gig camera? (Page 1 of 2)

Hey David,

I just recently left the world of point and shoot cameras and entered into the world of Digital SLR cameras. I too was having problems with shots that I took at venues turning out the way I wanted. Now, I didn't take a really deep plunge, but more of an extry level Canon Digital SLR. Here's the one I just purchased:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Digital-Cam … hisProduct

I did have a Canon PowerShot previously and it most certainly served it's purpose, but after about 6,700 photos I decided I wanted to upgrade a bit. I've already taken a few pictures with the new camera and am happy to report a huge difference in detail with this new one. I'm looking forward to really testing it at a show soon. I'll also be purchasing an additional lens, a telephoto one, for this new camera and I think for cost sake, this is the one I'll be buying:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-55-250mm-4- … hisProduct

So at least now, you'll have one opinion for what it's worth. 

Roy

You can't go wrong with a Cannon Ixus series. Am a little biased, as i have one. Good price, easy to use, nice pictures.... what more do you need!

Taking pictures at gigs is always difficult. Getting the lighting settings right is an art in itself!
~ Brack ~

Hi David, I have a Canon DSLR 400D (Rebel in the states). I binned the standard lens pretty quickly as I needed a more flexible lens. I went for the Sigma 18 - 200 which is a pretty good all round lens for the money although a little slow on zoom. You need to pay big bucks for fast glass at this end of the scale. I also have a Sigma 10-20 wide angle lens which is absolutely brilliant for indoor and landscapes.
I also have a Canon Ixus 75, which I use in a housing for underwater shots and video. It's also great for concert video when the goons insist on you putting the SLR away (most venues will prevent you taking an SLR into a gig these days unless you have a photo pass, and even then limit you to three songs).
Martin is right, you're best setting the camera on manual and adjusting aperture and speed to get the best results. Slight underexposure tends to give the best results. High ISO numbers are possible on later cameras, but in reality some noise is not that much of a problem for "arty" concert shots.

Thanks for all the replies. Thanks too to Sandy (samjp4) who emailed me with lots of useful tips and info. It's been very helpful and made me focus more on what I really want.

I've come to realise that all this isn't quite as simple as I'd thought. I now see that to take top quality photos I would need a DSLR but after some hard thinking I'm not going to go down that route because...

a) the cost  (if you moved the decimal point one place to the left on the price of the Nikon D700 it would then be in my budget area    )
b) I want something I can slip in my pocket
c) the issue of not being allowed into many gigs with a DSLR without a photo pass

All I really want to do is take some snaps to remind me of the gigs I've been to and to put up on the web to share with people on the Forum etc. Also, when I come back from a gig I like to change my desktop background to one of the photos I've taken so we're not talking highest quality.

I think that the Canon I was looking at is probably a bit TOO basic so what I'm thinking of now is a Fuji Finepix F200EXR. It seems the camera has been designed specifically for coping reasonably well with low light situations and has a special mode for just the sort of thing as gigs. Review here :

http://www.trustedreviews.com/digital-c … 200-EXR/p3

I haven't finally made up my mind yet but I want to buy the camera before the Oli Brown/Billy Walton gig on the 28th . I'll give the camera its maiden outing there and report back.

Well, it looks like we listeners are sliding down the chute towards the players on the forum and the deadly GAS has been contracted. I don't think there is a cure once you've been bitten. 

Good luck, more toys are in store. (wish I had a better lens) 

Rick

Well, Ian, the old saw says "the man that dies with the most toys wins" Working towards that winning zone. 

When you're gone, who cares! 
Tap an angel on the shoulder and ask if you won.

Ohhhh. You should read the gear thread. GAS stands for Gear Acquisition Syndrome. The insatiable need to buy more and more pedals, carbs, wahs, cables, etc. searching for that perfect tone. Poor devils buy a git and a basic amp, then embark on the search for the Holy Grail of tone. VERY expensive hobby. The same holds true for photography. Questing for the perfect camera and lens combo, then video, and on forever chasing the magic pixel. 

Rick