"I am only looking to use the reflector for a couple of portrait shots at the reception venue" - the rest is reportage and group so you are right, not very many photos, hence reluctant to spend a fortune

I should have said in my original posting, i am only looking to use the reflector for a couple of portrait shots at the reception venue. My brief is for a reportage style with a handful of formal shots - I agree with Gareth much of it is going to be too fast paced to set up shots with an assistant and a reflector (particularly as I suspect we may be pushed for time at the church).

So the reflector is for limited 'couple' photos only - I probably should have said that as that will influence your suggestion on reflector size.

Thanks for the comments and advice so far.

I am photographing a wedding in a couple of weeks time and am considering buying a reflector for some portrait shots. I have seen some cheap "Ex-Pro" 5-in-1 reflectors on Amazon (£18 for a 32") that get good reviews, the Interfit 5-in-1 looks OK also (£27 from Warehouse Express or £40 from jessops!) and Lastolite seem very expensive.

Can anyone advise on:
a) The size you feel is best for wedding photos - I need it big enought to reflect to a big enough area (not sure what big enough will be yet)and still be portable and handlable (thinking if it is windy). 32" seems a good compromise, but I did start by wondering whether I shuld just get a little 12"
b) The make you have used and any feelings, positive or negative, about them.
c) They type - I am looking at 5-in-1 reflectors as I figure I could use them for a variety of things, but I am assuming for the wedding I will want to use the white or possible the silver (for higher contract B&W) panels.

Really appreciate it!

Stuart

I have just looked at your website (http://karmazyniello.strawberryfields.pl/) and really like your photos. I mainly take landscape photos (and more recently photos of my 3 month old son), but I wish I could take photos of everyday life that are as beautiful and engaging as yours.

I was thinking about this lens and the Sigma 17-70. There is a Sigma 17-50 f2.8, but all the sources I found say that the Tamron is better.

My decision as based on:
17-50 is too close to the 18-55 range from my mkII kit lens
I already have the f1.4 FA 50mm lens, so do i need the speed at the 50mm end?
70mm gives a better overlap with my 50-200mm lens
The 17-70 focuses to 20cm (from the sensor) whereas the 17-50 is about 27cm. It doesnt sound like much difference, but (unless I have misunderstood something) guess the difference from the lens front will be the difference between about 2-3 cm and about 9cm, so will feel much better.

However the Sigma 17-70 is being discountinued in its non-optical stabilised version - I think I have got in in time (but dont have the lens yet), so if I was looking now it would be a more difficult decision!

BTW Camera King did have the Tamron for £295 which seemed a pretty good price.

I hope this helps, even though I dont have direct experience of the 17-50.

Stuart

PS I was concerned about focussing issues for the Tamron, replies through this forum put my mind at ease!

Fair enough, I am always reluctant to put too many apps on my computer as well, but if it helps it doesn't install in the way that most software does so doesn't clutter up the registry and slow it down.

Lots of suggestions - I vote for Faststone http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm which has already been mentioned above. I got it originally because I was using Photoshop Elements and hated their organiser but wanted to be able to quick preview raw files to decide what I wanted to edit or delete. But it has some nice batch conversion facilities (into different formats, sizes, etc) and also allows you to create .exe slideshow files....and it is free!

Thanks guys - that is exactly the information that I was struggling to find. I have the FA 50mm f1.4 already so probably dont need anything faster at the longer end of the zoom range, but the "almost macro" and slightly longer zoom rang sounds useful!

A quick question - can anyone tell me the max aperture for the Sigma 17-70 - I know it is f2.8 at 17mm and f4.5 at 70, but what is it in between say at 23mm, 30mm and 50mm? I cannot seem to find this info and it will help decide between this lens and the Tamron 17-50 which is a constant f2.8

Many thanks,

Stuart

Thanks for your comments and reassurance on the Tamron 17-50, in particular comments on the focussing issues (or not) and the 'good step up from the kit lens'. This was my first post on this forum and very helpful!