paging Lies/anyone - camera recommendation?

[gvox]

Hey Lies (or anyone else!)

I'm about to invest in my first compact digital camera...looking at the Canon Elph line and Sony Cybershot ones....something in the $160-200 range? I want one that will be good for no-flash shots on the upcoming tour

My main point of separation right now seems to be ISO. Most of the models I'm looking at are 1000-1600 ISO, and then there is one Sony that is 3200. Is 1600 sufficient for great concert shots, or is 3200 just overkill?

 

[Liesje]

I'm not familiar with Canon Elphs or Sonys, but I will say that my old Canon that I used on the U2 tour, I only ever used ISO 100, 200, or 400 b/c I think those were the only available options in manual mode.

These are my favorite concert photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/liesjers/sets/72157600064573298/

 

[gvox]

Thanks Lies! What kind of camera did you use? What do you think of the Canon Powershot? I'm looking at the A720 IS...

 

[Liesje]

I used a Canon PowerShot S1-IS, the original S-x (now on S5). I sold it last month. Now I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50 (haven't used for concerts yet) and last week I got a Canon PowerShot A460, which is like the cheapest, most basic Canon available, but I love the super-macro on it so I use it for fun macro photography (click the link in my sig). If I had not gotten the Panasonic I would have gotten the Canon S5. However the Panasonic had two features I wanted - shooting raw and using the barrel for zooming and manual focus (rather than levers on the top or back of the camera).

 

[gvox]

Wow those are some great shots! I take it you've never used the 460 for live yet, right? I like that Panasonic too, dpreview gave it high marks if I recall correctly....but I'm worried about trying to get into shows with it. I got stopped with my EOS 35mm a few times last tour, even though I had taken it apart and 'stowed' it discreetly

 

[Liesje]

I have the same concern. It was hard getting the S1 into shows! The FZ50 is even better and looks like a DSLR (it's not). I do have a woman's trick I've used to get a camera in inside my purse, but you'd have to have a friend help you!

So far I haven't used the A460 for anything but macros and pics of my mom's garden.

 

[gvox]

Yeah...I'm trying to balance out the need for shows which is proportionately smaller than my everyday need for great pictures...throw in a desire for portability and I'm going to be a tough customer...I don't want to lose my love of SLR quality shots but at the same time I'm not interested in lugging around a separate camera bag anymore...hard guy to please, I guess lol!!!

 

[Liesje]

Yeah I had the same problem and in the end, got two cameras. Actually, I got the A460 b/c I figured I'd spend as much or more on a macro adapter for the FZ50. Now Phil can play around with the A460.

This time around, I didn't have to think much about shows. U2 shows are the only ones I care to photograph and I don't do any low light or sport photography so I have it easy.

 

[gvox]

Gah! I forgot about sport photography...have both kids in sports

Do you have a favorite review site? Ive been on dpreview for a while..

 

[Liesje]

I use dpreview too and I'm on the Panasonic forum. I also use this site for customer reviews and prices:

http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/digital-cameras/

 

[ntalwar]

ISO 400, 800, or sometimes 1600 is good for concert shots. However, over 95% of the compact models (elph, cybershot, etc.) have unacceptable noise at that ISO level. Look for a brand/model that has low noise at high ISOs. www.dcresource.com has noise ratings I think.

 

[gvox]

Yes, I'm finding that out. Most of the reviews I've read state that they can't figure out why manufacturers even bother with the 1000+ iso marketing ploy when they can't possibly offer a decent shot at that ISO. I'm used to using 800 speed film in my 35mm cameras...am I going to be disappointed? Lies seems to have been able to get some pretty damn good shots at 400, that's for sure!!

 

[Liesje]

I'll have to dig up those original files and then I can get the EXIF data for them. I can't remember exactly what manual settings I used, but I rarely made adjustments since I didn't really know what I was doing (and still don't). I do do some post processing on almost every photo, and for every good one there were probably 5-10 I trashed.

 

[Dr. Lemonseed]

My main recommendation is to check out your max aperture. Also, most newer cameras use COD chips instead of CCDs chips. I've found that (C-Oh-D vs C-Cee-D). COD provides great color resolution, but suffers a bit on the low lighting.

Basically, if you want some nice concert stills, check out their lowlight performance. My CanonPowerShot doesn't look good at ISO1600.

Finally, you can check out chip size. There's 1/4, 1/3, or 1/2 inch chips. The bigger the chip, the more light they can collect quickly.

So basically, I'd be looking for a 1/3 or 1/2 inch CCD chip with large aperture lens that can open up to F1.4 or 1.2 if you're lucky.

 

[VintagePunk]

What do you think of the Canon Powershot? I'm looking at the A720 IS...

I just got that camera for my daughter a few weeks ago. She's taken it to school with her, and she hasn't had much time to play around with it, though.

 

[ntalwar]

I'm used to using 800 speed film in my 35mm cameras...am I going to be disappointed? Lies seems to have been able to get some pretty damn good shots at 400, that's for sure!!

The S1 is not a compact (i.e. point and shoot), so ISO 400 looks better on it compared to the elphs, a-series etc. For ISO 400 and above, something slightly larger will probably be needed (with some rare exceptions). I've gotten some decent shots from a Canon point-and-shoot but it's not as reliable, and I was about 15 feet from the stage.

 

[Liesje]

Yeah the S1 is NOT compact that is for sure!

 

[gvox]

Well I went middle of the road size wise, and hopefully everything I need functionality wise: the Powershot A720is

I'm just learning how to use the damn thing, taking lots of pictures of nothingness (yay macro! lol)

Have to reteach myself that I can snap and snap away and just erase the crap

The video function is doing something weird tho. Say I start in good light, then move to a somewhat darker room, vertical "lines" start coming on the image, like in old films or something. Its really weird and even if I go back to the good room it does it still until I stop recording, push the shutter half way down (i guess to reset it?) and then start recording again. It even does it in the viewfinder when taking pics sometimes, but the resulting image doesn't have the lines. The resulting videos do, though.

Ever seen anything like that? Or maybe I'm just way too much of a noob lol!!

 

[gvox]

woohoo, my first photos with the new toy:

(cropped to 800X600, no other post processing. all shots on Auto mode, mostly Macro)

I'd say so far I'm a pretty happy camper!

 

[gvox]

ha! these are for you Lies and Phil!

Marley's always a great subject...a little hard to ask to sit still, so these took a few dozen or so to get right