Nightclub photography 17-40L F4 ? & other Q's

Ghost in the Shell · 17 Jun 2006 at 15:50

im doing some photography tonight for a friend which is at a nightcluband im just wondering whether i will get any good use out of my 17-40 there.

i was planning to take my 50 f1.4 which will handle the low light well but i wasnt too sure about the 17-40 and dont fancy carrying it around if it wont get used.

can anyone suggest what settings to you for each lense too? ISO etc. as i dont have much experience in this environment and cant afford to have a complete load of wasted results tongiht is possible.

i dont have a flashgun just my trusty 10D with its built in flash, so any advice on whether to use it or just avoid it would be good. im guessing it will be ok for short-medium shots but longer range it wont cover. also will changing the timing help to produce better results?

like i said any advice would be really appreciated and as quick as poss too as i have to leave in a few hours or so..

thanks

cyKey · 17 Jun 2006 at 15:58

17mm @ 1/20th f/4. Adjust the ISO till you get a decent shot. Don't be afraid to go upto ISO1600.

titchard · 17 Jun 2006 at 16:00

cyKey said:
17mm @ 1/20th f/4. Adjust the ISO till you get a decent shot. Don't be afraid to go upto ISO1600.

Is that with or without the flash?

Rich

cyKey · 17 Jun 2006 at 16:02

titchard said:
Is that with or without the flash?

Rich

Without. Never use the flash in clubs as it ruins the lighting. The only time when its ok to is if you want to get slow-syncro flash style shots, where the lights and people have a kind of energy to them. But generally don't use the flash.

Ghost in the Shell · 17 Jun 2006 at 16:07

cyKey said:
Without. Never use the flash in clubs as it ruins the lighting. The only time when its ok to is if you want to get slow-syncro flash style shots, where the lights and people have a kind of energy to them. But generally don't use the flash.

pete i was hoping youd read this as you are the authority on gig stuff here

can you recommend settings on the 50 too please?

binaryknight · 17 Jun 2006 at 16:11

never done that kinda environment before either but wont 1/20 give a fair bit of blur / camershake seeing as there will be a lot of movement between lights and people?
not a critism im just trying to understand so that i may be able to get results my self at some point

JBuk · 17 Jun 2006 at 16:24

binaryknight said:
never done that kinda environment before either but wont 1/20 give a fair bit of blur / camershake seeing as there will be a lot of movement between lights and people?
not a critism im just trying to understand so that i may be able to get results my self at some point

thats what I was just thinking, well apart from camera shake shouldnt be a problem at 1/20 @17mm but people moving will no doubt blur?

cyKey · 17 Jun 2006 at 16:29

Ghost in the Shell said:
pete i was hoping youd read this as you are the authority on gig stuff here

can you recommend settings on the 50 too please?

Similar thing. Gig/night club photography means pushing your camera to its limits. You'll want the lens wide open so f/1.4. Set the shutter speed to 1/50th. Set the ISO till you get a good picture. If you get a good exposure on a shot noise won't be an issue since you won't be boosting anything to increase the noise. Then you can remove it with Noiseware later.

binaryknight said:
never done that kinda environment before either but wont 1/20 give a fair bit of blur / camershake seeing as there will be a lot of movement between lights and people?
not a critism im just trying to understand so that i may be able to get results my self at some point

It might add to the atmosphere of a club. I often shoot gigs at 1/10 but it does depend on the artist.

That was at 1/10 or 1/20th.

JBuk · 17 Jun 2006 at 16:41

cyKey said:
Similar thing. Gig/night club photography means pushing your camera to its limits. You'll want the lens wide open so f/1.4. Set the shutter speed to 1/50th. Set the ISO till you get a good picture. If you get a good exposure on a shot noise won't be an issue since you won't be boosting anything to increase the noise. Then you can remove it with Noiseware later.

It might add to the atmosphere of a club. I often shoot gigs at 1/10 but it does depend on the artist.

That was at 1/10 or 1/20th.

What lens do you find you use the most for gigs? When theres lots of lights flashing ,etc Do you specifically try and expose for a certain feature ?
I`ve been asked to take a shot of my Dad and his mate when gigging ,its for a poster but i`m a total novice, still though I`d like to do my best

Ghost in the Shell · 17 Jun 2006 at 16:49

JBuk said:
What lens do you find you use the most for gigs? When theres lots of lights flashing ,etc Do you specifically try and expose for a certain feature ?
I`ve been asked to take a shot of my Dad and his mate when gigging ,its for a poster but i`m a total novice, still though I`d like to do my best

one more Q metering - whats the best setting?

cyKey · 17 Jun 2006 at 16:51

JBuk said:
What lens do you find you use the most for gigs? When theres lots of lights flashing ,etc Do you specifically try and expose for a certain feature ?
I`ve been asked to take a shot of my Dad and his mate when gigging ,its for a poster but i`m a total novice, still though I`d like to do my best

Recently i swapped between my Canon 50mm f/1.8 and my Sigma 10-20 f/4 - 5.6. I've now bought the Sigma 24-70 and I used that this week for a gig and only that lens. I never needed more. I would still use my 10-20 for the cool wider angle effect. f/2.8 or even f/1.8 sometimes isn't enough. I'll have to start looking into f/1.4 primes or at least a 20/30D with better ISO handling.

divine` · 17 Jun 2006 at 18:21

cyKey said:
That was at 1/10 or 1/20th.

EXIF says 1/20

Ghost in the Shell · 18 Jun 2006 at 11:19

got some good ones last night thanks chaps. i will get some processes results up at some point, the 17-40 was the winner on the night as people wern't being to freindly about me moving amongst them so much so using the 50 was awkward as you have to move a lot to get the native angles rather than have a zoom to help do the work..

sometime when i think about it i often think to sell the 17-40 but i tell you what its a fierce lens and i dont know what id do with out it!

thanks

cyKey · 18 Jun 2006 at 11:28

Glad to hear you had a good time

Ghost in the Shell · 18 Jun 2006 at 22:54

ok i am just posting some examples. these have just been quickly converted to jpeg and resized, no post processing as i haven't had time. if anyone wants to suggest what to do to any or have a go please feel free. critique is welcome!

cyKey · 18 Jun 2006 at 22:56

Not bad at all. The only thing I can think of is Noiseware for the noise.

Ghost in the Shell · 18 Jun 2006 at 22:56

Ghost in the Shell · 18 Jun 2006 at 22:59

Ghost in the Shell · 18 Jun 2006 at 23:00

thats it for now!

Alex53 · 18 Jun 2006 at 23:00

I started with a 50mm f1.8 because it was the cheapest fast lens and now I use that and a Sigma 20mm f1.8 so that I can still get shots in packed venues. Also have the Canon 35mm f2 but the 20 and the 50 usually stay on the cameras longer for this kind of shoot.