Is f1.8 enough for concert photography?

Oriel · 31-01-2006 10:14am #1

Folks,
Is a f/1.8 really enough for concert photography?
I'm going to get a prime lens today, I'm torn between the a 50mm f/1.4 from ebay or a 50mm f/1.8 new (£80).
It's only one f stop down, but it's a considerable bit more light being let in.

DotOrg, any advice?

Cheers,
S.

heffsarmy · 31-01-2006 10:25am

It depends on the venue, lightening setup etc. but the 50mm 1.4 would be a better choice, as some venues have poor lightening and the more stops you have the better. I have the 50mm 1.4 and its an excellent lens for indoor photography.

Oriel · 31-01-2006 10:30am

See, you can never tell what the place is going to be like, that that's why I'm thinking about going for the 1.4. Then again, I can start off with the 1.8 then work my way up to the 1.4 after a bit of experience.

Enygma · 31-01-2006 10:31am

There's a guy selling one on the fredmiranda.com buy and sell for $275, used twice. Worth a look. I'd say go for the best lens you can afford, as a rule I guess.

rymus · 31-01-2006 11:56am

bear in mind too that the Sigma 30mm f1.4 appears to be a rather fancy lens for the money

beans · 31-01-2006 12:06pm

sinecurea wrote:

Folks,
Is a f/1.8 really enough for concert photography?

Hiya,

I've had good results shooting at 1:1.8 in a few different venues, good results light-wise anyway. The extra stop is of course handy, but for the difference in price you might be better off trying the 1.8 first. You shouldn't have any problems selling this on if it's in good nick, they seem to move quick enough.

The biggest problem for you will be depth of field as i'm sure you're well aware of. Can make for good shots but it will be very tight. Good if the subject is fairly static, but then i'm manual focus so AF might get around this

DadaKopf · 31-01-2006 12:28pm

Dude, it's film speed you should be concerned about. f1.4 might have too shallow a depth of field in some lighting situations, depending on focal length. But you're going to need fast film whatever the story.

Oriel · 31-01-2006 12:37pm

I'd be using digital iso 1600.

heffsarmy · 31-01-2006 12:40pm

Film speed and F stop they are all relevant, using an f-stop of 1.4 will allow you to use a lower iso speed compared to 1.8, less noise. Depth of Field is plenty, for instance using the 50mm on a canon 20d 1.6 crop factor at f-stop of 1.4 will give you a depth of field of 2.61ft with the subject at 20ft away, this translates to 1.22ft in front of subject and 1.39ft behind subject, thats plenty of depth of field for shooting a lead singer for instance, the closer you are to the subject the harder it is to control the DOF,at 10ft you only have 0.81ft DOF, the further away the more DOF you have.

DotOrg · 31-01-2006 9:12pm

my main concert lenses are both f2.8, you only need the 1.8 or 1.4 in very poor lighting conditions

buy the f1.8 and you can't go wrong though

Oriel · 01-02-2006 9:27am

I bought the f1.8 yesterday at 3.30pm from Microglobe.com (UK) for £79, arrived this morning

melekalikimaka · 01-02-2006 9:42am

i was browsing in jessops yesterday and i saw a 50 mm 1.8, I didn't look at the name properly but i think the company began with a t, anyone know whats the brand? it was only 50 euro, reduced, opinions on it too would be nice

edit. it may have been tamron

GASUN · 01-02-2006 9:42am

All my lenses are Canon f2.8L. I have shot a few gigs with a friends Canon f1.2 lens which gives powerful depth of field at f1.2 settings in certain situations. The f1.2 was considerably slower at focusing than the f2.8 for fast moving subjects and quick light sequences .... Having said that, the f1.2 is a great lens! Good luck with the new lens. :eek:

ENDA :v:
www.gasun.net
Music Photography

Is f1.8 enough for concert photography?

Comments