HELP! No Flash Allowed!?!?!?

blknitemre · Nov 3, 2007

I do concert photography for the webzine I run. I go to a lot of shows where they allow the first three songs and NO FLASH.

I just recently got the Canon 40D and I am not sure what the best setting to use is to get a clear picture. They all come out blurry or just a light blur.

During the day I can work around it but I am missing a lot of night time shots!

HELP!?

Sweetsomedays · Nov 3, 2007

How wide open can you get your eperture and what ISO are you using?

Digital Matt · Nov 3, 2007

Get a good book from your library and learn about photography.

"Understanding Exposure" by Brian Peterson, or anything by John Hedgecoe.

blknitemre · Nov 3, 2007

^ Thanks Matt. I will but I am kind of in a hurry at the moment. :\

I varied from 400 to 800 while at one show. My camera keeps saying AUTO everytime I change it. I just recently got this particular camera and haven't had a great deal of experience with it or time to figure it out.

Snyder · Nov 3, 2007

Buy a nice prime lense going down to 1.4 or lower, and yes read a book that is a very simple question people should already know if you take alot of photos.

soylentgreen · Nov 3, 2007

I am in sort of a similar situation as you. A local band wants me to shoot pics for them of rehearsal, concerts , etc. I hate using flash, so it's a no-brainer that I have to get the fastest lens I can afford. Right now that will be the EF 50 f/1.4. I tested with the EF-S 60 f/2.8 and the shutter speed is still too slow even at ISO 1600. Extended ISO 3200 with noise reduction is kinda usable, if you want to go for the grainy B&W look. My whole thing will be just to test out the different set-ups, use as much ambient lighting as possible, situate yourself in good spots, and snap away. As I get better and can justify it, I can upgrade to say a EF 50 f/1.2 L and the like. Depending on your needs of IQ, that will be a considerable factor in which lens you use. Most lenses do not reach optimum performance unless you stop ithem down 1-2 stops. That's why the premiere glasses cost so much, they are crazy sharp wide-open. I.E. EF 50 f/1.2L, 85 f/1.4 L, 35 f/1.4 L, etc. Food for thought.

Groupcaptainbonzo · Nov 3, 2007

I would recommend the f1.4 50mm or for about a quatre of the price the f1.8 50mm canon EF lenses. a wide aperture and pray for a wall/crush barrier etc to lean on. Both lenses are blisteringly sharp. At ISO/ASA 800 you can't loose. (Well you can. but you would be hard pressed to do better).

Juls · Nov 3, 2007

I tested with the EF-S 60 f/2.8 and the shutter speed is still too slow even at ISO 1600.

My experience with using my 50f/1.8 is that if I open it up all the way is that my depth of field is REALLY short. You will have to watch out for that when using a fast lens opened all the way up.

Mike Jordan · Nov 3, 2007

For situations like this, no matter what lens you have, you will get your best results if you shoot in manual focus. Autofocus needs light and contrast to focus on a subject. In a concert the light is all over the place (usually) and your camera is going to try and find the best place to focus, which might be on one of the spot beams behind or in front of your subject. With manual focus, you can focus where you want and have a better chance of getting a usable shot.

Mike

blknitemre · Nov 4, 2007

Thanks for all the advice. I do need to get a different lens. And I always use manual focus, its so much easier and I usually get a better pic.

the concerts i do are usually in a crappy venue with just a red light that makes pix look horrid. tonight wasn't so bad because they had a better light show that i used to my advantage.

thanks again!

itoncool · Nov 4, 2007

blknitemre said:
I varied from 400 to 800 while at one show. My camera keeps saying AUTO everytime I change it. I just recently got this particular camera and haven't had a great deal of experience with it or time to figure it out.

Try this, check your menu program, did you set you ISO in auto mode? If yes, then change that. I can't help you in detail how to change that because I don't use Canon.
Then, Did you set your camera in P mode? Set in A mode (Aperture priority).
The rest is just like everybody said, High Iso, Wide open.

Mesoam · Nov 4, 2007

need to read the manual...

EljayK004 · Nov 4, 2007

Another option is try using spotmetering. The backgrounds will probably come out a bit dark, but you should be able to get a person's face clearly, if they have a spot light or something on them, like they usually do. Otherwise, crank the ISO, get a fast aperature, and pray.