[C_Jones]

The 35 mm lens is the one of your collection which is sort of a semi-wide lens that will not put you too far away from the subject. I have a Pentax 35-80 manual zoom that I used for an event one time. I really found the wideness and the zoom to 80 accommodating in most cases. Since I have my Pentax 16-85 and Pentax 70-200 now, I would rather resort to them since they are zooms and have AF.

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Last edited by C_Jones; 01-12-2018 at 02:17 PM.

[Exroadie]

I'm going to do some test shots tonight.
Going with the me super/35/diffused flash setup, with fuji 400 exposed as if it's 200. At 6 feet that get's me f16, f11 at 8 feet and f8 at 12. Shutter speed for all is 1/125.
If these turn out nicely that's the rig I'll run at the party.
Thanks for all the suggestions!

[C_Jones]

Good luck!

[leekil]

It sounds like you're using flash for all the shots? If not, you might have white balance issues with the lighting; those might be fixable by using Cinestill 800 film, if the lights are Tungsten.

[gofour3]

If not, you might have white balance issues with the lighting; those might be fixable by using Cinestill 800 film, if the lights are Tungsten.

Yep or use a filter, though you need to know the type of light you are using and match the filter

Phil.

[LesDMess]

I'm going to do some test shots tonight.

That's how I learned - test film in the environment, bring all lenses so you can see what will be necessary for spacing and distances, and of course learn to use the flash and how it works in that setting. I have shot many such occasions and being prepared makes all the difference in the world since you have to work relatively quickly.

I would not hesitate to use Kodak Portra 800 and Fuji Natura 1600 - with and without flash, since I am familiar with their characteristics to the end results.

Flash is a great tool to learn. Of course depending on the environment, on-camera flash is reasonably useful. Manual mode is best but can take a lot of time to be fast in it's use. For grab shots TTL flash can be reasonable given color films huge latitude. Of course the more sophisticated flash types can be even better.

BTW, color balance is probably one of the easiest to correct in post once you test your films. Of course this may depend on your post skills.

[Exroadie]

Everything went well. On the test shots I used 28mm, 35mm and 50mm. Through the lens, the 50 looked gorgeous. I was sure that was going to be the best. But, in print, the results from all three lenses were comparable.
For the party I used the 28 and the 35. I probably could have used only the 35 and been just fine. I shot fuji 400 but exposed it as 200. Flash sync on the mesuper is 1/120. So, the only thing I had to keep an eye on was focus and f stop. Most everything was shot between f/11 and f/16.
A few days after I gave her the pics, one of the ladies from the party asked if I would do some portrait work for her.
Thanks everybody for the tips!

[cooltouch]

I would go ahead and take all three lenses. I would use that 20mm for a shot that encompasses the entire party, then I'd probably put it away. Biggest problem with the 20 is you'll get vignetting flash coverage because of the lens's extreme wide angle. The 28 will be good for larger group shots, and the 35 is great for closer, more intimate shots. For a flash I would use something with a fairly high guide number, point the flash head almost straight up, and attach a white reflector to it (about 6" square or so with about a 2" x 2" "foot" for attaching it to the flash -- I cut mine out of poster board, typically), usually with a rubber band. This sort of flash with reflector provides a diffuse light with softer shadows, but it usually requires a flash with a fairly high guide number, like around 120 (ISO 100 in feet) or so.