Concert Photography, please critique!

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

11/16/2004 10:57:03 AM · #1

The weekend before the music challenge was announced, I was in Whitby taking about 1500 photos of a world music festival. Bah!!
Anyway, I've put some of them up here:
//www.SoundOfColour.com/WhitbyMusicport2004
Comments would be appreciated, especially which ones would be worth putting into my portfolio. It took ages to PP these photos, as the noise levels were really high from using my FZ10 at ISO 200... I'm definitely looking into a DSLR!

soup

Canon EOS-30D

11/16/2004 11:13:23 AM · #2

on the noise subject - i'm not sure where everyone gets the idea Dslr is 'virtually' noise free. i rarely shoot above ISO 400 - as the noise gets apparent above that...

nice photos BTW.

11/16/2004 11:24:25 AM · #3

Thanks!
I'll bet the noise at ISO1600 on a DSLR is WAY better than my FZ10 at ISO200 though.

GoldBerry

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

11/16/2004 11:25:27 AM · #4

Great shots :-) they look 'smooth' from the PP but it doesn't look overdone. Really nice work (esp. considering the equipment!!!!!!).

I never shoot over ISO 400, and that's in desparate times. I generally keep it to 100 or 200 for low light.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

11/16/2004 11:29:54 AM · #5

Hmm... am I deluded in thinking that a DSLR will help me get better concert shots? Many of these were taken at 440mm focal length (35mm equivalent) at F2.8 (love that Leica lens on the FZ10).
I won't be able to afford a really fast lens for a DSLR, so I'd be looking at F5.6 at the same focal length instead... and therefore using a higher ISO. Would I actually end up with shots that were just as noisy?

bod

11/16/2004 11:33:52 AM · #6

There are very few online galleries that can hold my attention long enough to keep clicking next, but I'm still going on this one (it does end sometime doesn't it?) and enjoying every shot.

Highlights so far are the backgrounds on the first couple of artists - were they not tough to meter for?
BakaBeyond16 - great sense of movement with the tassly things.
The first DuOud shot - crisp lines and great composition.
And the first Geno Washington shot - the look of joy on his face pretty much sums up music, and judging by the other shots this guy is a nutter!

When's the next festival so we can see some more?!

deapee

Kodak V803

11/16/2004 11:41:20 AM · #7

They're all great shots. I don't think a dslr would have helped you too much as they already look wonderful. Personally, at this point anyway, the camera probably does a better job at picking its settings than I could -- but that's just me. Maybe down the road when I have a more firm grasp on things.

Usually everyone who has a DSLR would take their P&S to a concert like that anyway because all their gear is so bulky. I've seen people on here with 10d's and the likes winning a challenge with their p&s because sometimes they're just easier to carry or whatever.

good pics.

11/16/2004 11:42:09 AM · #8

Thanks for the comments, you'll have to wait a whole year for the next one! I've been to a lot of festivals this year (Glastonbury, Womad (Reading), Womad (Eden Project)... and this one was the best in many ways, the atmosphere was magical. The pavillion that the festival is based in is right by the beach and this year it was warm enough to take a break and stand at the sea's edge at night.
Geno Washington was quite a character, and the music was fabulous. The highlight was Baka Beyond though, an incredibly uplifting and inspirational group of people. I highly recommend this festival!

Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f2.8D

11/16/2004 11:46:04 AM · #9

Originally posted by deapee:

If these shots look good, it's because I've spent ages getting rid of the noise in each one. I'm really hoping a DSLR will cut down this job for me... also I will find it really hard to print large copies of these photos without the noise appearing... I want a DSLR so I can publish concert photos if and when I need to. I don't use automatic settings on any of these shots, that would not give me good looking photos as it's quite hard to use matrix metering or spot metering in an accurate way under these conditions, and I really don't have a problem with carrying lots of camera kit for concert photography... it's what I want to do professionally.

Koriyama

Nikon D200

11/16/2004 11:49:48 AM · #10

Really great shots! You've done a wonderful job in capturing the character of each performer very well. Congratulations.

