Sorry for being thick, how does buying from SRS fix the QC problems? Do they test the lens first or do they simply refund postage on any exchanges?

Hi All, thanks for the tips so far. I certainly intend to let my friend have plenty of time with the camera. We'll visit the church and the river where we'll do some of the portraits well in advance and practice some of the shots we'd like.

Come to think of it, probably the best thing to do now is to take my kit lens (18-55) to the church/river and see how the range works out.

In terms of price/performance I think I'll go with the Tamron 17-50/2.8 or 28-75/2.8 depending on the outcome of the above trials.

Richard, thanks for the comment on the flash. I just found the following article:

http://knol.google.com/k/matthew-miller/-/3jwk7bitq8i8/1#

Seems Metz and Sigma both have flashes for the K10d that aren't terribly expensive. I have a bit more reading to do on that front.

Acc

Hi All, this is a whopper - I'll try and make it concise. Fiance and I are trying to keep our budget under control by getting a friend (keen amateur photographer like myself) to do our wedding. He has a film SLR, I have a k10D so we're going to use my camera. Easier for post processing and getting the photo book printed.

PICTURE REQUIREMENTS:
We're not nuts on getting a million brilliant photos. Candid shots, a couple of portraits and some small groups will do fine to make a nice book for the coffee table, I'll ad some macro. Only big (i.e. large print) shot is a nice portrait of the girl & I for the mum-in-laws wall (its a family tradition). Weather permitting this will be done outside.

MAGIC LENS:
I want 'one lens' for the wedding (don't we all). I realise I want something faster than the kit lens (17-55) and my old Sigma APO 70-300 is not really useful. My thoughts were to get a better replacement for the kit lens. i.e:

Pentax 16-50/2.8 or Tamron 17-50/2.8 or Sigma 18-50/2.8

I've eliminated the Pentax lens. My googling so far reveals issues with QC and it's MUCH more expensive than the others. To complicate things, my research suggests 17-50 ish is not the best range for the wedding. Now I'm looking at:

Sigma 24-70/2.8 or Tamron 28-75/2.8

Reviews mixed. Lot of fans of the Tamron regards image quality, some concerns over low light AF which might be an issue. The Sigma is big, not necessarily an issue for me. Techie stuff aside, many seem to think the extra range at the wide end makes the Sigma the choice. Thoughts?

I still have the kit lens if I'm pinched for width once outside.

OTHER THOUGHTS:
Need a flash. Looking at the Jessops 360AFD. Mixed reviews, but many report it working.

Backup - Old school, Pentax MZ6 35mm + SMC 28-90mm kit lens. ISO 200 film? Compact digitals for candids and, possibly, some group shots.

SUMMARY:
Are these the best two choices for general wedding use (as opposed to 17-50 type range)?

Sigma 24-70/2.8 v. Tamron 28-75/2.8

If so, does anyone have any strong convictions re quality or the exta 4mm wide v 5mm tele?

Also, if that flash is a 'stinker' tell me. Sorry for the rambling, I've been googling for hours and getting more confused....