FZ20... and I'm the Wedding photographer!

[gilly]

Well guys I need to prep for this one - from your experience should I definately invest in a hotshoe flash etc for this occasion?

I'm off to a quiet little village in Italy to capture this moment - can't wait to be honest. It's still about a year off and I'm quite new to this scene but I'm willing to take on the challenge and learn all I can before the big day so 'any' advice will be greatly appreciated!!

I like my arty shots and I'll be investing in a CRing and wide angle lens too shortly, along with macro lenses and polarising filter. That should all help capture the moment in each and every detail I hope..

I've never run out of battery in one day but if someone has used their FZ20 all day in an event like this - would you recommend taking a spare??

cheers
Gilly

[genece]

I agree you need an external flash....prefferably one as powerful as the 383.

ANd I have gone thru 3 batteries in a day with the FZ20....that was about 1000 photos but I think you should have a couple spares or a dps9000...I favor the spares.

What about Photo storage? a PSD or a laptop?

[gilly]

Not knowing much about flashes can you give me a little more info on the '383' grenece?

Looks like a few batteries will be on the list for sure - genuine or aftermarket here??

As for storage - My mac Powerbook will be close nearby as usual!

[tim11]

I've never run out of battery in one day but if someone has used their FZ20 all day in an event like this - would you recommend taking a spare??
Gilly

Never run out of battery in one day? How do you do that?
Will you be the only 'official' photographer?
Don't turn up without the external flash. With external flash the battery will last longer as the camera has extra source of power for the energy consuming flash. But saying this, you should carry more than one spare. I have 2 after market spares - they are more powerful and much cheaper than genuine Panasonic while they work just the same.

I shot wedding a few months back for a relative and I found ISO200 were more succesful though I have to put up with the extra noise.

[genece]

Not knowing much about flashes can you give me a little more info on the '383' grenece?
The 383 is a sunpak flash and its pretty powerful it has a guide # of 120 ft so it works pretty well up to about 60ft.
Seeing as you are on the other side of the ocean you will have a hard time finding one unless you get one on Ebay or pay the freight from here....and while I am not familiar with metz flashes you can find one of thase at least as powerful as the 383 but they are more expensive.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=52799&is=REG&addedTroughType=search
Maybe some one from europe can help with a good flash over there.

Looks like a few batteries will be on the list for sure - genuine or aftermarket here??

After market are fine ....but I never found one as good as the OEMs but for the price they are a good value.

As for storage - My mac Powerbook will be close nearby as usual!

Your covered there.

[genece]

Read the stickey at the top of this forum for some flash suggestions
http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1981

[gilly]

Thanks for your input guys. Much appreciated!

cheers
gilly

[tygersclaw]

gilly I am a wedding DJ and also take pictures at weddings. I use a Vivitar 285HV flash with the omnibounce and get excellent results.

At my last wedding I did, the official photogs were using Nikon D2K cameras and they checked out my images and found them to be as good as theirs...except in low light conditions where the Nikon's do out perform Panasonics (Nikons can shoot cleanly at 1600 ISO where as the Panasonic occasionally has issues (noise) at 400 ISO)

You will be able to get some very decent shots with the FZ20...but always remember what the limits of the camera is (focus speed etc) and you should be fine.

I take 2 1GB and a 512MB card to each wedding plus I use 2 batteries with the charger ready to go at all times. Another thing I recommend having is a card reader. Faster for downloading images to the laptop and saves your camera battery as well. I have a Lexar multicard reader which can download 1180 images in less than 3 to 4 minutes.

[gilly]

Thanks for your input.

I've decided to go for the Sunpak 383, 2 more batteries and I'll look into a card reader too - the Lexar sounds like a good choice. I've got a 512 card I'll probably go for an additional 1gb.

[gilly]

Should I invest in a light meter as well to ensure the whites don't get blown out in the direct sun or not really necessary with FZ20?

As for the flash - I've just ordered a Sunpak 383.

[tygersclaw]

Shooting a wedding can be a real challenge in bright sun with a bride wearing a white dress and possibly a dress with frills which may be reflective of light, be shiny etc.

Metering is a good idea to prevent possibly overexposing a white gown in bright light.

Also remember, the white gown will usually overpower the grooms black tuxedo. The FZ20 I have has done "okay" at rendering these shots, however, I did find my recently purchased Nikon d70 did a much better job overall especially with indoor shots using a SB800 flash for the Nikon.

You "can" shoot weddings with that Panny...but there is just some shots that will make you "work" harder to get a good shot.