Festival, SLRs not allowed

[e.rose]

My friend got his camera's battery and memory card confiscated by a security guard at a festival - they told him to report to an area at the end of the concert, but the security guard was nowhere to be found. I would have been fuming but my mate didn't seem too annoyed - probably because he knew the risk of taking an SLR in there...

Bullsh*t.

I would leave before handing ANYTHING over to anyone.

This is the SOLE reason that I missed photographing one of my favorite artists on the PLANET even though I was sitting so close to the stage, I could literally touch it with my foot from the chair I was sitting in.

I read there was a strict no camera policy and I couldn't get a hold of anyone at the venue to confirm or deny this.

Apparently that policy either changed, or is based on a case by case basis... because when I got to the show, there were 5 DSLRs and 3 P&S.

I was depressed for days afterwards, but it was a show I WOULD NOT. for any circumstance. want to leave early. So I left my camera at home.

Worst decision ever.

But again, worse than not photographing the gig, would have been not SEEING it. This is why I only try and "sneak" my camera into shows I don't really give two sh*ts about.

If I get caught and kicked out... there's no real loss.

 

[adversus]

Don't even blame the artists, blame the music industry.

A lot of artists make 95% of their money from touring and tour merchandise, not from music sales (unless you go independent and have the fan base to still make millions on an album, like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have done).

They don't want people coming with telephoto lenses that can be used to take sale-quality shots when the artists aren't making money off it. And it's completely their right to do so, and I'd do the same thing if I was in their position.

Some artists are more open about it, and that's fine too. But it's not your place to get all uppity and pissed off about it.

 

[vtf]

Hypocrites. Willing to break someone else's copyrights but "by god they would never get me to delete my photos."

 

[Virtuosos]

These days, Iphones (and really most modern phones) can take pretty damn good photo's. Which leads me to doubt places will care about bringing small pocket-sized point&shoot's. I've gone to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert every year for the past 5 years here in Oklahoma, this past year was the first time I brought a camera. I did not have any issue with it (they don't pat you down here for them) and a few "security guards" saw me using it and didn't say a word.


Then again, this is TSO...not some rockstar :/

 

[SunnyHours]

But it's not your place to get all uppity and pissed off about it.

I'm not pissed at all, I kinda understand...but with todays technology, what does it change that I have a D7000 over any other superzoom P&S out there? or a Panasonic GF2 (interchangeable lenses but, I doubt they wouldn't let you enter with one of these...) or an X100? That's just my point...there is a non interchangeable lens camera out there that can take high-quality pictures, however these aren't banned from concerts, so to me there is a lack of logic in this rule...

 

[adversus]

It's not a lack of logic, it's a balancing act. They probably want fans to take pictures that aren't commercial grade, but there's no way they can screen every camera coming in to determine how the quality is, let alone the skills of the person. So just for simplicity's sake they draw the line at anything SLR. It's the law of averages (the average P&S won't give you commercial quality pictures at a concert, so isn't a threat. The average SLR can).