Need settings help for a live show

[ChrisMc73]

Ok, so I'm still a big noob with my Canon 5D Mark II camera, I haven't made it out of Full Auto Mode yet, to where I feel comfortable knowing what I'm doing, yet. I'm getting there.

A friend has asked me to take some pictures of his band playing tonight, I've never seen them play, so I don't know what kind of light setup they have, they will be playing in a bar, so I'd imagine just a typical bar scene with maybe some color lights here and there?

I'll be using my 24-70mm f/2.8 L with the 5DMKII, can someone tell me what I should set the camera on in the "M" manual mode, that would probably give me the best pictures in what I would think will be considered a low light situation? I have no flash, and don't want to use one if possible, I'm sure there are some settings that would probably be typical of these kind of shots?

So I need ISO, shutter, and f stop settings? Are there other settings I should consider?

[narlus]

it's really hard to give recommendations w/o knowing the specific lighting you will get, but here's a start:

use partial metering
set WB to tungsten (unless there are blue lights)
set ISO at 1600
set aperture @ f/2.8
start w/ a shutter speed of 1/125

take some shots, and check your RGB histogram for either blown highlights or relative scene brightness...don't be surprised if you will have most of the histogram at the left side, but definitely be sure to check that there is nothing on the right-hand side indicating clipped channels.

adjust shutter as needed, based on trial/error. if the lights change, try a spot metering read on the performer's face during the brightest scene and keep that lodged in yr memory, so you can make on the fly changes in M when you are shooting.

[johnstoy]

While I use the 24-70mm for nearly all my work... It is difficult to use it in low light show environments... Primarily cause, an f/2.8 without IS, is just borderline too slow... hopefully, you'll be able to shoot at 125th of a second with it... any slower, on your FF camera, you might squeak by at a slightly slower shutterspeed... but try not to risk it...

Chances are great, that at a slower shutter speed, you'll get hand shaken results, that aren't visible on the LCD screen, till you view the picture results on a computer monitor... Unfortunately, I've wasted dozens of frames, at slightly slower shutter speeds, only to find that during Post Processing, the images lacked sharpness, cause of hand shake... Luckily, I did get a couple of keepers at 1/80th, but I wouldn't count on it.

Maybe higher ISO speeds, like ISO 2000 or even 3200 could work, without being too noisy... After all, you are using the new 5D II... post your results here so we can see how it works out for you.

[narlus]

While I use the 24-70mm for nearly all my work... It is difficult to use it in low light show environments... Primarily cause, an f/2.8 without IS, is just borderline too slow... hopefully, you'll be able to shoot at 125th of a second with it... any slower, on your FF camera, you might squeak by at a slightly slower shutterspeed... but try not to risk it...

Chances are great, that at a slower shutter speed, you'll get hand shaken results, that aren't visible on the LCD screen, till you view the picture results on a computer monitor... Unfortunately, I've wasted dozens of frames, at slightly slower shutter speeds, only to find that during Post Processing, the images lacked sharpness, cause of hand shake... Luckily, I did get a couple of keepers at 1/80th, but I wouldn't count on it.

i would say this comes down to technique and steady hands...the old axiom is that the shutter speed should be equal to or faster than 1/focal length; so shooting a 100mm lens should be done at a speed of 1/100 or faster to eliminate camera shake...but i've got plenty of sharp shots in the 1/40-1/60 range, using a variety of focal lengths...at that shutter speed, subject motion is a bigger concern.

[johnstoy]

i would say this comes down to technique and steady hands...the old axiom is that the shutter speed should be equal to or faster than 1/focal length; so shooting a 100mm lens should be done at a speed of 1/100 or faster to eliminate camera shake...but i've got plenty of sharp shots in the 1/40-1/60 range, using a variety of focal lengths...at that shutter speed, subject motion is a bigger concern.

You have, Narlus...

But I've only gotten those results with an IS lens... It takes me several dozen shots with the 24-70mm on my 50D 1.6 crop, to get a relatively sharp capture at 1/80th... and slower speeds produce nearly zero positive results without IS... Obviously, there will be exceptions... I wouldn't risk it...

[ChrisMc73]

it's really hard to give recommendations w/o knowing the specific lighting you will get, but here's a start:

use partial metering
set WB to tungsten (unless there are blue lights)
set ISO at 1600
set aperture @ f/2.8
start w/ a shutter speed of 1/125

take some shots, and check your RGB histogram for either blown highlights or relative scene brightness...don't be surprised if you will have most of the histogram at the left side, but definitely be sure to check that there is nothing on the right-hand side indicating clipped channels.

adjust shutter as needed, based on trial/error. if the lights change, try a spot metering read on the performer's face during the brightest scene and keep that lodged in yr memory, so you can make on the fly changes in M when you are shooting.

What should I set the AF Mode and Drive Mode on? What about the picture style, what should I set that at?

[johnstoy]

I use the 50D and the 30D...

For auto focus, I use the center point... However, upper center point and lower center point are also options for tall, full body shots...

I aim for the closest eye to focus on the face... though if you use the center point, than the face will be in the center of the pic and the top of the pic will be empty... So for those shots, I quickly reselect to the upper center point for the face, and the rest of the body will fill the remainder of the frame...

And, I'm usually set up in the AV mode... and can adjust the shutter speed and aperture on the fly...

Shoot lots of pics, fill your memory cards up... you can sort the best pics out later... And, for extra added insurance, I shoot in RAW... the post processing does take some additional time, but in low light settings, RAW is fantastic for adjusting exposure.

[SuzyView]

I do center focus (dot on the center only), AF AI Servo as people are moving. I shoot manual always. You can set the 5DII to ISO 5000 and it will still get you a clear shot. Try that in manual with 1/125 speed and f2.8 and no flash. If you need flash, then renegotiate the ISO to 400 or 800.

[ChrisMc73]

I have posted a few pictures and a link to the Flickr site where I uploaded all the shots I took of a local band this past weekend, please go check them out and give me some critique.
Thanks.

[narlus]

post a thread w/ photoos in the PA section, not the sub-forum for 'about PA'

[ChrisMc73]

post a thread w/ photoos in the PA section, not the sub-forum for 'about PA'

Thanks narlus, I will move them up there and get some feedback! Thanks.

[kmb]

What Narlus said.

Some further tips:

- in smaller places the lights are closer to performers. This means lighting can change drastically when the performer moves to another spot. This is because she may step outside the spotlight's cone of light, and of course if the light is 3 m (~9 feet) from the performer, moving towards/backing off from the light source will change the correct exposure considerably more when comparing to a light source which is for instance 9 m (~30 feet) from the performer. Be sure to adjust apropriately (chimp the histogram)

- It is often best to test the exposure by zooming in and taking a picture of the performers face so that the face covers image area as much as possible. That way, if the face is the brightest part of the picture (that you see on the LCD) you'll know where on the histogram the face is (the rightmost "bump"). As a somewhat offtopic example, I have a habit of shooting my own hand at open air festivals when the primary light source is daylight (stage lights won't affect that much). I can pretty much set the exposure before the gig starts and forget all about it during the shoot (there are of course exceptions such as sun goign behind a cloud or the other way round).

- Shooting RAW will help when you're unsure of your exposure selection skills