As for the noise/ DSLR question, one aspect which hasn't come up in this thread yet is the sensor size. Your is still a relatively small sensor, so the noise levels will be higher at the same iso. I can't give exact equivalents (ask Gordon for that), but you'll get a better shot with a DSLR. Having said that, I'm not that crazy about the D70's noise levels when using a longer shutter speed.

soup

Canon EOS-30D

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

11/16/2004 11:50:00 AM · #11

this was taken at ISO 1600 - f:1.8 - 1/40th with canon 50mm f:1.8
it's a 100% crop - unedited.
it's also not my best work ;}

Message edited by author 2004-11-16 11:50:46.

doctornick

Apple iPhone 13 Pro

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

11/16/2004 12:04:40 PM · #12

All of the photos here were taken at ISO 1600 with a 300mm f/4L IS lens and a 1.4x II Teleconverter, giving an effective (35mm) focal length of 546mm f/5.6 One pass through Noise Ninja only.

11/16/2004 12:24:24 PM · #13

Thanks for the comments and examples!

riotspyne

Nikon D80

11/16/2004 12:26:22 PM · #14

thanks bobster these were fun to look at, i really like calwilliams4 and athena12

kat

mariomel

Canon EOS-5D

11/16/2004 12:37:22 PM · #15

Bob, personally, I think those shots are EXCELLENT! But I do agree with you that we are seeing small versions and that these might be difficult to print at larger sizes.

Here is a small gallery of shots taken with my DRebel and Canon 50mm 1.8 last year. I was on stage for all but the first image, so these were taken by friends using my camera. I don't recall the settings (I'll look them up when I get home) but I wanted to keep it simple for my non-photographer friends, so I probably pumped the ISO up to 800 or 1600 to ensure that they would get good shutter speeds.

11/16/2004 12:50:10 PM · #16

Thanks again for the comments!
Mario, the quality of those shots is superb, the quality of the colours are fantastic. Yep, I really need a DSLR! Incidentally, I can't think why you weren't in my favourites, I love your photos. Remedied now!

mariomel

Canon EOS-5D

11/17/2004 01:03:59 AM · #17

Originally posted by BobsterLobster:

Thanks again for the comments!
Mario, the quality of those shots is superb, the quality of the colours are fantastic. Yep, I really need a DSLR!

Thanks Bob!

Here is a link to one of the images. Click on the photo on my site to see the full size image: ISO 800 f/2 1/60sec using 50mm 1.8 and DRebel
//mariomelillo.com/gallery/JCLive/CRW_1374_001

Hope this helps you decide.

Message edited by author 2004-11-17 12:32:46.

mariomel

Canon EOS-5D

11/17/2004 12:33:52 PM · #18

Originally posted by BobsterLobster:

Incidentally, I can't think why you weren't in my favourites, I love your photos. Remedied now!

Thanks. I guess I generally try to keep a low profile. Mostly by not winning many ribbons. LOL!

Message edited by author 2004-11-17 12:34:10.

suemack

Canon EOS-20D

11/17/2004 12:52:17 PM · #19

Superb concert shots....found it impossible to pick a favourite, there's too many great images to choose from!

What camera mode/settings did you use Bob? I took some concert pics recently and it was very different from what I expected, a lot of fun but I had problems with the lack of light/slow shutter speed. Want to go out now and try again.

sue

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

11/17/2004 03:19:04 PM · #20

Originally posted by mariomel:

Originally posted by BobsterLobster:
Incidentally, I can't think why you weren't in my favourites, I love your photos. Remedied now!

Thanks. I guess I generally try to keep a low profile. Mostly by not winning many ribbons. LOL!

Thanks for your examples, I hope I get a DSLR soon!

Sue, I think for the most part I set my camera to manual and went for the widest aperture and slowest shutter speed I thought I could get away with. It helps that the FZ10 has image stabilising and F2.8 throughout the zoom range so in many ways it is perfect for concert photography.
If there are any you're particularly interested in, let me know and I'll tell you what the settings were. The ISO was 200 on all of them, which resulted in pretty high noise levels. 400 would be unusable.

neesa108

Canon EOS-20D

11/17/2004 03:36:39 PM · #21

Really gorgeous shots, Bobster. Would love to see how they print - have you printed any yet? At what size do you start to see any noise? Thanks for the link!