ART Taking pictures at shows/concerts

[dew]

my friend is paying me to take pics for his band and i need some new equipment. I have a 20D, what would be ideal for taking pictures of his band/shows

 

[mobbarley]

1d mkiii...

Any reasonable lens that is fast-ish should be fine, just choose focal length depending on the stage and your access.


efs 17-55 2.8 is.
tamron 28-75 2.8.
tamron 17-50 2.8.

If you are game and want primes:
ef 24 2.8
ef 35 f2
ef 50 f1.8/4
ef 85 f1.8
are all good deals

 

[19Godfather86]

On the cheap, a 50mm 1.8 does the job. Frankly, you're just going to need light.

 

[dew]

On the cheap, a 50mm 1.8 does the job. Frankly, you're just going to need light.

so what do i do about lighting?

 

[Derrict]

1d mkiii...

Any reasonable lens that is fast-ish should be fine, just choose focal length depending on the stage and your access.


efs 17-55 2.8 is.
tamron 28-75 2.8.
tamron 17-50 2.8.

If you are game and want primes:
ef 24 2.8
ef 35 f2
ef 50 f1.8/4
ef 85 f1.8
are all good deals

I'd suggest the primes if you don't want to use flash. You'll want to shoot wide open at 1600 or 3200 ISO to get a decent shutter speed. It'll vary depending on the available lighting, which will vary at each venue. Use a UV filter since you'll probably get sweat and various shit flying at you, so protect the lens.

 

[eWRXshun]

On the cheap, a 50mm 1.8 does the job. Frankly, you're just going to need light.

50 is way too big. i've got a 50 f/1.4 and the one time i went to a friend's band's gig, the magnification was way too much. i used my EF-S 17-85 90% of the time and settled for turning the ISO up to compensate for the slower lens.

unless his friend's band is actually on a stage and he's standing ground level, the 50 will be too much, IMO.

 

[19Godfather86]

so what do i do about lighting?

You're going to want to use ambient lighting. Otherwise, it'll look all flashy and ugly. If it's really, really dark, you could also diffuse a flash into the ceiling, or if you have wireless capabilities, put a couple of flashes on either side of the stage, also diffused to the ceiling.

Oh, and about the 50mm being too long, it really depends. Sometimes I wish I had something wider, but most of the time I'm actually wishing had something longer, like a 70-200 2.8. Either way, you're gonna need fast glass, and the 50 is bang for buck, as far as I'm concerned. Too long or too short depends on the venue, but I think it's a workable focal length.

 

[joy division]

50 is way too big. i've got a 50 f/1.4 and the one time i went to a friend's band's gig, the magnification was way too much. i used my EF-S 17-85 90% of the time and settled for turning the ISO up to compensate for the slower lens.

unless his friend's band is actually on a stage and he's standing ground level, the 50 will be too much, IMO.

my typical set up is 35 and 50 ...used both on crop and ff cams...but I have full access to the bands.


is that robert smith up there? fuck he got fat!