another newbie question about concert photos

[sanscosm]

Hi all.
I'm very interested in getting into concert photography. From what I've read so far, you need a rather good slr camera to get some decent shots, with a high iso and shutter speed, am I right?
I've got an Olympus c770, which is a digital and terrible at trying to get the fast moving people on stage. All I get is colourful blurs, but not as pretty as the intentional blurs you see done by the pros on all those great rock photos. I've also got a Nikon f50 with a Tamaron 28-200mm - it's rather old, but it's a film camera, and I might have a better shot at some nicer photos. To get some nice sharp shots of the band, (say the band moves about a lot), do I just need to get some fast film such as iso 800 or so, and widen the apeture to about 3.8 (well this is as far as it'll go I think) and increase the shutter speed? I'd like not to use the flash, since I like the colourful lights showing.

sorry if this sounds rather naive, hehe, but I'm here to learn. :blushing:
thanks!

 

[Bettybooty]

I would love to do concerts. If I can find them I got great shot of Greg Allman at the Westbury Music Fair in New York....I had front row seats and noone cared that I had my camera...What type of permits do you need, stage pass, ect do you need?

 

[wxnut]

(i usually end up somewhere between 1/500 to 1/4000, depending on the lighting.)

1/500 to 1/4000? What are your other settings? How much light is available at the concerts you photograph? I Am lucky if I get around 1/200, while most of my shots are around 1/90 to 1/125. And this is a big venue with lots of lights.

My settings, with my Canon DSLR and my fixed 2.8 are around 1/125 at f3.5 and ISO 400 or close to that. Here is the results...

 

[jadin]

I list my tips on how to get good concert shots in this post.

1/4000s??? You guys are crazy! You only need 1/30s at a minimum, although I recommend 1/60s or better.

 

[sanscosm]

thanks for the good tips guys!
May I ask, what's good about a telephoto lens that makes it better than what I've got? Is it just that it has a wider aperture?
Also, saying I went for a fast shutter speed - does this work for low lighting? I was reading some responses...jaidin said 1/30...someone else said 1/200

thanks guys

 

[jadin]

Well I guess it depends on how much you can get away with. If you can get your shot as high as 1/200 or higher than go for it! In the lighting I usually shoot, it's just not possible, even with a f/1.4 lens.

Basically get your shutter as fast as possible to get your shot. But no matter what if you drop below 1/30 chances are it's going to blur.