Concert photography

[Soupermom]

HELP! I am taking DD to the Jonas Brothers concert and she wants me to take LOTS of photos with my Canon 3SIS. Can anyone make suggestions on how to get the best pictures. We are in the first set of rows that are off the floor, so our seats aren't too bad. Concert is tomorrow!

TIA!

 

[ukcatfan]

The important thing is going to be keeping the shutter speed fast enough to prevent blur from subject motion and possibly from camera movement. The IS should help if you end up needing much in the way of focal length. I believe that somewhere around 1/250 will be alright if they are not moving much, but you might need to go up to 1/500 or even more. Be sure to review your shots zoomed in b/c they might look alright on the LCD, but be blurry when you get them on the pc. To achieve the fast shutter speeds, I would use shutter priority and bump up the ISO as much as you find acceptable. That mode should pick as wide of an aperture as possible. If you see it going up above wide open, then you could possibly lower the ISO. That camera is not really made for great low light performance like that situation, so you might have to sacrifice in the ISO area to get those shutter speeds up.

Kevin

 

[rtphokie]

HELP! I am taking DD to the Jonas Brothers concert and she wants me to take LOTS of photos with my Canon 3SIS. Can anyone make suggestions on how to get the best pictures. We are in the first set of rows that are off the floor, so our seats aren't too bad. Concert is tomorrow!

TIA!

#1 call the venue and check on their rules regarding cameras for that particular concert. Some allow them, some dont. They may allow only those without removable lenses (i.e. no SLRs). The S3IS looks like an SLR so be prepared to answer the question.

Your first challenge will be the lighting. Overall the lighting is low and the performers are sometimes are brightly lit by spotlights, sometimes in dim mood lighting.

The second challenge is the distance. If it's a venue that only hosts basketball and concerts, you'll be 50'-75' from the stage (a basketball court is ~ 100' long). If it can handle hockey as well, double that. You'll be zooming all the way out.

ISO: crank it up, try high ISO auto mode and see how they come out. If the results are splotchy, try cleaning them up with something like noiseware.

F-Stop: again, light is the problem here so open that aperture up as wide as possible. When zoomed out fully, the S3 is capable of f3.5, go with that.

Shutter speed: ukcatfan's suggestion of staying faster than 1/250 is a good one. Use aperture priority mode, set for f3.5 and see what shutter speeds it gives you. If they are too slow, go full manual and set it at 1/250 or 1/500. Dont worry if they look too dark on the camera's display, you can fix that later. Since you may be shooting at the end of your len's range, a fast shutter speed to keep the innevitable camera shake from blurring the shots.

Here's a shot from my Canon G3 last summer from a Rush show. My seat was at least 300' away:

Full manual mode, f/3.0, 1/500, ISO 400 (as high as the G3 will go)

Same camera last weekend at the circus, this time about 100' away, the light was much better so I was able to get away with a 1/100 shutter:

Aperture priority mode, f/3.2, 1/100, ISO 200

But these white tigers were 200' away and were the only things lit in the arena. This is cropped way down because of the distance and also the highlights are a bit blown out as a result, looking back I should have switched to manual and increased the shutter speed and maybe lowered the ISO, it's all a learning process:

Aperture priority mode, f/3.0, 1/100, ISO 400.

Oh, charge your camera tonight and bring extra memory cards. I forget that part too often.

 

[Soupermom]

Well, the concert was great and I took over 600 photos!

I used the Aperature Priority setting, 1/500, the whole time and most of the pictures are pretty great. After running them through basic noiseware it looks like we are 20 feet from the stage (instead of 300).

Thanks again for your help everyone!

(I'd post some, but have yet to set up an online account where I can do so....someday maybe... )

 

[SamRoc]

My son has been attending alot of indoor concerts recently, and I'd like to get him a good camera. I figured we would spend about $500.00. Since everyone on the stage moves so much I guess a camera with image stabilization would be needed as well as shooting in low light. Any ideas? thanks!

 

[Shutterbug]

1) You will need a digital SLR
so you can get the second item you need
2) a fast lens

A lower costing DLSR from Canon, Nikon, or the others would probably work.
If you can I would try to find a place that will sell just the body alone then look for 3 party lens like Sigma, Tamron, Tokina.

The other thing to take note of is how close is he usually to the stage? Close or far away? That will dictate the range of zoom you will need.

I am sure there are many others here that will also give you helpful suggestions

Also a note..image stabilaztion does not help as much in moving objects as static objects.
IMO Its better to have lense thats made for low light then use I.S. lens in low light

 

[Master Mason]

Here is going to be the big rub for you. Most venues will not let you in with a camera that is truely capable of taking good photos at an indoor concert. Your really going to need a dSLR and a fast lens as mentioned above, which would put it quite a bit above your price range as well.

Having said that, you might get some decent shots with one of the bridge style cameras either the Canon S3 or S5 or the Fuji SD8000 (I think that is the correct number for the Fuji) But both of these will struggle in the low light conditions of lots of concerts.

 

[SamRoc]

Thank you both for the information. Luckily he has been getting pretty good seats, and is usually in the first 3 rows.

 

[Mr.MouseFan]

I snapped these pics last tuesday at a WWE TV taping. I'm not sure how they would have turned out with different lighting as this was lit for tv, but I took these with a Fuji S5200.

