Nikon 18-200mm AF-S f/3.5-5.6 and Weddings

jstuedle · Jun 24, 2007

The SB-800 can control 3 other, or three groups of other flashes wirelessly TTL. It will control the exposure of each flash/group independantly. For weddings this a great. Setup your flashes to fill shadows, setup your SB-800 to command them, fire and forget. It will control SB-400's, 600's or 800's and maybe SB-200's although they are fairly low powered. The 800 has a fair amount more power than the 600 and it also has the ability to add either a fifth battery or a external pack to more rapidly cycle the flash. Another real advantage in wedding photography.

Mike_E · Jun 24, 2007

Yes, the ability to use an external battery pack for faster cycle times and longer life is great for receptions. And as to the power difference, think of the difference between f4 and f2.8.

D40, I would get the Sb 800 but I would also exhaust all the possibilities of the 1 flash before I started to buy too many others simply to make sure I was getting what I needed to do what I wanted. (much cheaper this way!!)

mike

D40 · Jun 25, 2007

Ok, thanks! I will be getting the SB-800 hopefully soon. It makes such a big difference bouncing light off the wall and such, makes the photos look so much better and the power is a big factor to concider

I was thinking about getting it from Ritz Camera (locally) good idea??

D40 · Jun 25, 2007

The flash was the easy part to find

The lenses are the problem?? Do they make a good 18-200mm or something close? I see some nice 70-200 or 80-200mm. but with those you will be swiching lenses a lot it would seem like. I like the range of the 18-200mm or even 24-200 but I don't see any that are f/2.8 or less? What do you Nikon Wedding fokes use to just give me some Ideas as to some spacific lenses to read on, if you don't mind?

Thanks for being so patient with me guys (galls)

selmerdave · Jun 25, 2007

The wider the zoom range the poorer the performance, particularly at the extremes. Plan on switching lenses, one option is to use two bodies with two different focal lengths, but even then you're going to need more than two lenses.

Dave

jstuedle · Jun 25, 2007

For all but big outdoor receptions, 200mm is a little (lot) long. Take a look at the 24-70 f/2.8. Go into a photo shop and put one on your body, look around the store and frame groups of 2-5 people and see what you think. Then look at some other lenses and do the same. JMHO

JIP · Jun 26, 2007

they do not make a fast 18-200 aside from the lens having sharpness problems at the extreme ends if you were to make a 18-200 2.8 I can't imagine how large the lens would have to be and how many elements you would have to have to have 2.8 throughout that range. The 3 lenses I would recommend for wedding shooting would be the 17-55 2.8, the 24-70 2.8 and, the 70-200VR 2.8 this will cover the full range for you. I would eventually plan to have this combination And mabye supplement it with something specialised like a macro for ring shots.