Some time ago there was a great thread about the cameras IORR members use to get the great pix that appear here. I've tried looking for it but couldn't find it.

I'm looking for a smallish camera that I can get into gigs and get high quality photos.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-10-05 14:09 by Silver Dagger.

With this camera:



I filmed this clip:


video: [youtu.be]

U2 - Vertigo (Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam)

[www.iorr.org]

[www.iorr.org]

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Nice one chaps.

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Silver Dagger
Nice one chaps.

Which one?

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Oh, haven't decided yet. There's a lot of choices there. And some are now older models so will have to do some more detective work but it's a good start.

i dont have a compact camera, i have an slr, but know a lot about photography.

for a concert setting, it is taken for granted that the subjects you want to photograph ie the band members will be quite far away and need a bit of zooming in, for an slr anything less than a 200mm lens probably woudnt be adequate enough. so what ever compact gives you maximum zoom as well as the wider angle view for more panoramic pics.

a main problem of concerts will be low light and in most circumstances even the strongest flash woudnt suffice. getting a camera with a high ISO number will be an advantage as that represents the amount of light the sensor takes in, using a lower ISO records less light and produces the best results but if a higher ISO is needed because of lowlight then you may incur noise on the final image, but at least the photo will be more correctly exposed.

using a large F number means using a smaller aperture which focuses the photo more and is always encouraged for landscapes and panoramic views but in a concert setting it would mean letting less light into the lense when you really need more, so obviously you need a smaller F number which opens the lense up more but trades off the amount of the photo which will be in focus, your best shots would probably mean shooting with maximum zoom, which also closes the amount of light entering the lense, but use maximum ISO or less if you can, and try not to open the aperture too much if you can still get enough light into the lense.

use the available ambient light that you can and it might help you to use lower ISO settings and close the aperture more for better focused shots.

also the shutter speed is important, too fast and it dosent let enough light in, and too slow and you get blurred pictures.

better to practice in low light for various scenarios before you go to the concert, if you get a day gig and its sunny its much easier to expose the photos using the sunlight, and then you can use lower ISO numbers and smaller aperture(higher F number) which focuses more of the photo, and higher shutter speeds which freezes movement, reducing blur.

hope that helps.

Thanks for that buttons67.

I'd like to know what camera BV currently uses and his pix are pretty good. BV - are you there?

I use a Sony RX100 M2. The Sony RX100 series is generally regarded as the best point and shoot camera around. Since I enjoy concert photography as a hobby I decided to get one (since most places don't allow detachable lenses) and it has been fantastic. I highly recommend it! Here were my pics from the July 1st Stones show in Raleigh:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/22325412@N04/albums/72157653030392933



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-10-06 19:09 by JGav.

Sonys RX-100 series is great if you don't need to zoom in a lot. The fantastic image quality (for a compact camera) comes partly from the lens but mainly from the large sensor. But a large sensor also means a small crop factor means low zoom range. Mk1 und Mk2 of the camera have 28-100mm zoom (eq. to full format), Mk3 and Mk4 have 24-70mm.

So if you normally buy tickets close to the stage, a RX-100 is highly recommended, if you need to zoom in more from further back seats, maybe look for something with a bigger zoom range.

Thanks firebird but I'd prefer a camera with a decent zoom as not always possible to get near to the stage. What do you recommend with up to 200mm zoom?

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JGav
I use a Sony RX100 M2. The Sony RX100 series is generally regarded as the best point and shoot camera around. Since I enjoy concert photography as a hobby I decided to get one (since most places don't allow detachable lenses) and it has been fantastic. I highly recommend it! Here were my pics from the July 1st Stones show in Raleigh:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/22325412@N04/albums/72157653030392933

Wow - some cool pix there JGav.

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Silver Dagger
Thanks firebird but I'd prefer a camera with a decent zoom as not always possible to get near to the stage. What do you recommend with up to 200mm zoom?

Sorry for the delay, i didn't see your question...

I'm not sure if i should give recommendations here because I am not really into compact cameras. I could help you more when it comes to DSLRs...

Anyway, I think i could give you some hints as they apply for all kinds of cameras. First off, sensor size is most important for image quality and thats because you can't cheat physics. Bigger size simply means more light on the sensor. But bigger sensor size also means bigger lens are neccessary and on top of this, the more zoom range you want, the bigger the lens have to be. There is a reason, why you see pros use those big bulky lenses on their DSLRs.

This is why there are two types of compact cameras, the ones with big sensors (like the Sony RX100 line) and small zoom range and the ones with small sensors and huge zoom range. It is physically not possible to build a camera with a big sensor and big zoom range which is still compact. Better sonsors and lens may change that in the future but right now thats the way it is.

There is a lot of cameras with big sensors up to 100mm zoom and a lot of cameras with smaller sensors with more than 600mm zoom but not much in between. Maybe the market for that third kind of compact camera isn't big enough, I don't know.

So if you say you want a compact camera with zoom range of at least 200mm you will have to go the "small sensor/more than 600mm" way.

In this category i would recommend not to look for the highest resolution, since for the same sensor size this means less light per pixel as the pixels are smaller. Maybe look for a 12 MP camera.
Then of cause the lens is important. Look for a F-number as low as possible. The F-number gives you an indication how much of the light passes through the lens to finally reach the sensor. F1:1.8 like in the Sony RX-100 is great, but in large zoom cameras you will find more like F1:3.5 . Also the F-number is normally given in a range, for example F1:3.5-6. This means the lens has F1:3.5 at wide angle and F1:6 at the maximum zoom range. If you do lots of shots at the long zoom end, that second value of the given range is maybe more important for you than the first. Anyway, both values should be as low as possible
Another thing is, that the camera should have a good image stabilization. This is especially important for shots with long zoom and in low light conditions like in a concert.
Also a good and fast autofocus system is needed for the same kind of conditions.

