Best 35mm cameras for concerts

OrbWeaver

OrbWeaver

BECAUSE FALCONER
Jan 15, 2007
3,810
3
38
Illinois, USA
www.myspace.com
Alrighty, I'm in the market for a new 35mm camera, since my old one is...well...old. And the shutter speed is too slow for things like concerts, equine events, etc... I'd like some suggestions for good 35mm cameras that are great for concerts, such as ProgPower. I checked the Best Buy website, but I don't know much about cameras, so I felt kind of lost.

Bear in mind that I am not a photographer of any measurable skill (I can manage not to cut off heads, and keep my subjects centered, that's about it) so I'm not looking for anything fancy. This is one of the cameras I thought might be good for what I want, but as I said, I'm not sure.

So if any of you camera-savvy people could offer me some suggestions, plus a link to where I might purchase said suggestions, I would appreciate it!
 
I have a Canon eos rebel 35mm and it is great. It's not as small as what you are looking at there, but it is a great camera.
 
That may not be a good concert camera. The lens is pretty slow with a 5.6 aperture, this is basically the amount of light the lens lets in, the lower numbers mean the lens is letting in more light. This equates to longer shutter speeds to compensate for the lack of light, which is basically blurred photos. The lens range is 4x which is about standard for these types of cameras, its not going to get you good closeups unless your pretty close to the stage. Another thing about lenses when you zoom in the aperture gets smaller = slower.

I guess that camera would work but you will need ISO 400 film or faster (to compensate for the slower lens) and you will want to be up at the front of the stage. Also that camera has a flash range of 11 feet so if your using the flash dont expect it to work well at a long distance.

Have you considered a SLR camera? On the Best Buy site they had a Canon SLR for $219, which comes with basic lens, its not the best lens but you could buy better lenses down the road.
 
I think what is more important than the camera is the lens you use. To shoot concerts, you are going to want a fast lens. In the past, I've used a Minolta with a zoom lens, but the one I have isn't nearly fast enough and can't "freeze" action.

The bad news is such a lens is probably not going to be cheap. The good news is that you probably can find a deal on the secondary market, since everyone is going digital. Unfortunately, I don't have a good recommendation for you.

Jason
 
TheLongshot said:
The bad news is such a lens is probably not going to be cheap.
Click to expand...

Another angle (pun intended): Most manufacturers have 50mm lenses with the unlikely combination of low price, fast (large) aperture, and excellent optics. Canon has a 50mm/f1.8 for $75 (!!!), Nikon's equivalent is around $100. Yeah, it's not as versatile as a zoom, but the 1.5 f-stop advantage over the fastest zoom you can buy (f2.8) is significant. Case in point: Fiddler (PPUSA official photographer) rarely uses zooms. I'll be bringing only primes (fixed focal length lenses) this year.

Also: you can (and should) buy 800 or 1600 ISO film. Better grainy than blurry.
 
OrbWeaver said:
Alrighty, I'm in the market for a new 35mm camera, since my old one is...well...old. And the shutter speed is too slow for things like concerts, equine events, etc... I'd like some suggestions for good 35mm cameras that are great for concerts, such as ProgPower. I checked the Best Buy website, but I don't know much about cameras, so I felt kind of lost.

Bear in mind that I am not a photographer of any measurable skill (I can manage not to cut off heads, and keep my subjects centered, that's about it) so I'm not looking for anything fancy. This is one of the cameras I thought might be good for what I want, but as I said, I'm not sure.

So if any of you camera-savvy people could offer me some suggestions, plus a link to where I might purchase said suggestions, I would appreciate it!
Click to expand...

If you want to use a camera for live footage of the concert in 5 (FIVE!!!!!?!?!!?!) weeks, you had better buy one fast, and take a set of lessons before you get to atlanta. Also, remember to bring a ton of film. You will need it.
 
esa said:
Another angle (pun intended): Most manufacturers have 50mm lenses with the unlikely combination of low price, fast (large) aperture, and excellent optics. Canon has a 50mm/f1.8 for $75 (!!!), Nikon's equivalent is around $100. Yeah, it's not as versatile as a zoom, but the 1.5 f-stop advantage over the fastest zoom you can buy (f2.8) is significant. Case in point: Fiddler (PPUSA official photographer) rarely uses zooms. I'll be bringing only primes (fixed focal length lenses) this year.

