p.2 #1 · Getting ready to take the jump (gear check up)
lisy78 wrote:
While I did suggest that at some point (assuming you want to keep a crop body) you consider upgrading the 300 to a 7000, your lens/body kit is actually fine (I'm not going to weigh in on the wife's kit ... if her coverage is *bonus* coverage then what she's using, if used correctly should be fine).
In your shoes I'd stop thinking of lenses ... I will repeat the SB800 suggestion to kind of reinforce the fact that to put it bluntly... the less experienced you are, the more likely it is that you might NEED that faster recycle to catch the moment you just missed with your first burst of flash. (Note if you do get an SB800 you must do the mod to let it rotate farhter than 90 degrees to the right... I did it on all 4 of mine and it was a piece of cake with some good light a decent screwdriver and a sharp exacto knife. TOTALLY solid... look on youtube).
If at some point you do get a lust for a portrait prime, you should consider Sigma's 85 1.4 ... it's a great 85 on my D700 and an awesome 135-ish on the cropper.... and it's a lot cheaper than the Nikon version. But your 70-200 will serve you just fine for hte time being.
The wife will primarily be there as an assistant. And the camera will be for both of us to try and gauge if this is something she would like to try doing more with me. If it is then we will address her equipment.
I am really getting the feeling that the sb 800 is the way to go lol. Now officially on the look out for 2 used sb 800's.
I will also have to decide quickly if I will be going cyber syncs as I will want to use them for at least 2 months before taking them on a wedding.
Re: lens lust.... always present but at this point I think I will likely roll with what I have and spend the money on getting all the lighting up to snuff.
I will be watching the new 85 1.8G though. It would likely be between that and the Sigma.
p.2 #2 · Getting ready to take the jump (gear check up)
I'd amend Ale's advice about the camera bodies a tad, and say, if you get a D7000, I'd dump the D5100 rather than the D300. The D7000 would give your wife a ton more wiggle room over the D5100, plus it can enable her to shoot video (helpful if you want a bit of video coverage of you, shooting, for promotional purposes later) while you shoot stills.
A D700/D300 combo is useful until you can replace the D300 with another used 700, because the controls on the two cameras are so very similar.
Either way it would be an upgrade, but I think you'd get slightly more mileage out of putting that extra capability in the hands of your second/assistant, assuming that's the relationship.
p.2 #3 · Getting ready to take the jump (gear check up)
And even if she doesn't continue shooting / working with you on weddings, having a D700, D300, D7000 set would be better for you in versatility and for backup purposes than having a D700 - D7000 - D5100 set would.
p.2 #5 · Getting ready to take the jump (gear check up)
+1 on Ian's suggestion. I was going the cheap route... ... figured you could sell a 300 for signficantly more than a 5100 ... then again, that may not in fact be the case.
From price to size to reliability I can guarantee you that you CANNOT go wrong with cybersyncs. I don't make any money from Paul & Buff .. but frankly my cybersyncs are the ONE piece of equipment that has NEVER, EVER hicckupped. Not once.
p.2 #6 · Getting ready to take the jump (gear check up)
Same here re: cybersyncs. They're just about the most reliable equipment I own. I've compared them to PWs when second-shooting for folks who use those, and in my experience, the cybersyncs are notably more reliable. And cheaper. And smaller.
p.2 #7 · Getting ready to take the jump (gear check up)
How are you planning to carry it all about?
I used to have a backpack before I started going weddings. One day picked it up in a hurry with not zipped up correctly, out fell my 24-70 and it had to go off for repair. If that had been a wedding I would have been a big problem so I decided to never use a backpack or similar for wedding work.
For my first weddings I used a Kata shoulder bag, it can hold two bodies, two flashes, 4 lenses and has a slot for a laptop but I used that for the fold up reflector. It worked fairly well but I found it was very bulky and so moving around tight areas there was always the risk of knocking something over or hitting somebody. So I'd leave it down but you then worry about somebody stealing something from it or wanting something from it but you are on the other side of the room. I also found using camera straps a pain for both ease of use and comfort. I use two camera bodies so I always had one hanging off me with the other in my hands.
For the last wedding I changed to the spider holster system system, lot better than a camera strap as it is faster, more comfortable and the camera does not bang into things as much.
I replaced the Kata bag with a ThinkTank lens changer, which is a lot smaller and slimmer. It can hold 3 lenses and a few cards, batteries & flash gels.
So I have two bodies, eash with a SB900 attached and most of the time it is the 24-70 on one and 70-200 on the other. In the lens changer I have the 14-24, 105mm and 50mm f/1.4.
It above camera bag/strap change made the wedding a lot easier and more enjoyable to shoot compared to if I had used the older set up.
p.2 #8 · Getting ready to take the jump (gear check up)
lisy78 wrote:
+1 on Ian's suggestion. I was going the cheap route... ... figured you could sell a 300 for signficantly more than a 5100 ... then again, that may not in fact be the case.
From price to size to reliability I can guarantee you that you CANNOT go wrong with cybersyncs. I don't make any money from Paul & Buff .. but frankly my cybersyncs are the ONE piece of equipment that has NEVER, EVER hicckupped. Not once.
Ian Ivey wrote:
Same here re: cybersyncs. They're just about the most reliable equipment I own. I've compared them to PWs when second-shooting for folks who use those, and in my experience, the cybersyncs are notably more reliable. And cheaper. And smaller.
I will picking up the cybersyncs for sure. Seem like a really good product for a reasonable price.