 

[maccagerl]

Thank you both for the information. Luckily he has been getting pretty good seats, and is usually in the first 3 rows.

I think what the previous poster meant was that most venues will not allow you to bring in SLR cameras, and if you do manage to sneak one in, and they see you using it, they may take it away and store it in an office until the end of the show, or they may even escort you out of the show.

 

[seashoreCM]

Since everyone on the stage moves so much I guess a camera with image stabilization would be needed as well as shooting in low light. Any ideas? thanks!

Psst! Image stabilization is not meant for and does not work for moving subject matter. It's purpose is to help counteract less than steady holding of the camera during your shooting of stationary subject matter.

Yes it would be a good idea not to bring any camera to a show where photography is officially or technically or theoretically or announced as not permitted.

Digital camera hints: http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/digicam.htm

 

[keahgirl8]

My concert pictures always come out bad. It's too bright for me to use a flash, but if I turn off the flash, it's blurry. Any setting I put it on never works right unless I have a tripod, which you can't have in a concert. I need the easiest to use, best camera for a concert. I also don't have a ton of money. Any suggestions?

 

[Shyvioletisme]

I can't help you here because I've been wondering the same thing. I have a basic small kodak P&S and concert pictures always turn out terrible...I'm interested in seeing some suggestions!

 

[handicap18]

My concert pictures always come out bad. It's too bright for me to use a flash, but if I turn off the flash, it's blurry. Any setting I put it on never works right unless I have a tripod, which you can't have in a concert. I need the easiest to use, best camera for a concert. I also don't have a ton of money. Any suggestions?

What are you currently using for a camera?

A tripod wont help, your subjects are moving and with slow shutter speeds you'll get motion blur even with a tripod. The tripod will keep the camera steady, but wont keep your subject steady.

Generally PnS camera's aren't good for indoor low light moving subjects. You'll need a dSLR with good high ISO performance and a lens that has a wide aperture like f/1.8 or wider. Probably something like the Canon XTi or XSi with the 50mm f/1.8 lens or the Pentax K200D with the 50mm f/1.4. I don't know what the prices are. The Canon body may be more expensive than the Pentax body, but that Canon lens is less expensive than the Pentax lens.

Nikon also has a great 50mm f/1.8 lens, but their entry level bodies don't have a focus motor in the body so that lens wont Auto Focus. You could go with a used or refurbished Nikon D50, D70 or D70x. The D80 is a great body, but its the next level up from entry level and thus more expensive.

I don't know what Sony and Olympus have for lens options that would help you.

 

[thomas998]

You can't expect great results from any point and shoot... but to maximize the quality of what you get you need to do the following.

Set the ISO on the camera as high as it will go (unless it is a real cheap camera and then just set it as high as it goes before the noise becomes unbearable).

Set the metering for spot meter. A big problem people have at a concert is the camera meters for everthing in the viewfinder, when spot lights are only really lighting up the group you end up with a photo that is over exposed because the camera was averaging the spot lighted area with the non-spot lighted.

Try to limit the amount of zoom you use... a point and shoot with an optical zoom gets slower and sometimes very slow when you zoom to the max... you need the lowest f-stop available and that will be when the camera is wide not zoomed.

you may need to go to full manual mode and take underexposed photos if the camera is using too slow a shutter and creating blur... its better to use photoshop and try to correct an underexposure than it is to have motion blur that can't be fixed at all.

 

[bob100]

My concert pictures always come out bad. It's too bright for me to use a flash, but if I turn off the flash, it's blurry. Any setting I put it on never works right unless I have a tripod, which you can't have in a concert. I need the easiest to use, best camera for a concert. I also don't have a ton of money. Any suggestions?

maybe you cannot have a tripod (which is what you need) but what about a "gorilla pod" that's small and fits in your pocket? see the other thread on this strange but useful type of "pod" that keeps your camera still so you can use the larger lens opening. you can get the walmart version for less than $15

 

[Puggs]

Along the line of concerts, we are going to Nashville to see Kenny Chesney and was wondering about the camera policy at LP Stadium. Has anyone been to a concert there and brought their camera. If so, was it a P&S or a DSLR.

Thanks!

 

[keahgirl8]

I currently have a Canon Powershot A520, but I'm thinking about getting a Kodak EasyShare Z812 IS. Is that a good one? I have a Gorrilla Pod, but you have to have somewhere to set it or something to attach it to. I don't have a lot of money to buy something fancy, plus the bigger and fancier you get, the less likely you are to get in with your camera. I had my mom's old 35mm camera once (not a fancy one at all) and they almost took it away!

 

[thomas998]

Along the line of concerts, we are going to Nashville to see Kenny Chesney and was wondering about the camera policy at LP Stadium. Has anyone been to a concert there and brought their camera. If so, was it a P&S or a DSLR.

Thanks!

You can be sure that cameras and electronic recording devices are not allowed... Don't take anything big... you can usually smuggle in a small camera but a DSLR would be risky.

 

[keahgirl8]

You can be sure that cameras and electronic recording devices are not allowed... Don't take anything big... you can usually smuggle in a small camera but a DSLR would be risky.

Exactly! That's why there's no point in me getting a DSLR, not to mention the cost.