Sony A7x lounge

wallstreetoneil wrote in post #18344206
As a wedding photog, if I can, let me offer a suggestion - it is sort of a backup plan.

If you are going to shoot a wedding with a main camera, without a second card, but also be carrying a backup camera (which you have to), then do your shooting as you plan on doing, but have on your second camera, a lens that will allow you to take 'different' type pictures. When you get the pictures you need at that moment during the day, quickly take the 2nd camera, with different lens, and capture a few 'different' type shots. You will be surprised what this makes your brain do from a creativity perspective, it will give you different views, and worst case scenario, it will provide some pictures from that part of the day, if something goes horribly wrong (don't worry, it won't).

And yes, never shoot a wedding on one card - NEVER! Swap cards between different sections of the day at a minimum, and even better, when you have 5 minutes to spare, make copies of those cards and have a system to make sure you are not using the same card again - i.e. but a card holder, that seals from water, and place used cards facing down - and NEVER, EVER, take that storage pouch off your body.

All the best and enjoy.

This is good advice and something I need to do more of. I think when you lock yourself into using one lens, the images start to look stale. This is part of the reason I dislike zooms even for events unless it's absolutely necessary.

Primes sort of force creativity...but it's a risk reward type scenario.

Vinz I use one card on shoots but bring my laptop and dump the files as the day transitions. I have this crazy fear of losing or damaging a card if it's not in my camera. At least if a card gets corrupted, it can usually be recovered.

vinmunoz wrote in post #18344110
hmmm... i'm now thinking of buying multiples of 16GB for the wedding. One each for preparation, portrait, ceremony and reception.

I only have one stupid_me 128GB.

ordering 6(16GB) now.

Yeah, shoot multiple cards...just good insurance. On my shoots out west recently, I used a new card, or two for each project we shot, and have yet to format them, I have the files in about 4 places right now...a little paranoid about paid work not getting lost!

wallstreetoneil wrote in post #18344206
As a wedding photog, if I can, let me offer a suggestion - it is sort of a backup plan.

If you are going to shoot a wedding with a main camera, without a second card, but also be carrying a backup camera (which you have to), then do your shooting as you plan on doing, but have on your second camera, a lens that will allow you to take 'different' type pictures. When you get the pictures you need at that moment during the day, quickly take the 2nd camera, with different lens, and capture a few 'different' type shots. You will be surprised what this makes your brain do from a creativity perspective, it will give you different views, and worst case scenario, it will provide some pictures from that part of the day, if something goes horribly wrong (don't worry, it won't).

And yes, never shoot a wedding on one card - NEVER! Swap cards between different sections of the day at a minimum, and even better, when you have 5 minutes to spare, make copies of those cards and have a system to make sure you are not using the same card again - i.e. but a card holder, that seals from water, and place used cards facing down - and NEVER, EVER, take that storage pouch off your body.

All the best and enjoy.

I have a different train of thought when it comes to 1 vs many SD cards. Fiddling with multiple small cards, you are much more likely to lose said card, than get your data corrupted on a single large card. Even on 16GB, you can lose a lot of key shots.

if you want some peace of mind, you can carry your phone/tablet and offload jpegs to it using sony's sync to smartphone app. You'll have to shoot raw + jpeg, then set the app to transfer original size files every so often. When on a break, transfer files to your tablet or phone. They're not raw, but you still have a true backup.

Definitely take a second cam

Charlie wrote in post #18344248
I have a different train of thought when it comes to 1 vs many SD cards. Fiddling with multiple small cards, you are much more likely to lose said card, than get your data corrupted on a single large card. Even on 16GB, you can lose a lot of key shots.

if you want some peace of mind, you can carry your phone/tablet and offload jpegs to it using sony's sync to smartphone app. You'll have to shoot raw + jpeg, then set the app to transfer original size files every so often. When on a break, transfer files to your tablet or phone. They're not raw, but you still have a true backup.

Definitely take a second cam

That's my mentality too. Even after having a corrupted card (which was again recovered). But of course many ways to skin a cat.

I do wish there was a way to sync raw files over in camera....even if it's a cable transfer

wallstreetoneil wrote in post #18344206
As a wedding photog, if I can, let me offer a suggestion - it is sort of a backup plan.

If you are going to shoot a wedding with a main camera, without a second card, but also be carrying a backup camera (which you have to), then do your shooting as you plan on doing, but have on your second camera, a lens that will allow you to take 'different' type pictures. When you get the pictures you need at that moment during the day, quickly take the 2nd camera, with different lens, and capture a few 'different' type shots. You will be surprised what this makes your brain do from a creativity perspective, it will give you different views, and worst case scenario, it will provide some pictures from that part of the day, if something goes horribly wrong (don't worry, it won't).

And yes, never shoot a wedding on one card - NEVER! Swap cards between different sections of the day at a minimum, and even better, when you have 5 minutes to spare, make copies of those cards and have a system to make sure you are not using the same card again - i.e. but a card holder, that seals from water, and place used cards facing down - and NEVER, EVER, take that storage pouch off your body.

All the best and enjoy.

Yah I just ordered six 16GB SD cards and a Pelican SD card case that can hold 6 cards. I'm planning to label each card with Prep, Portrait, Ceremony, Reception. for details like wedding rings. I'm using my A6000 with the 35mm F3.5 SEL lens for details.

my best setup during ceremony(maybe the whole day) will be A6000+85GM(for reach) and A7RII+2470GM so I can go wide if I have to.

Ceremony usually takes place when it's still bright outside. AF with the A6000+85GM in lowlight is terrible.

