Help! Which lens!

[Miss Frizzle]

What lens would you recommend for a performance in a record store this evening? I want to take pictures as sharp as possible without a flash. Lenses are below... Thanks!

[johnstoy]

What lens would you recommend for a performance in a record store this evening? I want to take pictures as sharp as possible without a flash. Lenses are below... Thanks!

If you can use your feet for the zoom action, than the 50mm F1.8, should do the trick... Relying on sufficient indoor lighting in the store, the 50mm f/1.8 shouldn't hunt too much for contrast while focusing... High ISO is essential here...noise/grain or not... work around ISO 1600...

[Miss Frizzle]

I'm not certain but I'm sure there will be a lot of people there. I'm not sure how much room I'll have for walking around. I might have to pick the best spot I can get and stay there. I imagine lots of shoulders and heads in my way. :(

Also, I forgot to ask, what settings would you recommend? Last time I tried shooting a concert with my DSLR I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the best settings and didn't enjoy the concert as much as I could have. I'm so excited to see this band so I don't want to worry too much about it. Unless I'm just better off bringing my point and shoot if that will be the case.

The last time I took photos at a concert, I was a newborn DSLR owner, and I had my polarizer filter on my kit lens in this very dim lit concert venue. That did not work - ha!!

[Miss Frizzle]

Would the 55-250 be fast enough? There will be indoor lighting, I'm sure. Or maybe the 50mm would be enough reach, since it's inside a record store and the band shouldn't be too far away. But then the heads/shoulders.... maybe if I get there early enough I can get a good spot? Ahh.

[johnstoy]

Would the 55-250 be fast enough? There will be indoor lighting, I'm sure. Or maybe the 50mm would be enough reach, since it's inside a record store and the band shouldn't be too far away. But then the heads/shoulders.... maybe if I get there early enough I can get a good spot? Ahh.

You need a fast lens with an aperture of 2.8 and under... TRy to use the 50mm 1.8 nearly wide open... at f1.8 it will let the most light in... Though your other lenses have IS... they are slower, and starting at above f/2.8 simply won't let enough light in for dimly lit places...

Your job as a photog. is to get there a an hour or two early and claim your spot... talk to management... try your lenses out etc. last resort is to use the onboard flash...But without flash, you can take a lot of pics.

Take all of your memory cards and start filling them up with lots and lots of photos... you'll sort out the best ones on the computer monitor when you get back home.

I choose the center focus spot to aim with, (and aim for the eye)... and have the camera settings on Tv... with the little dial wheel on the camera, you can turn the wheel to adjust for shutter speed accordingly... Do preset the ISO at 1250 or even 1600 and keep it there.

[Miss Frizzle]

You need a fast lens with an aperture of 2.8 and under... TRy to use the 50mm 1.8 nearly wide open... at f1.8 it will let the most light in... Though your other lenses have IS... they are slower, and starting at above f/2.8 simply won't let enough light in for dimly lit places...

Your job as a photog. is to get there a an hour or two early and claim your spot... talk to management... try your lenses out etc. last resort is to use the onboard flash...But without flash, you can take a lot of pics.

Take all of your memory cards and start filling them up with lots and lots of photos... you'll sort out the best ones on the computer monitor when you get back home.

I choose the center focus spot to aim with, (and aim for the eye)... and have the camera settings on Tv... with the little dial wheel on the camera, you can turn the wheel to adjust for shutter speed accordingly... Do preset the ISO at 1250 or even 1600 and keep it there.

Well, I'm going tonight as a fan and not as an official photographer or anything for the band. I'm excited because I'm sure they'll let me bring in a DSLR at a record store, as apposed to a concert venue. If I am in Tv mode, won't it change my aperture? Will I have 1.8 continually in that mode?

[iAMB]

No you need to have it in AV mode to have a constant aperture. TV mode is a predetermined shutter speed, with an adjusting aperture to make up for the light difference. Shoot either AV mode or Manual. Keep it wide open at at least f/2 and set the ISO to 1600. Shoot Raw if you are able to edit them later with software

[johnstoy]

No you need to have it in AV mode to have a constant aperture. TV mode is a predetermined shutter speed, with an adjusting aperture to make up for the light difference. Shoot either AV mode or Manual. Keep it wide open at at least f/2 and set the ISO to 1600. Shoot Raw if you are able to edit them later with software

My error, Both of my cameras are always in Av mode... Hope after all that info that Miss Frizzle, figures this out correctly...

My apologies for the dial error... I'm multi tasking on the computer and, there you go, I made an error...

Hopefully, Miss Frizzle will have some positive results to post.

Thanks for the correction iAMB...

[Miss Frizzle]

Well, if I had gotten there an hour or two before I did, then I WOULD have gotten good pictures! I thought there would be a lot of people, but not the entire record store filled with people! We were somewhere in the middle. The band wasn't on a stage or anything, I don't think. So I couldn't see a thing. We all had to form a path before and after to let the band through, which was right next to me, and that was the only time I saw them. Other than the blurry or out of focus pictures I got by holding up my DSLR above the heads. Not a good idea! Round 2 of concert photography has failed. Maybe next time I'll get there early enough and know what I'm doing!

[johnstoy]

And if you did get some pics, you would be up and awake till all hours of the morning trying to sort out the best ones... The excitement gets ya everytime... Good try... Next time might be the charm...

[Miss Frizzle]

Yeah, third time is the charm right?? :D