Great pics!! What cameras are you using??

Hi all.

I'm really impressed with all the great Cat's concert pics floating around the place.

My digital camera (but probably me) takes really crappy shots in bad light, so I was wondering what other cameras you people have been using to take these pics with?

I got 5 months to sort out my camera and my lack of taking good pics. I'm using a Ricoh Caplio R4, 6 meg, 7.1 optical zoom. I guess I should quantify if you're using compact digitals or SLR's as well.

René

I haven't contributed any concert pix, but I can recommend an Olympus E-510 and E-3. I have both and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

Rene-
If you think the problem might be operator error, you've got 5 months to practice, practice practice.
It does take a certain knack to get decent pictures (I don't have it). I don't know if you remember one of Tommy's posts from the other forum, I think he was referencing the county fair concert, where he said he literally sifted through about 700 digital photos to post about 40 some decent ones. I think that's what you're up against.
Take your camera out & start snapping photos of anything (well...almost anything) in different lighting so you're prepared for "the big day."
I bought a "nicer" (not necessarily expensive) camera that uses (gasp) film a few years back. I'm finally to the point where I can get about 3 or 4 *good* pics off a roll of 24 exposure film. It takes a lot of work if you don't have a photographer's eye! Still a few years away from starting my own photography business that's for sure!!!
Can't wait to see photos from down-under..as in Austrailia!!

The other thing is that there are many online tutorials that explain the basics of good photography. Get out there and start poking around and you'll find something that will target your specific area of interest. The main thing is, as has been stated, practice. Get to know your camera, which ever one you choose, and read the instruction manual.

If you have specific questions about photography, let me know and I'll try to help out. Hopefully...

The best photogs will always edit judiciously. By that, I mean, they always shoot hundreds if not thousands of pix hoping to get a few, yes: 1 or 2, really good shots. Here are a few "rules" I've learned over the years:

-1: Get closer, if you can't, then just get closer!
-2: Envision your lighting and the effect on the shot: much easier with today's digicams because you can check the pic right away.
-3: Work to get your subjects attention when you want them to respond to you: Brian is great at working with you, some of his looks during the KC shows are priceless, and aimed right at me. Same for Julie and Spaz!
-4: Did I mention that you should get closer? The less zoom or tele optics you use the better. It's a natural fact!

Remember that not every photo will be "picture perfect" so don't be disappointed if your best angle shot doesn't come out, that's why you always take several stabs at each look you get!

And lastly: GET CLOSER!!!!

Have a nice day!
-Daddio: aka: Eddie Lee

Haha, well my camera phone actually takes better photos than my digital camera!! I generally just take as many photos as I can, there's bound to be some decent ones.. and with photo editting and what not you can still fix up bad lighting or red eyes.. of course manually setting the light and the depth and the focus, would probably produce a better photo if you know what you're doing.. or you can get a camera that does it all for you

For my Photos I used my fathers Kodak P712.
Very Important for me was, that it has an Action Mode with that you can take good photos of moving objects.

Paul

I now use a Canon G-9 if photography is not allowed at a concerts and a Canon 40D if it is. I use a the cheap 35-135mm, f4.5 lens which came packaged with the 40D. I'd love to get the 70-200mm f2.8 Canon lens, for extra zoom and a much brighter f2.8 image. You need press credentials or be shooting a photography allowed event to bring in large cameras with huge lenses. Both cameras have manual modes, allowing me to control the image.

The real trick is learning how to use a digital camera in manual mode. You can make many cameras look good if you can override the auto functions. A spot-lit talent, colored gels over a dark background is enough to mess up most cameras--even the old film models. For indoor, evening, or typical club venue concerts: you should set the camera's white balance to incandescent light (the little light bulb.) Find an ISO/ASA which gives you enough sensitivity but not too much noise/grain (at least 400-800 ISO.) Next, the shutter speed should be set to a minimum of 1/30 or 1/50 of a second. That speed will not freeze motion so be very careful and selective of the moments you snap. A faster shutter speed is safer to freeze motion but don't sacrifice quality by increasing ISO to too high a number like 1600 ISO. Finally, the iris/aperture: this one should be guided by the internal light meter but kept as open as light levels allow. I do sometimes shoot in Canon's TV mode, which runs the iris automatically. Most importantly: TURN THE FLASH OFF! Unless you are media, shooting inside the ropes, flashes are a bit pointless. Normal flashes are good for 3-4 meters or 12 feet. Seeing flashes is distracting to everyone, gets you noticed by security and barely contributes to brightening performers who are farther away than 12 feet. Experiment with the setting and run some tests--digital is a cheap instant gratification.

I have been sneaking cameras into concerts since the '80's and shot my first Stray Cats show at the Hollywood Palladium in 1982. I've photographed Setzer in many configurations, including solo, more times than I could remember. It's always a treat.

