purpose. I have improved my in-church photos by moving entirely to faster prime lenses. As for auto-focus, this is indeed a problem for me. My solution is to use the custom settings to disconnect autofocus from the shutter button and assign it to the AF button. I take up a position, get the focus right, and then don't change it until I need to. I recently tried shooting an event in a church using manual focus. I was excited about the idea and may even try it again, but the results were not encouraging. The problem is, if the light is low enough to make autofocus difficult, it's going to be low enough to make manual focus difficult. Just like the camera's autofocus sensor, your eye needs to find an area with some contrast in it. If it's dark you just can't see the contrast well.
2.
The formal group photos. Here you get to use flash in a fairly controlled setting. Just about any Pentax DSLR will do okay here, if you know what you're doing. The problem is with the flash system and the flash units. The Pentax AF 540FGZ isn't as powerful as some other flashes (like the Metz 58AF), so if you have Pentax flash, you may find it difficult to overcome strong backlighting OR to bounce the flash off the church ceiling. If you use radio triggers, you can't use P-TTL. (You CAN USE P-TTL if you use optical triggering, although I personally have found optical triggering to be less reliable than I'd like.) Anyway, the K-7 will be fine here.
3.
The reception. At the reception, you need a camera that focuses fast and has good ergonomics. Here, I think the K-7 would shine. My K20D does very well, too. You also need a good flash and a good flash system for shooting the reception.
Let me return to flash. It's really important for weddings. I can't speak from real knowledge, as I've never actually used the Nikon or Canon systems, but from everything I've read and from talking with other more experienced wedding photographers, I have concluded that the Pentax flash system is the weakest part of their product line. By "flash system," I mean everything related to flash: the physical flash units themselves (Pentax's aren't very powerful, have a slow sync speed, and aren't very durable either) and the features they support (complicated subject). When I fantasize about switching to Nikon these days, it's not because the cameras I could afford would be any better than the K20D or K-7 (they wouldn't) but because of the
Nikon Creative Lighting System (CLS).
Nevertheless, it's quite possible to do an excellent job at the reception with Pentax bodies. You just need to learn how to handle the various challenges. That's probably true of any camera.
So, bottom line: Yes, you can definitely use a Pentax K-7 for wedding and event photography. And at least as long as Pentax's prices stay as competitive as they have been, Pentax users may find they have more money to spend on lenses and accessories.
Will