My first concert....

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Samsonite

Senior Member
Last saturday a friend of mine whos in a band pulled a few strings to get me a photographers pass to the event. After some research, I headed out with my D5100, 2 Batteries, and my 70-200 F2.8 VRI. I took the leap into RAW and Manual mode and managed to keep my ISO as far down as 100 - 320 all night. Here are the links to the photos ive uploaded onto facebook. Feel free to have a look and add me as a friend!

This is my friends band, I got there before the sun went down, and whilst they were still doing their sound check, which gave me the chance to scope all the good locations and also test out the settings, as I had never shot in RAW or Manual mode before...

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151466689986656.1073741829.516176655&type=3

This was the second act, I was only there for their first 2 songs as the missus was hungry and wanted to grab a bite to eat, and after 4 hours of shooting with my head 70-200 F2.8, I was happy to oblige her :)

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151468527616656.1073741830.516176655&type=1


Looking forward to your feedback!
 
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Samsonite

Senior Member
Thanks for the feedback wud, much appreciated! Ye I was allover the place, I realised how important it is to use the various focus points on the camera to get a good composition!
 
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Stangman98

Senior Member
I would agree. There are some that I wouldn't have posted because of focus. Were you shooting at f/2.8 most of time also? Also what metering where you using? No matter what you do that damn magenta color is a nightmare. I hate that bands use it.
 
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Samsonite

Senior Member
I was shooting at F2.8 all night, SHutter speed varied from 1/60th to 1/320 (1/60 when shooting the drummer and trying to get the movement of the drum sticks). The majority were 1/100... How does aperture affect focus?
 
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Stangman98

Senior Member
I typically shoot between f/4 and f/8 at about 1/250 or so. I crank up the ISO. The DOF on some shots is iffy. There is a shot from behind one of members that the crowd is washed out. That is a shot that you would want the crowd in there to see emotion and reaction.
 
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jwstl

Senior Member
Samsonite said:
But at F4 and F8 I would have to increase ISO and that would give more noise...
Click to expand...
Most current models are so good at the higher ISOs that I have no qualms at choosing 1000 if it means getting the shot I want. And noise can be reduced in post processing if necessary.
 
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Stangman98

Senior Member
Samsonite said:
But at F4 and F8 I would have to increase ISO and that would give more noise...
Click to expand...

While I agree to an extent, and I am not suggesting trying to shoot 4000 ISO, I would try to find a happy medium so that you can get a better DOF on some shots. It looks like the lighting was great there. I would think in a situation like that you could have gotten away with 800-1000 ISO. I used to have the mindset that I had to always shoot below 400 ISO. Now even with my D300 or D3 I very rarely ever shoot below 400. Don't be afraid to play with it.
Were you using auto WB also?
I was rereading your shutter speed too. You were shooting a 70-200 f/2.8 at 1/100th most of the night. The ability to increase the ISO would also allow you to shoot at closer to 1/250th and make your images that much sharper.
Just some suggestions.
 
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Samsonite

Senior Member
Im using a D5100, and I read that the lower end nikon bodies are notoriously bad for high ISO, So I tried to make it a point to stick to ISO100, only a few shots were at ISO200 coz i was worried about noise.
 
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jwstl

Senior Member
Samsonite said:
Im using a D5100, and I read that the lower end nikon bodies are notoriously bad for high ISO, So I tried to make it a point to stick to ISO100, only a few shots were at ISO200 coz i was worried about noise.
Click to expand...
You are doing yourself a disservice if you only shoot at 100. The 5100 uses the same sensor as the D7000 and the noise on that sensor is nearly the same from 100-400. Most reviewers say even 800 is excellent. I wouldn't be afraid to use 400 ever.
 
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