Sorry for getting too techie with the photo lesson but hopefully someone takes something helpful away from this topic.

pony65k wrote:

Hi all.

I'm really impressed with all the great Cat's concert pics floating around the place.

My digital camera (but probably me) takes really crappy shots in bad light, so I was wondering what other cameras you people have been using to take these pics with?

I got 5 months to sort out my camera and my lack of taking good pics. I'm using a Ricoh Caplio R4, 6 meg, 7.1 optical zoom. I guess I should quantify if you're using compact digitals or SLR's as well.

René

GRG, I think you forgot, "Get Closer!"...

I rather enjoyed the photo lesson, and I've even cut-n-pasted it to my computer in case somethin' happens to this foum...

Bitin' My Tongue-a-billy

Bring extra cash to the venue so you can "tip" the nice ol' gent who kindly reminds you there's no flash photography when you taking photos of you & your buddies prior to the show.
You'll need to cough up another couple of bills when he gives you the evil eye when you've taken your 3rd unauthorized photo.
You'll have to dig out the "big guns" when he sends you back to your seat because you don't HAVE the aforementioned press pass...and if they have to tell you AGAIN they're gonna take the stinkin' camera away from you...thank you very much, sir!
Finally, when the hall monitor comes over & says, "Look, I've been more than polite, but you CAN'T take any more photos!" You'll offer up a shiny $100 for him to look the other way while you run up front to get "the shot of the year" of The Brian, and then PROMISE to stop!

Practice alot, GET CLOSER, and bring cash!

Daddio wrote:

GRG, I think you forgot, "Get Closer!"...

I actually prefer a longer lens and to zoom in to the action. I prefer the candid, photo-journalistic, dramatic, non-posed image. A telephoto lens compresses the background, shallows the depth-of-field and crops out much of the unwanted details. You should try to get close but not too close. If you are right by the stage, the subject is on a raised platform so you may be shooting up the talent's nose. Wide angle lenses can get you some amazing and artistic photos but you may also be seeing a lot of stage elements like the lighting rigs in the rafters. When sneaking in a camera you can usually bring in only one lens. My choice is to always bring a telephoto but that's a personal preference.

One VERY important tip I'd neglected to bestow upon you is to TURN OFF the DIGITAL ZOOM in your camera. Only use the optical portion of the zoom. The digital zoom blurs the picture and fools you into thinking that you are getting closer. Digital zooming is like placing a magnifying lens over a TV screen. You see the RGB dots but loose the details of the picture. You are much better of cropping in post.

/lurk off


Hi all, and hi René! Just couldn't resist jumping into this thread. I used a Nikon D70 with a 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G lens at the Senigallia and Paris shows. I had no choice but to shoot at 1600 ISO and still got a lot of blur (in addition to ISO noise) because of how active the guys are. Tommy Maguire went out of his way to get me photo passes to allow me to shoot at these two shows, which was an incredible opportunity, and being able to shoot from directly in front of the stage makes a big difference. Some of the shots weren't half bad. I have just finally been able to go through all of the Senigallia shots and posted 55 of them to flickr, along with a few from the Cats in Paris and some of Hot Rod Lincoln opening for them:


Cats in Senigallia http://flickr.com/photos/andihazelwood/sets/72157607228665119/
Cats in Paris http://flickr.com/photos/andihazelwood/sets/72157607155031354/
HRL in Paris http://flickr.com/photos/andihazelwood/sets/72157607198273093/

I second everything Good Rockin' Greg has said. I've come to realise that if you really and truly want to do great concert photography you need very long, fast glass (which is very expensive) in addition to the photo pass. Otherwise, finding the best quality and smallest point and shoot that money can buy and chaining yourself to the front row is your best option - if, as previously mentioned, it has manual settings and you learn how to use them, you can produce shots that are nearly as good as any DSLR. I suggest using the features search at DPReview.com to find the camera that suits your needs: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare.asp


Good luck and keep the great photos coming, everyone.

Andi

/ lurk back on

Fantastic job, Andi! The pictures you took demonstrate a convergence of all of the principles previously discussed better than anything (a picture's worth a thousand words?...). Close-up, good glass, knowledge of the particular camera, etc.

Well done!

Let me also mention this site for further research: http://www.steves-digicams.com/

Great shots Andi!

Yes, it's nearly impossible to freeze Slim Jim's drum sticks in an indoor setting, with current technology. With modern DSLRs, you can definitely get away with more, as long as you don't blow up the image too much. I talk to guys shooting sports for Getty Images, and they are able to snap 1/1000, at night, with just stadium lighting. They are of course using f2.8 lenses, ISOing to 6400, using monopods, and are tweaking in post. It also helps that their images can be fairy small for newspapers or magazines. It just takes some experimentation, experience, learning your gear and it's limitations. Then you can start getting creative. But as you know, access has it's privileges.

