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Gear / Technical Help => Photo / Video Recording => Topic started by: cashandkerouac on August 18, 2011, 03:23:37 PM
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I finally caught the camera bug and purchased a Nikon D7000 kit with the 18-105mm lens. I was told that the 18-105 is a good "all around" lens, but I'll want get a couple others to round out the package.
If I'm by the SBD at a medium sized venue (roughly 50 feet from the stage) which lens would be good?
Also, for those times when I'm not taping and right in front of the stage, which lens is recommended for short distances?
Thanks in advance for the feedback.
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35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX is a must and it's cheap
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Congrats Trent on a great camera purchase! I agree with Craig that a 35mm/1.8 or faster lens is a must have. Works great in low light situations when you are up close. At High Sierra I was mostly using a 55mm-200mm, f4-5.6 and had amazingly good results from back where we were at the soundboard. Below is a shot straight off the camera (A Nikon D5000) with that lens. f5.6, 1/60s shutter speed, ISO set to 3200. It's a little noisy but given how dark it was and how far away we were I am satisfied. Also attached is a shot from last night using the 35mm lens in low light.
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Two factors with lenses to keep in mind, well three when you add price.
1. Zoom. How close do you want to get, from FOH, a 55-200 lens will give you full stage and two member groupings.
2. Aperture. How much light can you channel to the sensor? One thing to be aware of, while a lens can go down to 1.4 or f1.8 at these apertures the zone that is in focus is measured in inches.
These photos were taken with a Nikon D5000, and three lenses, the 18-55 kit lens, the 55-200 kit lens. I also love my 35mm 1.8 prime lens.
http://photo.kennedy-williams.net/main.php?g2_itemId=2361
http://photo.kennedy-williams.net/main.php?g2_itemId=2087
Your camera has great low light performance with high isos. That plus VR reduction lenses to help with shake at longer zooms, and you have a nice concert camera.
What I would do, is use your zoom for while, see what lengths you like to use, (I found a lot of my pictures were around 35mm) and then get a fast prime at that length. Fast zooms get pricey real quick.
read this site for more great information
http://ishootshows.com/
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Anything with an aperture of f/2.8 or lower. Look at prime lenses (fixed focal length) first as they tend to be cheaper than f/2.8 zooms (and smaller/lighter). You need the fast aperture so you can get a decent shutter speed so you can reduce motion blur, freeze the action (how much depends on what you are after) and keep from having to shoot at very high ISO (granted current cameras have gotten much better at shooting in low light).
Personally when I'm shooting low light events (I haven't shot concerts in some time though, but it's all basically the same) my lens selection depends on wether I'm getting paid, the venue and how "light" I want to be. I start with the 10.5mm f/2.8 (fisheye), 24mm f/2.8 and 50mm f/1.4 for small stuff and go to the 28-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8 (on a monopod if I'm allowed) for bigger projects.
Hope this helps. And yes, this hobby gets expensive fast. >:D
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agreed on larger apertures. And if you're 50 feet back you'll want something around 85mm if you want to shoot one person. If you spot meter you can get away with f/4.0 - which is what you should be doing with shooting an artist anyway.
I love my 70-200 for concerts - it's f/4 and has IS (VR equivalent on Nikon). That helps you with 3-4 stops of light and makes f/4 usable.
If you are up close, 35mm-50mm is perfect on a crop camera like the D7000. My only issue with primes live is sometimes you can't move around and need to get closer.
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this is a 28mm at 1.8 on a crop, up front:
(http://bemerick.smugmug.com/Music/2011-06-01-Bears-of-Blue/i-6CxpgMP/0/XL/IMG0380-XL.jpg)
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What I would do, is use your zoom for while, see what lengths you like to use, (I found a lot of my pictures were around 35mm) and then get a fast prime at that length. Fast zooms get pricey real quick.
One word: rentals.
More words: If you're not rich and shooting a lot of concerts, or doing this for a living, you may be better off renting fast zooms when the occassional situation calls for it. You also may want to rent just to try things out before buying. (Although the 35mm 1.8 is versatile, good, and cheap enough you needn't hestitate to take the plunge.) For the one or two times a year I really need a decent automatic strobe, I rent an SB-900 for like 3% of the cost of buying.
Also, think about older lenses. Some pre-VR and pre-AF versions have great optics at far lower prices. Manual focus, and even manual exposure, is no big deal when you and the musicians are more or less planted in one place.
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As long as we're on the subject, does anyone use Zeiss D/SLR lenses? Opinions?
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As long as we're on the subject, does anyone use Zeiss D/SLR lenses? Opinions?
I use my old Zeiss Hassleblad lenses with an adapter on my 7d – works great!
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I tend to use primes on the wider end, but I must say the new 70-200mm f2.8 IS II L is absolutely sick, sick, sick. I didn't think it could be any better than the I version I owned for years, but turns out, it's better and then some. This is a must own event lens. Tons of pics on my site if interested...
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http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-D5000-3-5-5-6G-55-200mm-Vari-angle/dp/B0026FCKA0/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1324342142&sr=8-13 (http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-D5000-3-5-5-6G-55-200mm-Vari-angle/dp/B0026FCKA0/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1324342142&sr=8-13)
would this be a good starting point?
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I own a D5000 and both of those lenses and love them! The lenses are relatively slow so shooting in a darker bar can be an issue but not enough to stop you from getting superb results. I also added a 35mm, f1.8 lens that does very well in low light settings.
While the D5000 is a great camera, it is a few years old and has been replaced by the D5100. You may want to consider that instead. Or possibly the D3100. Checkout Ken Rockwell's review site for a wealth of detailed information:
http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/d5100.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-D5000-3-5-5-6G-55-200mm-Vari-angle/dp/B0026FCKA0/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1324342142&sr=8-13 (http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-D5000-3-5-5-6G-55-200mm-Vari-angle/dp/B0026FCKA0/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1324342142&sr=8-13)
would this be a good starting point?
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FWIW I find VR for a concert lens of marginal value. I tend to find that when I'm shooting slow enough (shutter speed wise) that lens shake might be an issue, they I'm also usually impacted by movement of the performer as well. I have the Nikon 70-300/2.8 VR and love it but I usually don't get any images with that lens that I would not get with the VR disabled. It's more a factor of the fast aperture that make that lens my choice. Sigma and Nikon both make a non VR version of that lens that can be found for $500-$800 and would be a great choice for concert shooting. I also have several fast primes (35/1.8, 50/1.8, 85/1.8) and love them all, my comment with the 1.8 lenses is the depth of field gets very shallow so hitting focus right on get challenging.
Finally, the D7000 does have great high ISO performance so bump it up and accept a bit of noise and you will still come away with some great images. I typically shoot manual WB and exposure for concert stuff, just keep an eye on the histogram to double check exposure, it is the photography equivalent of the level meter.
This is with my D300 and 70-200/2.8VR
(http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6071/6107069115_e3d2425cd2_z.jpg)
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Did he eat Willie Wonka's experimental blueberry gum?
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haha. need to fix your white balance to compensate for the lights.
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haha. need to fix your white balance to compensate for the lights.
White balance is right on. The lighting was as they had it. Kind of a light blue wash on the band with the warmer orange wash on the stage background. Check Tim's right chest/shoulder and the highlights on his hands. That's where the white light was hitting and where I set WB from, the blue wash from the front is evident in the shadow of the white spot which was high and to his right and is what makes his skin so blue color temperature wise.
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oh I know it's accurate to how it looked. But sometimes you have to fix it ;)