What would you do.....

Hey, Im just looking for some advice.. My daughter is doing performing arts (dance group) and today is their big day. They will be doing 4 performances thru out the day, although I will only be attending the last one at 5.30pm. As most of you already know, I have not had my 20D for long (less than a week), so, I do not know this camera very well yet. Should I stick with the basic modes or should I try my best with the manual settings? Bare in mind, it is undercover, bad lighting, and the subjects will be moving (dancing)... thanks for any advice you can throw at me!

I'd do Av mode, wide-open aperture, and a high ISO. You can always remove noise later, if you even need to. When set for Av keep an eye on the shutter speed in the viewfinder. If the try to keep the shutter speed at a minimum of 1/80 for your camera. You may want to go faster if the dancer are moving too fast. If the shutter speed goes too low then kick the ISO up another notch.

Do not be afraid of high ISO. This camera will give you an amazing 8x10 print at ISO 3200.

After you get a number of good shots, experiment. Close the shutter down 1 stop or 2 to get more depth of field. Or raise the ISO to make sure that you're getting a very fast shutter speed. Again, do not be afraid of high ISO. Get some good shots before you experiment though.

Thanks so much Scottes! Thats just the info I was looking for!

And I'll repeat what Scottes said...don't be afraid of high iso. I did a similar shooting as yours at iso 1600, and it was *very* clean.

I think Scottes meant stop down the aperture to get more depth of field.

But my guess is that, unless the lighting is REALLY BRIGHT, you'll want to do all you can to get the fastest shutter speed possible. ISO 3200, wide open in Av mode, and try to take as many shots as you can while the movement is slow or momentarily stopped.

Have a read of this tutorial, the principles are the same. I'd suggest the same settings as these guys to start, ISO 1600, Av, max F2.8 or if you can F1.4. Review your shots to make sure they're reasonably sharp and increase the ISO to 3200 if necessary - noisy shots are recoverable, blurred shots aren't.

Also, try shooting the dress rehersal, and before you take any photos check with the director. You won't be able to use flash even at the rehersal, but you can move around more freely.

Thanks everyone.. 3 more hours til show time.. I will see what I can do with all this info