good Cameras for the new Tour

[domo-kun]

I just sold my old Panasonic lumix and bought a new one the TD-10,
I was so happy with the last one I decided to ditch Canon when it comes to hand-held,
I had a powershot , but it just didn't compare to the quality of my panasonic.
It was an older model tough , so no dissing on the newer models here.
Anyway I'm going test it in concert mode in May, and then I'll post a small review with some pics with it.

 

[Martinski]

How do you get system cameras inside the arena? Dont you have guards that search ur stuff when u enter? My brother tried to bring his Canon 400D when we went to Coldplay and it was definitetely a no go. The only cameras they allow inside are small compact ones.

 

[domo-kun]

You have to try and sneak them in, if you get busted , you have to go and return your camera to your car or hotel room.
I have a 450D, but I never had the guts to take it with me in the GA line. My camera is just to precious for me , and missing out my spot in the GA line is quite the same. I might try next time tough. Its never to late to try, I think I would risk it now since I've seen them a couple times and I know I can get to the front again with ease anyway.

 

[achtung_girl]

U2 2010 by joy-of-markers on deviantART


All taken with a PANASONIC Lumix DMC-FS10, which is about 105 bucks.


, except for the meeting photo's.
Those where taken by a Canon EOS 450D in a very pushy crowd

cool pictures !!!

 

[TheEdge25]

I just have a FlipVideo HD.

Small enough to sneak into the stadium in your pocket, but it takes pretty nice HD video and it's got good audio. That's what I'll be using this summer at the SLC and Anaheim shows.

 

[domo-kun]

cool pictures !!!

Yes , those where taken with my previous camera , I got a new one now.
Thankyou, they are good memories.

 

[trojanchick99]

If anyone is in the market for a new camera and is in the US, the Panasonic Lumix ZS7 is $199 at Amazon (free shipping and no sales tax!). It's available in Red, Black and Blue.

It's got 12x Optical zoom and shoots HD Video.

I can't wait to use mine!

 

[marik]

Yes , those where taken with my previous camera , I got a new one now.
Thankyou, they are good memories.

Those pics look great.
Now i know nothing about cameras, but Im wondering if my SONY DSC-H20 Cyber-Shot (10.1 Mega Pixels, 10X Optical zoom) is on the same level as the one you used to snap those? Or was the camera you used much better, and I shouldnt hope for anything quite as good?

 

[ramblin rose]

If anyone is in the market for a new camera and is in the US, the Panasonic Lumix ZS7 is $199 at Amazon (free shipping and no sales tax!). It's available in Red, Black and Blue.

It's got 12x Optical zoom and shoots HD Video.

I can't wait to use mine!

I love mine, it's awesome!! And the videos it takes are spectacular (including the sound!!).

 

[trojanchick99]

I love mine, it's awesome!! And the videos it takes are spectacular (including the sound!!).

I saw some U2 vid taken with it on youtube and It shipped yesterday, so hopefully I will have it to play with by Tuesday.

 

[domo-kun]

Those pics look great.
Now i know nothing about cameras, but Im wondering if my SONY DSC-H20 Cyber-Shot (10.1 Mega Pixels, 10X Optical zoom) is on the same level as the one you used to snap those? Or was the camera you used much better, and I shouldnt hope for anything quite as good?

I think that its just as good if you know how to use it in the right way.
If you can manually change the settings, your all good,
take a shutter time around 1/200 ish and sometimes for filming it helps to set the exposure on -1.5 ish.
My old camera had just 10 megapixel and 8x optical zoom as wel.
Its not the amount of megapixels that makes your pitures look good , its all in the setting you or me choose

I love mine, it's awesome!! And the videos it takes are spectacular (including the sound!!).

I'm pretty sure I have the same model Panasonic as you guys , but Its named different in europe?
I tested it in concert, when filming in HD the sound is perfect and the zoom is exactly the same amount (12 x), plus its available in those colors as well.
I have the black version.
Anyway, I love it So I'm with you all.

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

For your camera, that would be a *really* high ISO. I was considering the G10 when I replaced my old camera for this tour. Noise on point and shoots at higher ISOs can be a real issue. And here's the thing- though there are low light/difficult light portions of a U2 gig, for the most part, the lighting is more than adequate to use a lower ISO.

Your camera might have a setting like mine which allows you to 'limit' your ISO. Basically the camera will choose ISO for you but only up to a point. On the European leg of the tour (ironically, when I had more light to work with) I allowed it to go to 400.

By the time they got to the U.S., I'd reevaluated and decided only to let the ISO go to 200, while maintaining an average shutter time of about 1/125.

I noticed no appreciable difference in quality as far as having to compensate for poor exposure, but the noise was reduced. So A+ there.

Last tour, with my much older camera I found myself still shooting at ISO 100 or 200. So it's definitely doable.

A point and shoot's never going to give you what an SLR does (though they're certainly trying for it) but on the other hand, at a U2 gig, with that lighting rig you can certainly get some decent shots once you have the basic settings and ideas down. I'd also say check how you're metering. I tend to prefer spot metering for shows but ymmv.

