Canon Settings for Music Events

[Jacethebase]

Hello people I have a Canon 1000D and work in the lighting and sound industry.
I have messed around with the settings and i (occasionaly) get some good pictures but not really sure how?
If anyone uses a similar sort of camera and knows the sort of settings that i need, I would be most greatfull!
Also A quick explination of what does what and why if you have time

Thank you very much in advance.

Jace

 

[o hey tyler]

You get decent photos by taking a photo with the proper exposure time. I'm assuming you have the 1000D and no other lenses than the kit lens?

Well in that case, you're not going to be able to do much.

 

[Sonoma]

This will certainly do a better job of explaining all your cameras functions than I could. Don't know if you have this or not.

http://static.highspeedbackbone.net/pdf/canon_eos_rebelxs_manual.pdf

Good luck
Gary

 

[bigtwinky]

The key to shooting most things that move is a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the motion of the person on stage and also avoid hand shake.

When you are doing music events, you are in low light, which makes it hard to freeze motion and get a good, sharp images with low end gear.

You should aim for a shutter speed of 1/125. You can get by with slower though.
To let enough light in to get that shutter you need a fast aperture (f/2.8 or faster) and a good high ISO performance (ISO 1600+)

If you are using a kit lens on an XS, you have neither of these things. You can maybe try and get shots of times in the show where the action is slower

 

[Jacethebase]

Is there specific lense's for this sort of application? Sorry to be a pain im not a Photographer and dont make out that i am. But i want to do it as best i can as we are a lighting and sound company and for our advertising websites etc a normal camera doesnt seem to do. there fore i thought i would buy a cheap'ish DSLR and try and teach my self

 

[eccs19]

The problem with "cheapish", is that you probably won't get what you want, unless you get lucky. If you want "cheapish", then watch on E-Bay for used / fast lenses, but even used, good fast lenses are not typically cheap, unless you got for a used 50mm, but that may not get you close enough to the action. There are some new entry level cameras out there that have good high ISO performance, but you still need the lens to go with it. Pentax K-Y is good value for the money & good as high ISO, but you still want a good lens

 

[bigtwinky]

Is there specific lense's for this sort of application? Sorry to be a pain im not a Photographer and dont make out that i am. But i want to do it as best i can as we are a lighting and sound company and for our advertising websites etc a normal camera doesnt seem to do. there fore i thought i would buy a cheap'ish DSLR and try and teach my self

Get a used Canon 40D and a 50mm f/1.8 lens
Should be your cheapest bet for a half decent low light

 

[c.cloudwalker]

What kind of shows do you do? I've worked as a sound reinforcement engineer so I know there are all kinds...

If you are trying to attract major acts with your brochure and website, so-so photos will not do. Bite the bullet and pay a pro. Some savings end up costing too much. And getting the right exposure is only part of the story.

Now if you are not trying to get major acts, BigTwinky's suggestion is not bad. We also have a member who uses a Canon T2i and a 50mm 1.4 with very decent results although she is fairly new to the art.

But if you are shooting from the house board, you may need a longer lens. If you are shooting from right in front of the stage, you may want a wider angle lens. There are a lot of different things that play into your final results.

For example, you may want to learn to manual focus. Using AF in concert can be hit or miss.

Here's a book that should help you understand the light problem:
Amazon.com: Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera (9780817439392): Bryan Peterson: Books

 

[Sonoma]

The only shows I have shot were of my daughter years ago; dance recitals. So I am no expert, but here is a review on the Canon 1000D that says it does quite well at ISO 1600(low noise). If I were you I would just invest in the 50 f1.8 and shoot at ISO 1600 and see how it performs. That lens only costs about $100.00 so you would not be out much.

Canon EOS 1000D / Rebel XS Review: 19. Photographic tests (Noise): Digital Photography Review

Good luck
Gary

 

[Jacethebase]

We do a hell of alot of Dance events catering from around 500 to 10,000. Most of the bigger shows have a photographer employed by the promoter of the night.
Alot of fast moving lighting on a vast scale.
Im going to get on the bay and have a look at the lenses i think!

 

[fokker]

Spend like $90 and get the 50mm 1.8 - great lens and the f/1.8 means that basically it lets in a lot of light so you will be able to get the shutter speed up enough to have sharp shots. You'll have to nail the focus though, at f1.8 the depth of field is very narrow (so only a little bit of stuff at a certain distance will be in focus, everything in front or behind it will be out of focus).
As for settings, use Av mode and dial it down to f1.8 - if you're getting high enough shutter speeds you can stop it down slightly to something like f2.2 or f2.5 which will slightly increase the depth of field and also increase the overall sharpness of the photos. But your priority is to keep that shutter speed high enough to avoid blur - never go below about 1/60s, but try to keep it at around 1/100 to 1/150s which at ISO1600 you should manage.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

We do a hell of alot of Dance events catering from around 500 to 10,000. Most of the bigger shows have a photographer employed by the promoter of the night.
Alot of fast moving lighting on a vast scale.
Im going to get on the bay and have a look at the lenses i think!

Dance events as in Raves and such?

That would be quite a different story because in that case you'd be photographing the lights and setting rather than the people. What was said earlier can be applied to the DJs but the rest would be approached differently. For example, I think you would definitely want a fairly wide angle to get shots of the entire space but, as I have never been to any of those things, that is all I can really say about this.

If you asked me to shoot for your company, my response would be that I would have to see your next show to get an idea on how to best shoot it. I have ideas right now but I don't really want to share them as I don't know for sure that they would work. By work I mean look great.

So i'll shut up and let someone else chime in. But note that it pays to be more detailed in your questions to get better answers