Camera Labs

Hello,
I have been asked to be the photographer at a friend's wedding. This is very thrilling. I need to, however, purchase the right gear 'on a budget'. Please advise.
I use Nikon D80. I am thinking of upgrading to a D200 so that I have less trouble in low light situations. I also need to purchase a couple additional lenses and a flash. I have the 50mm f/1.8.
Here's what I was considering:
- SB600 (on a flash bracket)
- Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 or Sigma 18-50 f/2.8
- Nikon 80-200 f/2.8 (bad thing it's not VR)
Some other possibilities:
- Nikon 135 f/2 DC
- Sigma 10-20mm
- Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8 AF-D

Thank you up front for all your feedback.

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Thank you.
MJ

The upgrade to the D200 will not improve your low light photography - what you will need is faster glass.

So from your D80 and 50 1.8, I'd suggest the following:

Seeing as you're covering just the one event, you can consider hiring the 17-55 and 70-200 2.8. Both these will serve you well for the whole day.

The 10-20 Sigma is a good lens to own, and will give you interesting distorted ultra-wide angle group photo; it's an alternative to a fisheye.

I've a lengthy post on this thread here regarding wedding photography. It's a challenge, and the right equipment helps. But I'd definitely make it clear that the upgrade from the D80 to the D200 is meaningless if you're only looking for better low light performance. That is not the way to go.

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Nikonian

http://www.edtangphotography.com
http://journeysintophotography.blogspot.com/

Thank you so much for your response, Photoj. It is all great advice. It's all printed.

Could you please offer some ideas for: short telephoto, macro lens, normal zoom and an ultra-wide/fisheye...should I hire out for more weddings.

Also, please share reasons why I would want to upgrade to a D200. For some reason I have this camera stuck in my head as better than the D80 in the long run.

_________________
Thank you.
MJ

I think the two lenses I mentioned previously would be ideal for starting off with wedding photography: Nikkors 17-55 and 70-200 2.8. Do buy a flashgun if you haven't already - it will be useful. Beyond the wedding, the Sigma 10-20 opens new avenues to your personal photography, so that comes with high recommendation. As for macro lens, that's a luxury, but you can do without. As you have the one DSLR body, the fewer lenses you have on the wedding day, the better as you don't have to keep swapping around.

The D80 and the D200 are essentially the same camera except for a few technical specs, the build quality and how it captures an image's exposure. In the long run, both serve well as an enthusiast camera; there's little compelling reason to upgrade once you've got the D80 unless you're shooting action photography and the 5fps is going to be more useful. It's far better to invest in good glass rather than the D200. Bear in mind that if you do upgrade, your SD cards won't fit with the D200.

_________________
Nikonian

http://www.edtangphotography.com
http://journeysintophotography.blogspot.com/