low light lens options

melekalikimaka

christmas coming up, the family wanting to know what to get me, they know they wanna get me something photography related but are lost so they want exact specs of things i might want. it being my birthday 2 days after christmas, means i'm gonna be getting a nice few extra kilo in my bag for new years either way .

I've decided on getting a SB400(the 800 would be nice but really can see myself going down multipal flash route for a while yet)

Lens wise I'm stumped, concert/Gig is my love so i want to compliment that, my choices so far are

Nikkor 85mm/f1.8(I have 50mm 1.8, so maybe i should look for a low ap zoom??)
Tamron 28-75 f/2.8(gotten some good reviews, nice price for such low ap)
Nikon 16mm Fisheye (secondhand if i can find it, I'd be putting cash towards that one i think...if it merits it. I've seen software to remove distortion, doesn't remove it completely, but gives some very unique shots)

anyone reccommend anything else EXCEPT the 80 - 200 VR(not gonna happen)

Oriel

Sigma, 10-20mm?

melekalikimaka

sinecurea wrote:

Sigma, 10-20mm?

i considered this also, took it off the list due to being F4, would you still recommend it, I shoot alot with an F3.5 and find I can't get certain shots due to it being F3.5, thats my big issue with it

440Hz

I was thinking about this all last week as well... I just gave a list to Dad and decided to let him pick... i reckon "santa" will either bring a sigma 10-20 (been on my list for months now) or a Super 500 DG (or something lighter and nicer if 'santa' is feeling generous). Either way ill be happy. From what you put on your list I would go for the Tamron I think.. like you said handy to have a zoom for lowlight esp if you have a prime already.

Morlar

Cant speak for the nikon fit version but I have had the canon fit sigma 10-20 mm for a few months now and its definitely a daylight lens - useless in poor lighting conditions in my experience. If your thinking of gig photography I think you would struggle with it even with a dedicated flash due to the massive viewing area of it. Maybe in a well lit gig using a tripod from the side of the stage it could be worth playing around with but handheld I think its not a good choice.

You mentioned the 1.8 50mm - probably a boring choice but the 50mm 1.4 would be my choice for low light situations.

eas

Nikkor 85mm/f1.8(I have 50mm 1.8, so maybe i should look for a low ap zoom??)

this is a super lens.......did you see my singature?

maybe that sigma 30mm 1.4 that I keep hearing/reading about?

Oriel

The 10-20mm couldn't be used for gigs without a flash, but great for promo shoots or just general outdoor use.

melekalikimaka

Morlar wrote:

You mentioned the 1.8 50mm - probably a boring choice but the 50mm 1.4 would be my choice for low light situations.

i read that cameras struggle with such shallow DOF and unless you've a d200 or up your camera may struggle, especially with such movement

paudie

I'm using a Sigma 18-50 F2.8 for my gigs and I'm pretty happy with it

melekalikimaka

umm yeah 'id have gone with that, only i have my nikon, high f but sure i can merit a new one with the exact same focal length , kinda like it too

mervifwdc

50 & 85 are too close if that's the only 2 super fast primes you want to carry. Do Nikon do a 135F2 (as per cannon?). They pretty much rock!

Merv.

melekalikimaka

$ 1560.00

tis alot.

silly question: do tele converters work on primes?

edit:yes they do it seems, interesting

mervifwdc

melekalikimaka wrote:

$ 1560.00

tis alot.

silly question: do tele converters work on primes?

edit:yes they do it seems, interesting

actually, the converters work better on primes than zooms!
Merv.

mervifwdc

Oh, and dont knock the multiple flash thing. That can be much more fun as you can use the lens at f5.6/125 SS. This means you can use a cheaper lens......
Merv.

melekalikimaka

flash is generally a no no at gigs so sadly its not much use to me

Roen

440Hz wrote:

I was thinking about this all last week as well... I just gave a list to Dad and decided to let him pick... i reckon "santa" will either bring a sigma 10-20 (been on my list for months now) or a Super 500 DG (or something lighter and nicer if 'santa' is feeling generous). Either way ill be happy. From what you put on your list I would go for the Tamron I think.. like you said handy to have a zoom for lowlight esp if you have a prime already.

Would steer away from the 500 DG, I've used that and a 580ex and there's no comparison, I saw a wedding set photographed with the sigma recently and the indoor shots were seriously underexposed. I'm not sure was it the snapper or the flash, or a combo of both. But that aside the build quality and ergonomics of the thing kind of left me cold.
580 or bust!

mervifwdc

At smaller gigs, they dont even notice flash places at the side of the stage. Gives great shadows.