But yeah... check out local gigs. If you can get the hang of it in difficult lighting, u2 will be easy. And once you've got the hang of it, it becomes such an exhilarating thing to shoot, rather than frustrating as it can be otherwise.

great info. here and the last picture of Bono here

 

[kramwest1]

I broke down and grabbed a Nikon S9100 from Costco. The reviews are quite good, and I've never been impressed with my Canon SD980.

18x optical, 1080P video, and a good sensor. Trying it out in the store, it uses its vibration reduction really well even with full zoom.

 

[superblue]

I really wanted a Lumix LX5, as it still remains the standard in compact cameras, but still at $400 it just is a bit too much for my budget (my camera budget was blown on my Nikon D80).

The new Nikon P300 has gotten rave reviews and is meant to compete with the LX5 and S90, but at $100 less. It has a smaller sensor, but supposedly is a low light performing champ, not to mention 1080p video Will be grabbing one soon, and testing it out in Philly.....

 

[LemonZooropa]

Sorry to bump this thread, but I'm currently in the process of deciding what camera to buy. After attending the second show in Anaheim, I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't film better footage, so to prepare myself for any future concerts, I was wondering what suggestions you guys might have? My current camera is pretty old (Sony Cybershot DSC-W1), and I've been looking at the Canon Powershot 300ELPH, Sony HX5V, and the Canon Powershot S95. I'm mainly looking for something that can take average to above-average quality pictures, something that is somewhat portable, and able to film in HD quality with good sound. From what I've read, the 300 ELPH meets most of my minds, but I haven't read anything about audio at concerts. My budget is anywhere from $200-$300 (I know I can't be expecting too much from that), and I hope that someone can help me out.

EDIT: The P300 as mentioned above looks to have great reviews, so I'm also considering that

 

[kkaider]

Sorry to bump this thread, but I'm currently in the process of deciding what camera to buy. After attending the second show in Anaheim, I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't film better footage, so to prepare myself for any future concerts, I was wondering what suggestions you guys might have? My current camera is pretty old (Sony Cybershot DSC-W1), and I've been looking at the Canon Powershot 300ELPH, Sony HX5V, and the Canon Powershot S95. I'm mainly looking for something that can take average to above-average quality pictures, something that is somewhat portable, and able to film in HD quality with good sound. From what I've read, the 300 ELPH meets most of my minds, but I haven't read anything about audio at concerts. My budget is anywhere from $200-$300 (I know I can't be expecting too much from that), and I hope that someone can help me out.

EDIT: The P300 as mentioned above looks to have great reviews, so I'm also considering that

I bought the Canon S95 based on reviews of several here a few pages back (I think ntalwar and d.darroch?). Huge improvement over the crappy Kodak I used in the 2009 shows. That said, there are still some limitations. For the Oakland show we were 3-4 rows out on Edge's side so I got some good close ups. But for last night's Baltimore show we were in Red Zone and the shots of the main stage look fairly far away, so the zoom is not great on this camera. Also I used the continuous shooting feature a few times when Edge roamed the catwalk near us, but the autofocus was not able to keep up with him walking by at a brisk pace. So I have some shots of him in focus from far away then steadily getting more out of focus as he approaches then returning to focus as he walks away. As far as video, forget it. The mic on this camera can't handle the bass pumping out of the claw - very distorted almost to being unrecognizable. Sound is fine in "normal" settings, but if video/audio from the concert is a must then this isn't the camera for you (but I have no idea if any of the others you mentioned are any better).

Still, all in all I'm happy with this camera and the photos I got at Oakland and Baltimore. Also, it has some cool features for picture taking outside of concerts. Happy with the purchase (so thanks to the aforementioned for the recommendations), but your milage may vary. If I get a chance I may post some good and bad shots here as examples.

 

[trojanchick99]

I purchased a Panasonic Lumix SZ7 for the shows this summer. I love this camera. It takes pretty darn good photos and the video is It has 12x zoom, takes 720P video and stereo audio. It has a pretty good manual mode which lets you adjust focal length and shutter speed on the fly.

Here's video from Seattle, outer rail center.

YouTube - ‪Even Better Than the Real Thing - U2 360 Seattle 6/4/11‬‏

Here's a couple photos, one from inner circle, another from outer rail.

Outer Rail:

Inner Circle:

 

[U2Fanatic4ever]

^very nice!

 

[trojanchick99]

^very nice!

I'm quite pleased. I know several people with cameras in the same line and there've been some stellar pictures and video.

 

[vjacqb]

The video taken on Lumix ZS7 is the best one I've seen so far

But for pictures I really haven't been able to get it to work right. I have not been really happy with my pictures. I'm just so used to the Sony DSC-HX1 I have. It's heavy like a brick, but I find that even using some of their preset auto settings the pictures came out wonderful. Manual setting was even better. It's only producing pics with 9MP resolution, but somehow they look better than the pictures I was getting from the Panasonic ZS7 (with 12MP resolution). I guess every camera has its own forte and weaknesses.

I've seen Sicy's pictures she took using a Canon (I forgot which model) and they're astonishing. So I guess your decision on which camera to buy will depend on what you're going to use your camera for. If you are going to take more videos than still pictures, check out Panasonic (I think they discontinued ZS7, but their successors are ZS8 and ZS10). But if you take more still pics than videos, look into Canon or Sony. Or maybe even Nikon.