Thoughts about PPA insurance? My friend who dropped a 24-70GM needs to pay $725 to replace the front element.

vinmunoz wrote in post #18344430
Thoughts about PPA insurance? My friend who dropped a 24-70GM needs to pay $725 to replace the front element.

looking at their website, it seems like i'm reading a document prepared by 50 lawyers.

yeah, you can get free insurange, if the stars are aligned in this formation, otherwise, you will end up paying this much or this much, or maybe this much...

vinmunoz wrote in post #18344430
Thoughts about PPA insurance? My friend who dropped a 24-70GM needs to pay $725 to replace the front element.

My state farm policy had a $50 deductible when I dropped my 17-40 they gave me the current retail price minus the 50.00 and I at that time upgraded.

Currently not carrying ins. I think PPA deductible starts at $250 for first claim and up from there for more claims

eriet30 wrote in post #18344465
My state farm policy had a $50 deductible when I dropped my 17-40 they gave me the current retail price minus the 50.00 and I at that time upgraded.

Currently not carrying ins. I think PPA deductible starts at $250 for first claim and up from there for more claims

does your State Farm policy allow you to use your gear as a business...I had a policy for a while that was a personal policy, but if I was using the gear on a paid gig, I was not covered.

I need to get a new policy...SF has one...I just need to change my policy. I let the other one expire at the end of 2016.

vinmunoz wrote in post #18344426
AF with the A6000+85GM in lowlight is terrible.

One of the main reasons, besides bounced flash, that most wedding photogs have hot-shoe mounted flashes, is for help with focus acquisition in dark places. Even with my goto in the dark setup (1DXii with a 35Lii) I will have a hotshoe mounted Canon 600EX-rt, in Master Mode, with the flash in the bounced position and the flash turned OFF from firing (if desired) so that I can get superior and faster and basically bullet proof in the dark focus confirmation with the infrared focus assist beam from the flash. It is not a light setup, in fact it couldn't be heavier, but it will never not acquire focus quickly.

My kit, boiled down to its basics, is the following:

1) two cameras
2) two hotshoe mounted flashes all the time (just because I setup my straps and utility belt to make it work so no needed changes are required)
3) two belt hook clipped on battery packs for these flashes
4) a spare flash on my belt
5) 24-70 F2.8 is the work horse on the main camera
6) depending on the location, my Canon 70-200 F2.8 or Tamron 85 1.8 VC is the lens on the 2nd camera most of the time
7) 35 1.4 is my goto dark indoor setup on the main camera (usually shot at F1.6 or F2 for DoF control)
8) when the 35 goes on the main camera, I put the 24-70 on the backup

I sort of have it as my main rule and practice, to never take the 24-70 off the main camera so that I always have the ability to capture anything that may happen (all those extra shots that you just take of all the other stuff can be taken with that camera). I will also setup this camera with three different Program modes that I use (C1 = no flash Auto ISO with EC being the way I adjust ISO, C2 = no flash with NO Auto ISO and ISO being changed directly, C3 = Flash Setup with the ability to change ISO to bypass the Camera's ISO 400 default (this is important)).

In many ways, a wedding photog is like a field surgeon - you just have to get the job done. With that as the mindset for the 80% of the time, (i.e. main camera 24-70), you need to also remember to deliberately search out the other 20% - to try and add something special (but don't get 100% caught up on this and blow the 80% and screw up the timing of everything - weddings have a time schedule that needs to be kept but are often not exactly on schedule) - and that is why having that 2nd camera, with different lens mounted, and then another goto lens, on hand for quick access, is the key to the 20% - sometimes that is the 35F1.4, sometimes it is the 100 macro, sometimes it is the 85 shoot at 1.4, sometimes it is the 70-200 at 200mm, and cropped, of people watching the wedding, etc).

You should be able to completely screw up the 20%, and while it won't be your best day, the job will get done professionally with good execution on the 80%.

My other piece of advice is to have a contingency plan. Lets say the day of the wedding someone steals your gear, your car breaks down, you have a family emergency, etc - what will you do? Do you have a friend you can call in the case of an emergency - it is better to have thought about this, it may not work out, but at least you will have some kind of plan. For my own wedding, I had the backup plan of setting up my Sony A7Rii (in silent mode) with a Metabones IV with a Canon 24-70 F2.8 II set at Auto ISO, SS 1/125, F3.2 (i.e. point and shoot) and I have a great brother-in-law who likes to do stuff and is crazy personable, and I informed both him and the paid photog that he would never be in the main photog's way (ever) but he had this camera all day, with 2 batteries, and took 1500 pictures - and he did a great job - as a backup to disaster, I had coverage of my own wedding - and you know what, the main photog showed up 1hr late because he had car problems - and the bride was not happy - but, in that hour, my brother-in-law was out taking lots of family guest pictures and they turned out great (and this was the types of photos that the paid photog didn't have enough of to make that 20% other stuff his best effort - but of course he nailed the 80% so when added together I was happy.

vinmunoz wrote in post #18344430
Thoughts about PPA insurance? My friend who dropped a 24-70GM needs to pay $725 to replace the front element.

I have a PPA policy. I went that route since I shoot paid work homeowners insurance riders are for non commercial use only.

PPA coverage is on an all risk basis, so it's very comprehensive coverage. Basically everything is covered unless specifically excluded, and the exclusions are IMO fair.

I would never just have one memory card for anything that I shoot. Just better practice that way. Specially with things as important as the wedding. I always break mine up and have my laptop backing up the Photos once I swap to another

They also have a hard drive that does this automatically which is always a great investment if you shoot more than a couple weddings a year

You guys are giving me some good reasons for never wanting to shoot weddings or events.

digital_AM wrote in post #18344560
You guys are giving me some good reasons for never wanting to shoot weddings or events.

I won't do another wedding...unless it is someone that I really know, and really needs a favor...weddings are too dang stressful...

don't know if this has been posted already
but the mc11 adapter is at a good price ... about 150