Merv.

melekalikimaka

i see, lovely shot, your quite the image taker i must say

DotOrg

in this order, for gigs this is what i use:

1) 24-70 f2.8 - the best all round lens for all venue sizes. i use it in venues from dorans to the main stage at glastonbury. can't say enough good things about it

2) 10-22 f3.5-4.5 - great for small venues once you've decent light. brilliant for portraits too

3) 50mm f1.4 - great field of view for most venues and unbeatable low light abilities. it's beter to get a shot with very shallow dof than no shot at all

4) 70-200 f2.8 - stunning lens but only really useful in places the size of the olympia or bigger. good in small venues for facial close ups but the same shot can be got with the 24-70 by just getting closer

hope that helps with your lens decisions

melekalikimaka

how much is the 24-70, is that nikon or sigma, trying to find some info on it at the mo

rymus

24-70 sigma is quite affordable and is a very decent lens.

mloc

win the lotto and get the noct nikkor... yum yum.

or even 28mm f1.4 http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/2814af.htm

seriously tho, you could use a SB600 off stage and use a dark flash trigger... they prob wouldnt really even notice it that much.

DotOrg

at small venues the off camera flash can be good but it only gives one light option really and you run the risk of a roadie/band member standing on it.

fixed lenses are a bit limiting for concert photography really as often the space you have to shoot from is very limited

melekalikimaka

no flash is no flash, wheather they notice or not, if they do its be booted out, and its the manager whom chooses if flash is available and he's usually off the side of the stage.

Rojo

DotOrg wrote:

fixed lenses are a bit limiting for concert photography really as often the space you have to shoot from is very limited

I couldn't agree more!


I have the 50 1.8...

great lense and all, but there's only so much you can do with it before it starts getting a bit repetitive and boring...


I wanna branch out more!

mervifwdc

I think it does come down to "if you have decent light". Big difference in a well lit (enough for photography) gig, and a back room of a pub where the band arrange their lights so they are all back lit with red lights, and the pub lights dont light them at all. I've a few shots from events like that that look like coal miners coming out of hell.

Merv.

Scorlóg

I use a Tamon 28-75 2.8 as my primary lens and it works pretty well for gigs.

One thing I found though is that it searches a bit in low light and often focuses on the wrong part of the exposure. At apertures like that, focusing on something even slightly beside the subject is enough to give you very blurry results (as I found when I got several lovely shots of a cymbol stand but a very blurry drummer last week!). I have also found it to be a bit of a soft lens - always have to sharpen my images before using them. Someone mentioned to me that it is possible to get it calibrated for your camera to sharpen it up though. I haven't looked into that yet as I'd imagine it's an expensive enough job and would require sending both lens and camera away for a while... anyone had this done?

I also use a Canon 10-22 but as DotOrg says, you need good light at gigs - also tends to give funny results if you open it up to the wider angles!

Fajitas!

Sigma 30mm 1.4

Trust me. It's a great gig lens, it works out being a 50mm lens.

I've used the 10-20 for gigs. Grand when your up close enough, light is good enough, and you have a flash wide enough...buuuuut...well you know gigs.

Other than that, I'd say a 24-70 2.8

The sigma is a nice one, but maybe a tad slow on the autofocus. Nikon maybe?

melekalikimaka

Fajitas! wrote:

Sigma 30mm 1.4

Trust me. It's a great gig lens, it works out being a 50mm lens.

I've used the 10-20 for gigs. Grand when your up close enough, light is good enough, and you have a flash wide enough...buuuuut...well you know gigs.

Other than that, I'd say a 24-70 2.8

The sigma is a nice one, but maybe a tad slow on the autofocus. Nikon maybe?

indeed 30mm seems like a good call, but i find 1.8 covers the lighting issue very well...does the 1.4 show a marked improvement?

Fajitas!

Comparing the Canon 50 1.8, which I used a while back, to the Sigma 30 1.4...I'd take the 30 any day. That bit wider, tiny bit faster, and better AF. More solid build too IMO.

AF at 1.4 alone is reason enough.

melekalikimaka

Fajitas! wrote:

Comparing the Canon 50 1.8, which I used a while back, to the Sigma 30 1.4...I'd take the 30 any day. That bit wider, tiny bit faster, and better AF. More solid build too IMO.

AF at 1.4 alone is reason enough.

oh don't get me started on the flimsy 50mm. i've broken 2!!! plastic not so fantastic design is not working for punk and metal concerts whatsoever, metal mount 50mm are few and far between. Realistically I think I might spend the extra bit and rent some of these lens before xmas.

Fajitas!

The Sigma has a metal mount and the EX finish, so it's pretty good as far as wear and tear goes