So my annual bonus at the ol' day job was a bit more than I expected. Instead of a gently used 5D2, guess what I got? If you guessed the 5D3, you are right. Lucky me ^_^
I took it out for its first real workout last night: a small local metal/rock concert. Metal isn't usually my thing (I prefer classic rock), but a friend who is a fire dancer was performing with one of the acts, so I dragged my gear out to support/encourage her, get some new stuff for both our ports, and of course give the new kit a good run-through.
It was VERY dark, but I took the camera all the way through its non-expanded ISO range (up to 25600!) and it performed admirably. Even in the darkness, it focused reliably and the noise was not severely objectionable after a bit of processing. I used my new-to-me 24-70 a bit, my fully-manual Rokinon 14mm a little bit, and my trusty favorite 50mm f/1.4 the most.
There were four bands (supposed to be five bands plus one performance group), but I had to leave after the first three.
1. The stage lights were on...actually, just a half-dozen tiny cans in the ceiling. ISO 20000, f/2.8, 1/125
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by nathancarter, on Flickr2. Then the stage lights were off, and I had to put on the 50mm prime. ISO25600, f/1.4, 1/125.
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by nathancarter, on Flickr3. This one's probably my favorite. He was kind enough to not spit blood all over my new gear. ISO20000, f/1.4, 1/200.
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by nathancarter, on Flickr4. My wife was calling this guy "Heavy Metal Jesus" (hah)
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by nathancarter, on Flickr5. Then Mekaella came out with her fire fans and I started changing up the settings.
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by nathancarter, on Flickr6. ISO640, f/4.0, 1/10 (still on the 50mm lens) - she was good at holding still and only moving the spinning fans.
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by nathancarter, on Flickr7. With the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8, manually focused. Gives a bit of an idea how dark it was - look how much light comes from the fire fans compared to the rest of the room.
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by nathancarter, on Flickr8. This one is totally NOT my usual style, but I think it works, if only due to her facial expression. Pretty severely overexposed (brought down 2.25 stops in LR4), a little out of focus, plenty of motion blur, definitely a throwaway from a purely technical point of view... yet, it's still one of my favorites from the set.
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by nathancarter, on Flickr
