Another wedding one, but sometimes we ask people to look mean and moody, you've never seen so many people burst out laughing!

PM Sent

PM sent re Sigma 105mm Macro

They are used on different cameras - initially on two K10s and more recently on two K20s, else I would agree with you. It does seem suss that they both go at the same [ish] time but maybe that's an age issue as they are both as old as each other.

No we sent it to Asahi Photo Ltd as we wanted a quick turnaround and Pentax have always taken so long. There's no charge for the diagnosis and I'm definitely having it back from them so I could send it off somewhere else.

The problem didn't seem to be a charging issue though, so I'm wondering if it's been diagnosed correctly.

They are both out of warranty, maybe had them for 18 months/2 years. We use them a lot - maybe 2/3 weddings every week 1000 shots minimum each wedding maybe 1/3 - 1/2 of those with some flash. We have spares, a 400 & a 360 but having two go at the same time is not funny!

I had a 540 go wrong, would flash but seemed to be out of sync with the camera and I got dark images. Nothing we did seemed to make a difference so we sent it off for repair and got this reply:

"I have had a look at the flashgun, The charge pcb is faulty, but the the whole PCB will have to be replaced, which can cost £150 plus Labour.
I have tried to order this part, but I have had no joy, and no delivery date. I feel it may be uneconomical to repair. Please let me know if you want me to send it back."

Anyone had the same problem?

Since sending that one off our other 540 has developed the same issue, any help would be much appreciated

Hi Don

We do only weddings, around 80/90 a year.

The main thing people tell us that bugs them is the photographer taking ages to get their shots, albums taking ages, proofs taking ages and that some are super arrogant! I'm sure you hear that too.

We offer the same as you without the video. We offer a big range of special offers & discounts so clients feel they are getting a extra good deal. We've also added a self-pricing option to the website. One package, unchanging - but couples can decide what they'd like to offer to pay for it. We obviously have a minimum in mind, but that can depend on the financial micro-climate for us at the time. We also 'advertise' on ebay - quite a lot of our leads are generated this way. Ebay-ers are always looking for a bargain, the package we put on there is very, very good value for money but we find lots of people see the listing, contact us, then in the end go for a bigger package or upgrade.

We also do pre-payment options, paying the balance off in time for the wedding on a monthly or ad-hoc basis & a guest gift list option where other people can buy chunks of the couples balance for them - maybe £10, £25, £50.

We're booked up for 2009, but 2010 brides seem to be happy to initially go for a smaller package - maybe time + DVD, then after the wedding upgrade it to include albums etc. That way they feel more in control of their budget & they don't feel they are being frivolous in case things get really bad for them. When we meet couples we show them all our albums & assure them that if they want to go for the minimum now they can have a gorgeous album afterwards.

Hope that helps

haha and me too - very useful info

Except they don't deliver on a Saturday now have to wait ALLLL weekend! They're down to £499 now and were £539 & I only had £1000 sooo had to jump in

Speaking as a venerable member who is rife on other non photographic forums I know that seeing long-termers & a high post counts does intimidate new people & we don't need them.. that's the rankings not the newbies