concert photography & my wide angle lens...

lovepink_xo

i am photographing 2 concerts at the end of this week. i recently got a wide angle lens but i have yet to take it to gigs with me.
would i be able to use it (the aperture only goes down to f4) and get good results, or would i be better leaving it at home? ill be taking the 50 1.8 too
im not sure if its worth bringing. i dont think i can mention the venues here but they are pretty big and have decent lighting

Calina

I actually think that unless you are practically on stage, a wide angle is unlikely to be much use to you at a gig....How wide are we talking?

Also f4....maybe with very high ISO but I wouldn't depend on it.

Isar

Who's playing? I don't think f4 would do you any good, neither would a wide angle. The 50mm would be your best shot. I'm shooting a concert as well now in november a friend of me is playing. I was hoping to get a f2.8 lens.

Beef

The only upside to a true wide angle - is that you could really bring your shutter speed down (handheld) and get some cool effects. Other than that - fast glass!

smelltheglove

I did a gig with a kit lense (no choice) on the weekend hoping flash would be allowed. It wasn't. Still some alright shots. If your iso is good the 4 may do you. You can look at my flickr if you like. ISO 800. only first 3 songs and lighting was low on them, the white lights didnt come in until the end of the thrid song, but I'm still happy ith the results as it was my first big one.

I would have preferred a 1.4 and my lense only went to 55 and it was great. Also they play to the camera, they came so close I nearly got headbutted so you dont want to have a big zoom if you will be close.

lovepink_xo

i have a photo pass for them both so i will be at the very front of the stage, just bored of using the 50mm all the time i wanted to try something different. i was gonna bump my iso to 1600 but i still dont think it will turn out good. im just hitting myself on the head now, why didnt i go for the 2.8 wide angle..argh.
Isar...not allowed talk about it on the forums (see sticky thread) but theyre a pretty well known band

sasar

Wide angle can work great on stage. See if you can borrow tokina 11-16 2.8 as f/4 might not be enough.

melekalikimaka

i've shot most venues big and small, and find the 50mm is best all rounder tbh

Bui

Being honest, f4 at ISO 1600 you're just not going to get great shots... and if you get stuck with first three/no flash you could end up in trouble at f4 - don't do it! Try working a little harder to get some different angles and perspectives with your 50mm; do you have anything else faster?

DotOrg

i use the canon 10-22mm at gigs normally at f3.5 and it's fantastic. turn the iso up. a bit of noise is far better than no shot at all

pete4130

If the stage is tall or your not right up against it, wide is a let down. Somewhere where its near ground level/knee height is perfect. I shoot everything at gigs, from 16mm fisheye, 14-24mm, 24-70,50mm, 80-200 and 105 to get a bit of variation. pain in the ass changing lenses but I've got it down to an art these days. Once the crowd isn't too wild you should be ok.

Here are some wide (either Sigma 15mm 2.8fisheye or 15mm on Sigma 15-30mm 3.5-4.5 lens). I did have the ISO cranked up to 3200 though. Shoot in RAW and you'll be able to pull some of that back too if you underexpose a little.

Borderfox

DotOrg wrote: »

i use the canon 10-22mm at gigs normally at f3.5 and it's fantastic. turn the iso up. a bit of noise is far better than no shot at all

I would agree, turn it up. I have no hesitation in turning the ISO all the way up to get a shot. If its the 17-40 f4 then you can go all the way down to 1/10- 1/5th of a second and still get sharp surroundings but blurred musicans

Isar

is it gorgoroth?

0utpost31

Pete did you use a flash for those shots?

smelltheglove

I'm guessing since you mentioned sticky it was similar to mine. No flash allowed. I used ISO 800 wish I could have gone 400 but hey what can you do. What camera are you using? Maybe you can borrow second body and go with both...... if not seriously 50mm will be grand I reckon. If you would be happy woth shots similar to my ones on flickr then you could go with the kit too.

pete4130

0utpost31 wrote: »

Pete did you use a flash for those shots?

I'm lucky enough to be able to get away with not using flash with my camera. It's hish ISO capabilities are really good and handle noise extremely well (I'm lucky enough to shoot with a D3). In saying that they aren't without noise/hot pixels in the darker areas when viewed at 100%.
It's about timing too, waiting for the lighting to work in your favour and hitting the shutter in time with the brighter lights (hopefully they have a dynamic/varying light set up and not static lights the entire show!).
I shoot with a D3

lovepink_xo

yeah im not allowed flash and just the first 3 songs. the iso on my camera only goes to 1600 but even at that - the pictures look horrible. sometimes i think noise can work but the photos were just completely ruined because of it. i think i will just bring the 50 1.8 until i get a faster wide lens. i think im just bored of the fixed focus lenses now..

lovepink_xo

pete4130 wrote: »

I'm lucky enough to be able to get away with not using flash with my camera. It's hish ISO capabilities are really good and handle noise extremely well (I'm lucky enough to shoot with a D3). In saying that they aren't without noise/hot pixels in the darker areas when viewed at 100%.
It's about timing too, waiting for the lighting to work in your favour and hitting the shutter in time with the brighter lights (hopefully they have a dynamic/varying light set up and not static lights the entire show!).
I shoot with a D3

your photos are amazing. i cant believe they were shot at 3200, im only using a 450d but at iso 1600 my pictures have too much noise. i actually had a look at the nikon D3 a few weeks ago and i loved it.

homerun_homer

lovepink_xo wrote: »

your photos are amazing. i cant believe they were shot at 3200, im only using a 450d but at iso 1600 my pictures have too much noise. i actually had a look at the nikon D3 a few weeks ago and i loved it.

Do you have a flickr or any examples of your photos on the web? I have a Canon 400d and have the 50mm f1.8 and have loved it at the concerts I have used it at. The fixed length is annoying but when you can make the shot work it doesn't really matter.
Also, I use 1600 ISO a lot of the time and it can generate some annoying noise, but when the lighting is good enough it tends not to be as noticeable.
First time I photographed a concert with this Canon I used the Kit lense (18-55) and an f4 70-200. The f4 only worked because it was outdoors and there was a lot of ambient light to help get the shots. I don't think f4 would suit you indoors.

melekalikimaka

with kit lens





ignore compostition please...was early stuff. This was done at an outdoor gig, at night but very well lit.

Its all down to light at the end of the day, it will influence to photo more than focal lenght, so you need to see what it there and work off that


these are with iso up to full,

think noise ninjaed tho