Okay, I am doing a wedding in August. I have a Nikon D70s and as of yet do not know exactly what time of day the wedding is planned for but from what I heard it is supposed to be all day..... it is also outdoors. I have two lenses already, I have a Nikkor 18-70 and a Nikkor 70-300

What would be a 'must have' for lenses? These lens work pretty good but I think I would like a better zoom lens. Also, I am thinking of getting the 50mm 1.4 but hesitant on getting it and then wishing I had spent the money on a lens that would better serve my purpose.

I am a all around photographer and do multiple things such as Pet Photography, Weddings, Portraits, Babies, and on location pics. I pretty much do whatever people want(except really formal shots, I prefer the jounalistic feel) But anyway, I am looking for lenses that will be the most versatile and yet be very good quality.

Okay, now for my metering question...... When doing an outdoor wedding, is it better to do Spot metering or center weight?? I will be all over the place and changing probably from day to evening.....but I want to make sure that the bride and groom look their best. I have only done indoor weddings, so this is all new to me and I am trying to learn as much as I can.....

Oh, here is where the wedding is taking place, so you can get an idea of what I have to work with...

http://www.beaconhillevents.com/gallery.html

A 50 f1.4 (or f1.8) would be a nice addition. I have the f1.4 which is 2/3 stop faster, and in low light sometimes you need every bit of aperture you can get. Not that you'd necessarily shoot wide open all the time, but the viewfinder will be brighter so both you and your AF system can see better. Prime (non-zoom) lenses do take some getting used to, so buy one and get used to how the 50mm focal length looks. IOW, practice, practice, practice... :)

I think your question about metering stems from your thread in the Help Forum, and Sebastian brought up spot metering. Obviously he knows his stuff! I do use spot metering and manual exposure fairly often, but it does take time and some concentration. Most of what I do isn't people photography so my advice maybe isn't the most helpful. It sounds like you've done wedding work so you know how you really want to keep your concentration on the people and not the camera or technique. I have shot weddings, but on neg film which is a completely different deal. If I had to do it again on digital (would choose midevil torture over it, however :) ), I'd do everything on Matrix metering except maybe a few of the posed shots with just the bride or B&G manually metered.

Keep in mind that the smallest change in ambient light will have a big affect on your meter reading. The reading you took five minutes ago (or ten seconds ago) may be completely different than the moment you pressed the shutter release. Potentially, this could be much worse than shooting on automatic/Matrix - either way over or under exposed. I'd never try it on a windy, partly cloudy day with clouds blocking the sun every few moments. I can just see that causing a problem... Thinking as I type, but it would be really nice to have a second camera body just set up for the manual metered stuff so you know the settings are right from the change to that mode and back again as well.

Thanks - I have seen alot of very happy people with the 50mm f1.4 - Now to find a better/aka longer zoom lens....

I actually do have a second D70s body, so I could set it up for manual metering..... hehe.

Thanks for your help!!

I think as far as the metering goes, you would be better off to use "Dynamic" metering mode as you want to get everyone in focus. With the "Spot" and "Center Weighed" metering modes, your going to run into an image where people are in focus in the center of the image and blurred on the outer edges of your images. Kinda like the effect you would get from using a "Vignette". You want everyone to be in focus so your better off going with the "Dynamic" metering mode. You dont want the wedding party and family and friends to get their photos back from you only to find out that most of the people in the group shots are blurred out. "Spot" and "Center Weighed" metering modes are used more often in sports photography. Try to stay away from these metering modes when shooting weddings unless you plan on doing formal shots of the bride and groom.
The lenses you mentioned will do just fine. The 50mm f/1.4 is a fine lens but why purchase this lens unless you are getting paid good for this wedding or unless you simply need a back-up lens. It is a very good idea to have back-up lenses when shooting weddings. Just ask yourself, what if... my only lens goes out on me right in the middle of taking wedding photos. Your going to look pretty silly if you don't have a back-up lens.
Hope this helped.

Regards- Erik Barnes

You might also look into renting the lens(s) you might need. Could also give you an good idea of what you may or may not want to buy.

I think as far as the metering goes, you would be better off to use "Dynamic" metering mode as you want to get everyone in focus. With the "Spot" and "Center Weighed" metering modes, your going to run into an image where people are in focus in the center of the image and blurred on the outer edges of your images. [snip]

Hmmm...I don't think the metering modes have anything to do with focusing and keeping everything looks sharp. Aperture settings have more to do with that.

"Spot" and "Center Weighed" metering modes are used more often in sports photography...

Well, remember though that not very long ago, there were only center weighed metering and spot metering. If we go back even further, there was the average metering, i.e., not center-weighed. And they were the only modes that photographers could use for any kind of photography.

Okay, now for my metering question...... When doing an outdoor wedding, is it better to do Spot metering or center weight?? I will be all over the place and changing probably from day to evening.....but I want to make sure that the bride and groom look their best. I have only done indoor weddings...

If you want to use spot metering, you'd better know what you're doing.

I read that in pretty contrast scene, center weighed metering is more reliable than matrix metering (which you didn't mention).

You can go to Nature and Wildlife forum and read one of the stickies in which Loupey talks about exposure. It's very good! Mind you, he uses manual mode primarily if not only (Loupey? :) ). In case you want to try manual mode, which could be useful anywhere when lighting situation doesn't change much, and you can't find anything mid-grey, take a reading off your palm and add one stop. It usually works as long as the lighting on your palm is the same as on your subject.

If all else fails, get a Fuji :D