Digital camera for beginner taking gig shots

Soldato
Joined
20 Jan 2005
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Whitley Bay
Hi there.

Was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for a decent digital camera for a relative beginner who'll be using it primarily to take photos at gigs and concerts?

My 3mega pixel phone camera is the lose so after an upgrade.

Max budget of around £150 but could be stretched.

Best quality with best zoom possible but ideally a point and click type thing - can't be messing with filters or anything.

Thanks a lot :)

Si.
 
Hmm, this ones a toughy.

I'm not really that uptodate on compacts so your going to have to do some research

Look for the following when looking at cameras

High ISO, higher the better, if you can get ISO1600 then great. The pictures will be noisy but thats what you have to sacrifice when shooting fast action in low light.

Nice wide aperture to allow more light in, something around 2.8, I use a 1.8 lens on my camera and that does the job great.

Not really sure what else to offer.
 
Canon Ixus 75 or a570 should do the trick. A570 has a bigger zoom than the ixus and supports new lenses.

Since the gigs are in low light you may also want to consider the fuji f31fd as they are decent in low light.
 
Strech futher.. if your going to want good pics, get a SLR not a compact. S2 or the old canon should be about £250. get a lens and away you go.

compacts are ok, but the quality is no where near an SLR which i think you would find useful in low light and fast moving places.

just a thought.
 
colinuk said:
Strech futher.. if your going to want good pics, get a SLR not a compact. S2 or the old canon should be about £250. get a lens and away you go.

compacts are ok, but the quality is no where near an SLR which i think you would find useful in low light and fast moving places.

just a thought.

unless he is doing professional gig shooting (in which case he wouldnt need the zoom) he will in no way be able to get an SLR into a gig.
 
SidewinderINC said:
unless he is doing professional gig shooting (in which case he wouldnt need the zoom) he will in no way be able to get an SLR into a gig.

Very good point, in my opinion to get good photos of gigs you need to eliminate flash and use a lens faster than f2.8...... this demands a bit of cash,, secondly you can never get an SLR into any reasonable sized gig.

You'd probably be ok with a higher end point and shoot camera
 
I'm not looking for professional quality shots necessarily but being able to actually make out who the band are would be a start.
If I find I have a passion for photography I can always invest more cash at that point.
 
SidewinderINC said:
unless he is doing professional gig shooting (in which case he wouldnt need the zoom) he will in no way be able to get an SLR into a gig.

erm, why? The only places I can't get a camera in as a regular Joe are the Carling Academies, and even then, it's just a case of getting pally with the bands before you go and getting them to get you a photo pass!
 
Sic said:
erm, why? The only places I can't get a camera in as a regular Joe are the Carling Academies, and even then, it's just a case of getting pally with the bands before you go and getting them to get you a photo pass!

Wembley arena = no
BIC = no
Milton Keynes bowl= no
Guildhalls = no
Scala = no

not with a regular ticket, they refused me entry with the camera (Fuji S6500, so not even an SLR)

and you'll not get away with it at festivals either - found that out at Download and Graspop this year.

and getting Pally with the band is hard when its Placebo, Tenacious D, Marilyn Manson etc. though i could have done at the Scala for Viking Skull. ;)
 
Fstop11 said:
high ISO on compacts is a instant no!

On my G7 I would say it's... acceptable, although planning ahead and getting close enough I can get away with f2.8, ISO 800. Was right at the front once and some ISO 400 snaps came out surprisingly okay (Lighting was quite good though)!

And a large no to taking a bridge/SLR camera to gigs. It's not worth the risk of being turned away, I think I just about get away with my G7 when I get frisked etc with them thinking it's just some old brick of a camera with the size of it!

I woulda thought the Fujis would be great with their good low light capabilities
 
SidewinderINC said:
Wembley arena = no
BIC = no
Milton Keynes bowl= no
Guildhalls = no
Scala = no

not with a regular ticket, they refused me entry with the camera (Fuji S6500, so not even an SLR)

and you'll not get away with it at festivals either - found that out at Download and Graspop this year.

and getting Pally with the band is hard when its Placebo, Tenacious D, Marilyn Manson etc. though i could have done at the Scala for Viking Skull. ;)

i've never tried at those venues, but then you wouldn't be able to get close enough on a normal ticket, so why would you want to take a decent camera in. shooting smaller gigs is more fun anyway! all the bands I've asked have been fine with it!! I wouldn't want to shoot any of those bands anyway!
 
Sic said:
i've never tried at those venues, but then you wouldn't be able to get close enough on a normal ticket, so why would you want to take a decent camera in. shooting smaller gigs is more fun anyway! all the bands I've asked have been fine with it!! I wouldn't want to shoot any of those bands anyway!

on a normal ticket at those venues you can get to within a few meters of the band (except for wembley arena) :confused: but this isnt about gigs and i'm taking this waaay off topic :p

but yeah, smaller bands and local bands seem to love getting all the attention they can. say you're doing a review etc. and they'll be your best friend :p
 
InsomniaCalls said:
Thanks people.
Ended up going for the A570. :)

Good choice, have one myself and very happy with the image quality. A very capable camera all in all.

You can just whack it on auto mode and get some good basic snaps or have a play in manual mode and get some great shots!
 
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