If i were in the market i would probably be looking at the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TZ70. Zoom range is 24-720 mm, F3.3-6.4 lens made by Leica, 12MP sensor, the image stabilization and autofocus get very good reviews. It also has a electronic viewfinder which helps in bright light when you can see nothing on the LCD-panel (imagine the sun shining from behind you, you can just guess whats on the LCD). Other nice features are HD video recording (stereo microphone) and WIFI.

On final word on zoom range and image quality. Image quality degrades when using the extrem zoom setting (less sharpness, more color fringing and so on), so it is usually not a good idea to use the whole zoom range. If you stay under 400mm with a camera that offers, say, 720mm and crop the image later on the computer you will get better results than using the whole 720mm.

Firebird - many thanks for the information. Much appreciated.

With quality pocketable 30x cameras like the HX series (HX60 for around €250 these days or the newer/more compact HX90 for €400) there's really little reason not to get one if you're into concerts. True the sensor is not as good as the one of the RX series but unless you're into pixel peeping or poster printing you'll be fine. Besides with a zoom like that there's no need to crop later.

I took some wonderful pictures with my Sony HX20 20x, here are some from last year :



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IORR Links : Essential Studio Outtakes CDs : Audio - History of Rarest Outtakes : Audio

Great pix gotdablouse.

How about Ricoh THETA?
[theta360.com]
video: [www.youtube.com]

I want to take some pictures at the European gigs this year. I'm wondering if it is worth buying something like a Sony RX100 when I already own an iPhone 7. My guess is that given the low light situations at concerts the RX1000 with it's bigger censor will take better pictures. What do you guys think?

I agree with the above post, I have a Sony camera, exceptional photos ( and video)

What kind of Sony camera do you have, midimannz? I'm trying to decide between the rx100 (bigger censor/more detail) and the hx90vb (much better optical zoom, which might be useful at concerts).

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MonkeyMan2000
What kind of Sony camera do you have, midimannz? I'm trying to decide between the rx100 (bigger censor/more detail) and the hx90vb (much better optical zoom, which might be useful at concerts).

Good question...
I'd go for the hx90vb...
The rx100 with a 8x zoom would have beaten it IMO, but x2.9 is way not enough

And what setting do you guys use with a Sony RX 100?

Thanks a lot!

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Doc

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MonkeyMan2000
What kind of Sony camera do you have, midimannz? I'm trying to decide between the rx100 (bigger censor/more detail) and the hx90vb (much better optical zoom, which might be useful at concerts).

Good question...
I'd go for the hx90vb...
The rx100 with a 8x zoom would have beaten it IMO, but x2.9 is way not enough

Just checked, the newer models of the rx100 series don't have a better zoom either... Thanks for the help, I'll probably go for the hx90vb.

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MonkeyMan2000

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Doc

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MonkeyMan2000
What kind of Sony camera do you have, midimannz? I'm trying to decide between the rx100 (bigger censor/more detail) and the hx90vb (much better optical zoom, which might be useful at concerts).

Good question...
I'd go for the hx90vb...
The rx100 with a 8x zoom would have beaten it IMO, but x2.9 is way not enough

Just checked, the newer models of the rx100 series don't have a better zoom either... Thanks for the help, I'll probably go for the hx90vb.

The Sony RX100 is a fantastic camera. I have the first version (they're now on the fifth) which has a x3.6 zoom. It's a great camera for club gigs - front of stage I've had great results in low light. I've had good shots from front row in seated venues, but once you get into large arenas and stadium gigs, it's not great even from front row when the band are still going to be a fair distance from the audience. I bought mine about five years ago for about £500 and have seen no need to upgrade. I see loads of them on eBay for about £150 used and still, occasionally, for about £250 new. Mine has had loads of use, has never let me down, and has given me and friends great photos of gigs we've enjoyed. I also do wildlife photography which involves carrying heavy gear. I often slip the RX100 into a pocket if I'm shooting wildlife in a beautiful area for landscape / seascape shots rather than carry another dSLR /lens. Oh, and I've got hundreds of nice pictures of my cat!

Thanks, teleblaster. But given the venues on this tour I think I'll have to go with the hx90vb and it's 30x optical zoom. Although the Panasonic Lumix z81 might be an other option (has the same zoom range)

Hi, do you really think, its possible to bring a camera nowadays? Was controlled very strictly at the recent Guns n roses concert in Munich, no way to bring a camera.Due to the last terror attacks.
Greets sister(Who always had a camera in concerts)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-06-30 21:58 by sister.

I am really happy with my new Samsung WB350F 16.3MP 21x zoom WB350F

I got it on Ebay for $50 - brand new.

I've shot a bunch of shows with a Canon SX60, great little shooter. The zoom works out to about 300mm. If you have a steady hand...

I'm pretty happy with my Sony HX90 (latest in the the HX5, HX20, HX50/70 lineage) for stills (in manual mode) but for video it just can't handle the sound volume, saturates way too quickly as I found again the other day. On the other hand the Panasonic Lumix TZ7 and even the Lumix 3D1 captured great sound, will have to use them again the next time.

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IORR Links : Essential Studio Outtakes CDs : Audio - History of Rarest Outtakes : Audio