A guy in my local camera store (Henrys) was trying to push the Cactus V4 system but from everything I read that would have been a mistake!
Now I just need to decide how many speedlights I will be going with.
One for wife
Two or Three for me + OCF....
p.2 #9 · Getting ready to take the jump (gear check up)
jolahern wrote:
How are you planning to carry it all about?
I used to have a backpack before I started going weddings. One day picked it up in a hurry with not zipped up correctly, out fell my 24-70 and it had to go off for repair. If that had been a wedding I would have been a big problem so I decided to never use a backpack or similar for wedding work.
For my first weddings I used a Kata shoulder bag, it can hold two bodies, two flashes, 4 lenses and has a slot for a laptop but I used that for the fold up reflector. It worked fairly well but I found it was very bulky and so moving around tight areas there was always the risk of knocking something over or hitting somebody. So I'd leave it down but you then worry about somebody stealing something from it or wanting something from it but you are on the other side of the room. I also found using camera straps a pain for both ease of use and comfort. I use two camera bodies so I always had one hanging off me with the other in my hands.
For the last wedding I changed to the spider holster system system, lot better than a camera strap as it is faster, more comfortable and the camera does not bang into things as much.
I replaced the Kata bag with a ThinkTank lens changer, which is a lot smaller and slimmer. It can hold 3 lenses and a few cards, batteries & flash gels.
So I have two bodies, eash with a SB900 attached and most of the time it is the 24-70 on one and 70-200 on the other. In the lens changer I have the 14-24, 105mm and 50mm f/1.4.
It above camera bag/strap change made the wedding a lot easier and more enjoyable to shoot compared to if I had used the older set up....Show more →
Thanks for the input.
I to have always had a backpack style bag (Kata 3 in1 ) but knew that I would be getting something different for weddings.
I have been going back and forth between the Retro. 20 pinestone or the Lens Changer 3.......
p.2 #10 · Getting ready to take the jump (gear check up)
It isn't a deal breaker, but obviously you won't have a very wide angle lens. The 24-70 is a great lens, but you are putting it on a crop body, so you loose the wider range. There will likely be a shot or two that you can visualize, but won't be able to capture.
p.2 #11 · Getting ready to take the jump (gear check up)
sic0048 wrote:
It isn't a deal breaker, but obviously you won't have a very wide angle lens. The 24-70 is a great lens, but you are putting it on a crop body, so you loose the wider range. There will likely be a shot or two that you can visualize, but won't be able to capture.
I will probably be running with the 24- 70 on the d700 and the 35 1.8 or 50 1.8 on the D300.
p.2 #15 · Getting ready to take the jump (gear check up)
I have both SB-800s and a SB-900. I've never had a problem with the 900 recycle time on my D700, primarily because I mostly use it for a fill flash and at higher ISOs. In fact, I've never even changed AA batteries at a wedding. When shooing large groups in bright light, I always reach for more power like an Einstein. I guess it just comes down to your shooting style. The real reason I prefer the SB-800 is weight and size. It's a better balance on top of the camera.
I've never used 32 gigs of memory at a wedding (12mp cameras). I guess it's all about your style.
As for Cybersyncs vs Pocket Wizards: I have both. I used to use the CCs, and as said, they are dead reliable, cheap, and compact. However, with the new PW ControlTL system, having the ability to adjust light output of off camera lights from the camera in a split second, without lowering a light stand one or more times is priceless. And off-camera TTL during the reception is just phenomenal. The CCs are now my backup.
I have the Cotton Carrier attached to a belt pack (TT Speed Freak). It's nice to be able to take the camera out of your hands for a minute when changing locations, working with lighting gear, etc. and it doesn't swing around at all, love it!
Last thing, for the money, the Sigma 85 1.4 has been one of my best purchases ever. Just a great lens with amazing bokeh. However, in your shoes with a 70-200 covered, I'd try to get a wide zoom first. (11-16, 17-35, or similar)
p.2 #16 · Getting ready to take the jump (gear check up)
Sean Hoffman wrote:
I have both SB-800s and a SB-900. I've never had a problem with the 900 recycle time on my D700, primarily because I mostly use it for a fill flash and at higher ISOs. In fact, I've never even changed AA batteries at a wedding. When shooing large groups in bright light, I always reach for more power like an Einstein. I guess it just comes down to your shooting style. The real reason I prefer the SB-800 is weight and size. It's a better balance on top of the camera.
I've never used 32 gigs of memory at a wedding (12mp cameras). I guess it's all about your style.
As for Cybersyncs vs Pocket Wizards: I have both. I used to use the CCs, and as said, they are dead reliable, cheap, and compact. However, with the new PW ControlTL system, having the ability to adjust light output of off camera lights from the camera in a split second, without lowering a light stand one or more times is priceless. And off-camera TTL during the reception is just phenomenal. The CCs are now my backup.
I have the Cotton Carrier attached to a belt pack (TT Speed Freak). It's nice to be able to take the camera out of your hands for a minute when changing locations, working with lighting gear, etc. and it doesn't swing around at all, love it!
Last thing, for the money, the Sigma 85 1.4 has been one of my best purchases ever. Just a great lens with amazing bokeh. However, in your shoes with a 70-200 covered, I'd try to get a wide zoom first. (11-16, 17-35, or similar)
I am going to try to refrain for now until I see what I am really lacking.
Cotton Carrier looks interesting, also looking at the spider holsters with a thinktank speed belt.
... figured you could sell a 300 for signficantly more than a 5100 
... then again, that may not in fact be the case.