One more tip for the rest of the cats: snapping multi frames is highly recommended. The photos I shared in the Setzer Zone were snapped using a 6.5 frames per second mode. I popped as many as 15 frames per sequence. Some were blurry but others looked decent. Just use as fast a frame rate as you can, even if it's only 2 frames per second, you'll get lucky more often. Just watch your memory card or bring extras.

GRG

andi wrote:

I used a Nikon D70 with a 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G lens at the Senigallia and Paris shows.

Hello again Andi,

Just noticed that your lens, just as mine, starts of as a f3.5 but becomes an f5.6 when zoomed in all the way. That is probably contributing to the lack of shutter speed you would need to freeze some of the motion. I'm sure you are completely aware of that though I didn't see anything objectionable in your shots. The posted images looked sharp.

Do tell how you obtained the photo pass? Was it a barter deal for shots?

I see you also covered the Hootenanny. Very cool!

I snapped some shots with my 1979 Nikon FM film camera, with 105mm and 50mm lenses back in 2003. I had no press credentials so it was a free-for-all from the crowd. I remember it being blistering hot. The stage was terribly back-lit and I had no motor drive. I scanned, cropped and Photoshoped my way to these mediocre shots:

http://members.cox.net/edit/index.htm

I LOVE DIGITAL so much more than film!

GRG

Good Rockin' Greg wrote:

andi wrote:

I used a Nikon D70 with a 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G lens at the Senigallia and Paris shows.

Hello again Andi,

Just noticed that your lens, just as mine, starts of as a f3.5 but becomes an f5.6 when zoomed in all the way. That is probably contributing to the lack of shutter speed you would need to freeze some of the motion. I'm sure you are completely aware of that though I didn't see anything objectionable in your shots. The posted images looked sharp.

Do tell how you obtained the photo pass? Was it a barter deal for shots?

I see you also covered the Hootenanny. Very cool!

I snapped some shots with my 1979 Nikon FM film camera, with 105mm and 50mm lenses back in 2003. I had no press credentials so it was a free-for-all from the crowd. I remember it being blistering hot. The stage was terribly back-lit and I had no motor drive. I scanned, cropped and Photoshoped my way to these mediocre shots:

http://members.cox.net/edit/index.htm

I LOVE DIGITAL so much more than film!

GRG

I just sold all of my old film stuff, and it broke my heart to see what it was worth... Gottta agree with you, though, digital is the only way to go! Just got the Olympus E-3 and it has turned out to be a fabulous camera, although, there was nothing wrong with the E-510 (I still have it).

Kiki wrote:

I just sold all of my old film stuff, and it broke my heart to see what it was worth... Gottta agree with you, though, digital is the only way to go! Just got the Olympus E-3 and it has turned out to be a fabulous camera, although, there was nothing wrong with the E-510 (I still have it).

I completely agree. Film cameras were great and lasted for ever. I still have that 1979 Nikon FM and it works. With digital, we enter the computer game of latest & greatest. Every six months the manufacturers release major upgrades to their digital gear and completely devalue year old cameras. I've gone through 5 digital cameras in the last five years. This was never quite so noticeable with film gear.

Digital camera's ability to give you instant gratification by showing you what you've photographed is invaluable. I've become I better photographer because I can see what I get and make instant adjustments. What joy! The closest I'd ever gotten to this work-flow is when I had a Hasselblad camera with a Polaroid film back. The image it made was 2.25 inches square, cost about a dollar per shot and was of a different ASA/ISO than the film. You'd have to do plenty of math to transpose the exposure values from Polaroid to film, and you had to shake it (for a minute) like a Polaroid picture. My apologies for that horrible pun. Everyone can be a better shooter because it's so much easier and cheaper now. I do miss the occasional all nighter in the darkroom, push processing film and solorizing those 8X10's. No, I actually don't. Give me Photoshop any day.

GRG

One of the cameras that I sold was 40 years old...yep, I said it...40. The rest of the stuff was slightly newer, but still working.

When it became apparent that I was allergic to the darkroom chemicals, it was a real heartbreak. Then along came Photoshop and there I was back in the digital darkroom! I LOVE it! I always make sure that I have the latest and greatest version because we use it for work, too.

I think Adobe has a new Creative Suite coming out the end of September...

Hey Andi.

Great pics!!!! I'm suffering from an info overload at the moment. I'm used to post things on forums and getting one or two replies. On the BS forums I get 2 pages worth!!! That says a lot about the great people in these forums, so thank you all very much.

René

PS Andi. When you get a change, I'd like to add you my Myspace page, so if you wouldn't mind posting me? http://www.myspace.com/pony65k

I made this one with a Nikon Coolpix 995. About 6 years old. Need a new one soon....