Also: you can (and should) buy 800 or 1600 ISO film. Better grainy than blurry.
Click to expand...

The only reason why I didn't suggest that is that I don't have any idea where he will be taking pictures from. Using a zoom is ok, but you probably are going to have problems especially if you use the high end of the range. Single focal length lenses are going to be superior in this application.

But, unless he's going to be up close, 50mm is going to be very limiting.

When I shot with film, I was using a Minolta with a 70-200mm Tamaron zoom and shooting with Fuji 800 ISO film. I was using a monopod to help steady things at that speed, but I still got some blur. The lens was the obvious weak point in that setup.

I tried shooting with higher speed film, but then grain starts becoming a problem. I didn't think it was worth the cost I was spending on film. If you were somewhat experienced, I would maybe suggest pushing the 800 film, but that takes a bit more knowledge on your part (and the developer).

Jason
 
If you want to get good photos, point & shoot cameras probably aren't the best option. Though to take real advantage of an SLR, you really need to know all the different settings needed for the best photos (especially in low lighting situations).
Ebay is a great way to get a camera if you don't want to pay full price for an SLR. I have an Canon AE-1 that I got with various lenses for just about $100 (the camera is from the late 70s but is perfect for amateur photography). It's purely a manual camera, though. I'll probably bring my Rebel XS since it has flash.
The nice thing about camera like the Canon Rebel line is that they will last you years as long as you don't throw it around. Point and shoot cameras are usually so junky that they rarely last longer than 2 years, I think in part because they're compact and people tend to not treat them with care even though they really aren't very durable.
 
Assuming lighting is similar to last year, in order to get decent pictures without flash, ISO-400 film and an f/2.0 aperture will give you shutter speeds anywhere from 1/20 second to 1/125 second as the light changes (some bands will have darker lighting than others, and the lighting can also change drastically from one second to the next). Needless to say exposures of 1/20 sec are going to look pretty bad. Drop the lens aperture to f/5.6 and you'd have to bump the ISO to 3200 to get the same exposure.

My suggestion, buy used. Get a Nikon N80 (or F-100 if you can stretch the budget), and a 50mm f/1.8 lens. Any lens with an aperture slower than f/2.8 is not going to be of much use at all for concerts. I'd also recommend B/W film over color, because grainy B/W looks good but grainy color print film just looks bad.

Another option is to use flash, but IMHO flash concert pictures don't look very good (unless you're really good at using slow-sync fill-flash).

To get an idea of the exposures I got last year (shooting digital), you can browse the gallery below. The images have exposure info included for reference. Be sure to pay attention to ISO as well as shutter and aperture (one nice thing about digital is being able to change ISO on the fly).

http://www.pbase.com/jkohn/progpower7
 
Wow, I've gotten ALOT more information than I fully expected! But thank you all! I appreciate all the input!

I think maybe I'll go with this one. Or, if I can afford it, the Nikon N-80. Price really is an issue, here. I am a poor grad student, after all.
 
OrbWeaver said:
Thank you for the link, jkohn. I take it that even though they're used, they'll still be in good condition? :)
Click to expand...

All the used equipment from B&H has a numeric rating scale, the one I linked to (which looks to have already sold, link is not longer valid), had a rating of 9 which should mean it's in very good condition.
 
Alrighty, so I got a Nikon N80 for my birthday (woohoo!) but there is no manual with it. Nikon is sending me one, but it might not reach me before ProgPower. So if anyone knows how to use this beautiful beast, I would appreciate a tutorial when I arrive at ProgPower (or some convenient point over the weekend.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

FatesFan
Off Topic- Help needed with Digital Cameras for concerts
Replies
10
Views
395
ProgPower USA
FatesFan
F
Harvester
  • Locked
Update 8/25- Camera Policy: Banned Cameras Listed Now
Replies
1
Views
3K
ProgPower USA
Harvester
H
Dolamite S. Biffle
Boy do I hate Disposable Cameras!!!
Replies
3
Views
212
ProgPower USA
Met-Al
M
Virgil.
DSLR Cameras and where to buy?
Replies
6
Views
647
Backline
Clark Kent
C
Hihdl
The Working of Digital Cameras
Replies
0
Views
2K
All About Tech
Hihdl
Hihdl
Top Bottom
Back