[Chaos]

The concert of the year for me is tomorrow. Always been a Sammy Hagar and Van Halen fan but getting Joe Satriani and Chad Smith added to the mix is a major bonus. I am able to take my Nikon P80, and am in the process of charging all 3 batteries. If you look at the venue map below I am in the VIP area so I hope to get some good shots with any luck. Weather is supposed to be sunny and 26c with 5km/hr winds from the south so it should be ideal conditions. I am not experienced shooting in the dark so any heads up from those familiar with the Nikon P80 or similar please feel free to give up some of your secrets

http://halifaxrockfest.ca/

Other main acts are Sloan, Finger Eleven and Our Lady Piece

PS:This event will have live interaction with the Canadian military working their asses of in Afghanistan. So if you are in the Maritimes or Norteastern US states like Maine and you need a good reason to get away and party or just want to support the troops showtime starts at 2:00PM AST / 1:00PM EST and runs to 11:00 PM

[Falstaff]

tell me how it is, I still havent bought the album.

[Chaos]

will do and hope to have some decent pics what do i need to know about night shooting Jeff I'm a noob

[Falstaff]

day or night shooting?
I just sat through the Status Quo concert, Simply Red and Pussycat Dolls and I did most of it at Apeture Priority with a good lense. I have a 50mm f/1.2 and an 80 mm f/1.8 lense but I use 3200 or 1600, between F2 or F4. I know a good prime is what you really need unless you are going to get right up in their face. My NR with my lense makes a huge difference even at a high ISO. Its a concert so have fun.
I dont recommend flash but a monopod is nice. Just remember, your going to be surrounded by everyone else with flash or long lenses or even heavy flash units.
If not, then your going to get some good shots at night. I have found that even ISO set for automatic is just fine in the brilliant lighting of concerts, but why not have fun. If you keep more than half the shots your doing well.
Do you recall Allans photos from the Queen concert a few years ago. he might have a few more tips too, I m the kinda guy that experiments so I dont mind noise of over saturation or odd framing, its just my way.

[Chaos]

only point and click no digital SLR allowed and yes i remember the Queen pics they were nice but keep in mind i am camera illiterate so details will only confuse me

[Falstaff]

ah geez, sorry about that, I assumed it was a typo.
No the P80 really excels at this type of shooting. I know in auto the ISO sensitivity goes right up to 3200, and if you use HS its 6400. I think your going to be very happy with your pics unless your right up Sammys nostrils, LOL.
at 13 fps your going to have some great oppurtunities to capture some highlights.
can you adjust D lighting?
I saw one at the store just recently, I recall it has settings for different scenes,etc.
I think there was one for night work and for sports too.
I should have an apeture priority mode too.
I am sorry Chaos, I should have an old manual around for this but I never owned a P80, but the principal is the same.
More light and faster ISO.
your camera should do fine in auto from what I recall.

[Zardon]

just remember Chaos you really don't need flash on for those kind of shots. people assume you need it, but what they don't realise is that the flash ends about 5-10 foot in front of them so its pointless. you just end up lighting up the back of the heads of people right in front of you. Anyway the intense artifical stage lighting works wonders to help with light (even if its fake).

I won't bore you with a lot of technical stuff you can do with an SLR, if you are using a point and shoot, I just recommend having a quick read of the manual and seeing if you can alter the ISO setting. I wouldn't go above 800 on a little hand held as they tend to add an excessive amount of noise but if you can set it manually to 800 it should give you a good amount of detail and compensate for any minor hand shake. A buddy of mine used the "landscape" (normally a little mountain logo) setting on his little hand held pocket camera and it works well - as it keeps focus to the far extremes of the focal range it tends to work best.

If you want more info I can give you it, but I think it would just bore you to tears taking about RAW format and various tricks - I am sure your pictures will turn out fine. Be sure to post whatever you can, I think that band are really good, listened to that album a lot in the last few weeks.

I met Joe Satriani year before last. I was a VIP guest with a local newspaper and I took some shots of him for a magazine. Great guitar player and very down to earth bloke.

I think if I ever gave up Driverheaven I would go back to working as a photographer - I have a lot of memories, all of which are good. I have actually been doing some wedding photography for people recently which is surprisingly quite enjoyable - everyone is always so happy at events like that.

[Falstaff]

I just had a quick look at the manual and it appears that his camera has adjustments to allow him take some perfectly good concer pics with it.
I am jealous Allan, meeting Satriani, your access to the industry really opens doors, poor sods like us just have to sit in the BFE row and hope for the best, LOL.
I am not worthy (bows frequently)

[niceguyrichy]

if you end up getting jostled a lot, try using the sport setting, it usually allows for a fair amount of movement while still taking a decent shot

[Mac Daddy]

Have fun Steve I can't wait to see the pics

Turnin' Left ... Turnin' Left

[Chaos]

the countdown is on, just a few hours before I head out for the show Couldnt ask for a nicer day 27c and not a cloud in the sky

Mac if you keep turning left you will end up right back where you started

[Chaos]

So do you think the various Scene settings will be good enough? I set ISO to 800 or is that too high, leaving anytime so reply ASAP

[Chaos]

Well 30 minutes until i head out to the show

[Falstaff]

LOL, sorry Chaos, I just returned from Norfolk, hope you had a blast.

[Mac Daddy]

I just received a few mysterious pics from some dude in Nova Scotia on MSN

[Chaos]

fuckin killer band i was totally happy. if anyone likes the pics I thank Z for telling me to use NO FLASH and set my ISO to 800 as suggested

[Mac Daddy]

Rock on Steve glad you enjoyed it

[Tyrsonswood]

Right on!

[Chaos]

had to leave early unfortunately due to things i had no control of but got every penny s worth IMHO Chickenfoot Freakin ROCKS!!!!!

[Cow_160483]

Cool chaos glad you had a great time

[Zardon]

pictures turned out well - glad you enjoyed yourself man.

[Chaos]

Thanks Z, the boys were super tight and Chad beats the piss out of his drums but is amazinging tight

[CATALYST maker]

Steve, my turn to see them tomorrow. In Toronto at a small venue. Thanks for pumping me up!

[Chaos]

Originally Posted by CATALYST maker

Steve, my turn to see them tomorrow. In Toronto at a small venue. Thanks for pumping me up!

Terry they rocked the joint, opps is joint a "BAD" word

I posted some more in heavenly visions

[CATALYST maker]

Originally Posted by Chaos

Terry they rocked the joint, opps is joint a "BAD" word

I posted some more in heavenly visions

hehehe

GET IT ON!!!

[Mac Daddy]

Originally Posted by CATALYST maker

Steve, my turn to see them tomorrow. In Toronto at a small venue. Thanks for pumping me up!

Right on Terry and have fun man we want to see some pics of you onstage with your tongue sticking out