Long time lurker

Love the forum and i am always on lurking around looking at all of the wonderful photos. I will be taking pictures this weekend and was wanting some advice on what setting to use on my cameras. I will be in the pit all concert so i should be close to all the action. I have a canon 30d and 40d> my lenses which i amn not sure which ones i will take are canon 70 200 IS 2.8, sigma 70-300 2.8, sigma 28 -70, and canon 85mm 1.2

thanks in advance for any help
lance

Welcome aboard Lance.

I'd take the 70-200, 28-70 and the 85. I think the 70-300 would be wasted in those circumstances. Your best bet is the 70-200 on one body and the 28-70 on another wih the 85 in your bag just in case.

Good luck and I hope we see the results posted here.

thanks i will give it a try. I am guessing to shoot manual the whole show correct? I have taken pictures before but only about half of them actually turn out

here is a few from last Friday night

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Nice job! Good crisp images. #3 is my favorite. I really like the fourth one as well, but I would crop it a little tighter.

blackshadow wrote in post #5657219
Welcome aboard Lance.

I'd take the 70-200, 28-70 and the 85. I think the 70-300 would be wasted in those circumstances. Your best bet is the 70-200 on one body and the 28-70 on another wih the 85 in your bag just in case.

Good luck and I hope we see the results posted here.

what setting would you put the camera on if using the 85mm lens?

Doemasters wrote in post #5657625
what setting would you put the camera on if using the 85mm lens?

Asking about settings in terms of concert photography (or at all really) is just going to confuse you more. Every venue has different lighting-- from the looks of it you got lucky and have a decently well lit one. Just shoot shoot and shoot some more and see what works for YOU. What works for me in a situation might not be best for what works for you.

Practice is king, and learning how to expose properly is...co-king...??

Something doesn't add up here.

You seem to have some premo access (in the pit "the whole concert" -- I usually get tossed after the first three songs), and took some pro quality shots at a Hank Jr. concert. Yet you ask about "settings?"

What is it you are not telling us, young Jedi?

I do Hanks website and all so i get to stay as long as i like , I am always seeing images on here that look so much crisper than mine and like i said only about half of mine turn out so i wasnt sure if i wasnt doing something wrong or not.

Doemasters wrote in post #5658843
I do Hanks website and all so i get to stay as long as i like , I am always seeing images on here that look so much crisper than mine and like i said only about half of mine turn out so i wasnt sure if i wasnt doing something wrong or not.

Now we are talking......

My suggestion. Put your camera in "shutter priority" and aim to keep you shutter speed at 100/sec or more. Adjust the ISO accordingly. One of the more common mistakes in shooting available light photography is shooting too slow in pursuit of extra light. Your pictures will be soft. I would rather shoot at the right shutter speed to freeze the action and deal with noise in PP than try to be cool hand luke at a lower shutter speed.

As you probably know, different parts of the stage are lit differently, so I try to "bracket the stage", shooting an area for a bit, then moving to another with an ISO reset. This isn't always practical, but you do have an advantage in that you have "been there before". Try to develop a sense of how the stage is lit for certain songs, and anticipate. This will improve your hit rate.

Buy a big memory card. Fill it up. And have fun!

thanks I will give it a try this weekend and let you know how it turns out

Doemasters wrote in post #5659840
thanks I will give it a try this weekend and let you know how it turns out

You and all your rowdy friends have fun!

Doemasters wrote in post #5658843
.... about half of mine turn out.

that's a good ratio. it's probably the biggest secret of concert photog as to for every in focus shot you got at least two not in focus and/or frame when the person is jumping around.

The higher the camera, the lower he ratio. My canon xt was notorious for focusing on the back of the stage instead of the musician.

Excellent job!