Best Lens for Fantasmic?

[katt789]

I shoot with my Canon T5
In the past I've always used my 75-300mm zoom, wide aperture, high ish ISO, aimed for whiter light and hoped to get something good.
I do have a 50mm f1.8 as well, and haven't used it for Fant yet.

Which would you pick? I usually like to do more close up shots, hence the zoom but I don't get many shots that are good with it.

 

[mom2rtk]

I shoot with my Canon T5
In the past I've always used my 75-300mm zoom, wide aperture, high ish ISO, aimed for whiter light and hoped to get something good.
I do have a 50mm f1.8 as well, and haven't used it for Fant yet.

Which would you pick? I usually like to do more close up shots, hence the zoom but I don't get many shots that are good with it.

When you say you don't get that many shots that are good, what is the issue with the others? Shutter speed, over exposure, noise?

The problem with a zoom like that is that it's probably has a variable speed aperture. So the more you zoom, the smaller the widest available aperture is.

Still, I don't think I would be happy shooting Fantasmic with a 50mm lens. Maybe you could get there early enough to get in the front row?

 

[katt789]

When you say you don't get that many shots that are good, what is the issue with the others? Shutter speed, over exposure, noise?

The problem with a zoom like that is that it's probably has a variable speed aperture. So the more you zoom, the smaller the widest available aperture is.

Still, I don't think I would be happy shooting Fantasmic with a 50mm lens. Maybe you could get there early enough to get in the front row?

We're usually in the front, lol.

For non usable shots I mean ones that are either: too blurry, too dark, or the white balance is AWFUL. The struggle for me is the amount of playing around it takes sometimes with very little time to actually shoot. (I usually only shoot the Poca scene, princesses, and finale boat, maybe a little bit when Malificient takes the stage thanks to all the lighting being super red or blue)

 

[havoc315]

There is no right or wrong lens for something like Fantasmic. It's not really "low light" since you are shooting fire and brightly lit objects.
So it really comes down to perspective -- At what focal length do you want to shoot it. Do you want close-ups of Mickey and the characters on the floats. Do you want a wide perspective that takes it all in.
Blurry.. dark.. white balance... those issues have more to do with the photographer than the lens. Though if used properly, a faster lens, would let you use longer shutter speeds/wider aperture, which would result in images that are less blurry and less dark. And using a long lens, like 300mm, when not used properly, will result in blurrier and darker photos than a short lens (because you get more camera shake with a long lens, and on a consumer lens, longer focal length has narrower aperture).

So if you want the closeups, you can use your 75-300 lens, but you really need to learn to use all your camera settings properly.
If you are more concerned with the darkness and bluriness of the photos, your 50/1.8 may make it a bit easier to get photos with proper exposure and sharpness.
Ideally, you'd want something like a 70-200/2.8 for the best of both worlds, but I don't suspect you're going to rent or buy that lens.

 

[mom2rtk]

We're usually in the front, lol.

For non usable shots I mean ones that are either: too blurry, too dark, or the white balance is AWFUL. The struggle for me is the amount of playing around it takes sometimes with very little time to actually shoot. (I usually only shoot the Poca scene, princesses, and finale boat, maybe a little bit when Malificient takes the stage thanks to all the lighting being super red or blue)

If you're close enough that you're happy at 50mm, I would go with that lens. Your odds for more keepers would go way up.

The ones that are too blurry are probably just from too low of a shutter speed.

One thing I try to pay particular attention to in a show like Fantasmic is that the scene might be really dark, but if the actor is brightly lit, your camera might overcompensate for all that darkness and overexpose. I would recommend spot or at least center weighted metering here. You can also adjust your exposure compensation if actors are too washed out. But keep in mind this all changes quickly in the course of the show. It's one of the reasons I like shooting shows like this, the challenge of it.

 

[katt789]

If you're close enough that you're happy at 50mm, I would go with that lens. Your odds for more keepers would go way up.

The ones that are too blurry are probably just from too low of a shutter speed.

One thing I try to pay particular attention to in a show like Fantasmic is that the scene might be really dark, but if the actor is brightly lit, your camera might overcompensate for all that darkness and overexpose. I would recommend spot or at least center weighted metering here. You can also adjust your exposure compensation if actors are too washed out. But keep in mind this all changes quickly in the course of the show. It's one of the reasons I like shooting shows like this, the challenge of it.

Thank you so much for the tips!! Fant is one of my biggest struggles, but I honestly think Folk is worse, lol, the changing patterns there are such a challenge!!