AboutMark Gluckman Expertise I can answer questions about all social photography (wedding, corporate, b`nai mitzvah). All general questions about digital photography and, of course, film.
Photojournalistic and travel photo questions can also be asked as that is another specialty of mine.
Experience
Past/Present clients McDonald's, Sprint, GE, Ford, NBC, IBM, Princess Cruises, NCL and I work the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon every year.
I have worked for The New York Times, USA Today, AP and dozens of other international and national publications.
I have shot hundreds of weddings, b'nai mitzvah and corporate social events.
Expert: Mark Gluckman Date: 2/28/2007 Subject: Sunpak auto 544 flash and zoom lense
Question Thank you for your quick response. I appreciate it. I have some more questions if you don't mind.
One of my photography instructors suggested that for wedding pictures to set the camera in manual mode set at F8, use the 50mm lens, and the Sunpak. He said that this set up would ensure that all the pictures had the same look and feel and setting the camera on manual would keep the camera chip from changing the format of the picture. The instructor said that using a dedicated flash and a zoom lens makes the pictures look like snap shots.
Can I set the camera to manual mode at F8, use the 24-120mm f/3.5 - 5.6dIFAF lens, and use the zoom function of the SB-80DX Speedlight?
Or, do I have to leave the camera on Program and allow the camera and flash to automatically format the picture?
I like the SB-80DX a lot better than the Sunpak. It is a lot lighter and easier to use.
Again. Thank your for your answers.
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The text above is a follow-up to ...
-----Question-----
I have a Nikon F100 camera with a NIkkor 24-120mm f/3.5 - 5.6dIFAF lense. Can I use the Sunpak with the lense mentioned above? Do I need a zoom head? Is a zoom head available for the Sunpak 544? My photography insturctor suggested the Sunpak flash, with the camera in Manual mode, and the Flash in manual mode with a 50mm lense. I also have a Nikon SB-80DX autofocus speedlight. Can I leave the F100 in manual mode and use the speedlight in manual mode with the lense mentioned above?
-----Answer-----
If you have a great flash..SB-80DX, why bother with the Sunpak. If I'm not mistaken the Sunpak is, at least, a 25 year old flash without any of the great fill capabilities of the SB-80. You do not need a zoom head on the Sunpak unless you are at a close range and shooting at 24mm. If I'm not mistaken, the Sunpak's angle of fire is about 30-35mm. If you want to cover a wide angle range, do the old photojournalist's trick. Get a piece of white matt board, cut it in a T shape. With the bright white side facing your subject attach the matt board to your flash with a rubber band and tilt the flash up. This will spread the light and bounce the light off the ceiling, it will also soften the flash. It cuts down the distance by a lot, but for portraits it's great. Use the Sunpak on automatic. You can try it on manual, but it's a pain.
Hope this helps.
Mark
Answer Horseshit!!!! It seems that he's an 'art photography' teacher as opposed to a working photographer. Ask him how many weddings, corporate affairs and bar mitzvot he shoots in a year. The point is to get a variety of good shots for a client. This is a business. This is the same as saying an actor would never do TV but only Hamlet because of the 'art'.
By using only a 50mm at f/8 you limit yourself. The 24-120 has been the social photographer's staple lens since it's been introduced, now it's the new 18-200mm. How about wanting to sneak a tight shot with the 120mm? Or the group shot? Are you going to walk back 30 feet to encompass them all in the frame? The new dedicated flashes (yours is already a bit dated) are far superior at capturing the subtleties of exposure that a manual. If you shot all at f/8, one would have to correct a lot in the lab. Not saying, that the lab will not also correct with the SB-80 but far less. Remember, if you shoot the 24-120mm with the SB-80 at aperture priority at f/8, the camera, in it's wisdom, may adjust the shutter speed from a 60th to maybe an 85th (just giving an example, I don't know how the F-100 adjusts).
OK..let's no completely dismiss your instructor. Since you are shooting film. Shoot a few rolls his way and a few mine at the wedding and look at the results. See which ones you like, but also which ones your client likes. Which way is more comfortable to shoot? The easier it is to shoot, the more you can concentrate on angles and composition. Also, use direct flash as little as possible. If I remember correctly, you can tilt the SB-80 up and there's a white card that pulls out from the head..is there a diffuser to use? If you use a diffuser or white card, you will diminish the power by quite a bit. The SB-80 will compensate, the Sunpak will not using manual.
Sorry for this tirade, but I got the same instructions from my college photography teacher in 1975...lots has changed since then. I also teach, but now it's all digital. Clients want it, PR people want it, and unless you are an 'art photographer', film is almost dead. I was not one of the first to change from film to digital. My change was just three years ago, I don't jump into new technology at its first light. That said...I'd never go back.
