A camera for Gigs?

mjsmyth

I have an Olympus FE 240 that I bought a few years ago in the US. Its a nice and small compact 7.1 megapixel camera with 5x Optical zoom on it, handy for taking pics at gigs and so on.

I was at the AC / DC gig at the weekend and whilst the camera took some decent shots of the band, it took an incredibly steady hand to take them (difficult in a mosh pit) as the camera was very slow to focus in the low light.

I wouldn't mind getting a new camera that worked well in low light conditions and had a similar, if not better zoom on it. I don't want an SLR type camera though as I personally think they are took bulky to carry around at a gig. The FE 240 slips nicely into a pocket without making a bulge.

Obviously I don't want to spend a small fortune either as there is always the risk of losing the camera at a gig.

Anyone got any suggestions for a replacement or maybe some pointers on how to use the features of the FE 240 to speed up / correct my use.

Thanks,
MJ

AnCatDubh

hmnnnnn....... My thinking is that P&S's are generally going to struggle in low light.

The canon G9 (G10 present version) was discussed here recently - there are some very good reviews from users on the forum BUT I don't know how it performs under low light - perhaps some of the owners of the G9 or G10 might comment.

But it's not a cheap solution. You definitely wouldn't want to lose it. Eh,.... I'd go so far as to say there isn't a cheap solution to what you are looking for. The ideal recommendation is for a DSLR with gig quality lens but its has the overhead of size and cost.

Check out the "so you want to buy a new camera" sticky thread at the top of the forum list.

Hope that helps.

mjsmyth

Thanks for that.

MJ

melekalikimaka

aye aye, seems a g9 or entry level dslr would be best

mjsmyth

Thanks, I just looked up the G9 and G10 on DPReview. The form factor seems ok. Not as thin as the Fe 240, but not too bulky either.

I shall look into them more.

Thanks for the tips.

mj

silverside

I'd also look at the Fuji Finepix range ( I have the f100FD and think it takes pretty good gig photos for a compact).

e.g. (at 1600 ISO)

mjsmyth

Thanks Silverside.

fguihen

For gigs, Id get a beginners DSLR like the 500D or 1000D and the canon ef 50mm 1.4 USM.

This lens will give you 80mm focal length on the body with a crop sensor which is great for portraits, and also for gigs where your reasonably close to the stage, such as in the examples posted previously.

Also this lens is super fast for the money which will let you get away with a lower ISO and thus better quality photos, and also allow you to operate with much quicker shutter speed to freeze action.

If the 350 bucks for the lens is too much you can get the "nifty 50" which is a 50mm 1.8f lens that is only about 80 bucks and is still pretty fast and awesome.

note, both lens's are super sharp.

this is what i would do at least.

Crispin

used a g10 recently, would probably do a decent job. it has high iso range but only any good if you are not worried about noise. It is really noisy above 400.
built like a tank though and fits in the pocket!
I would think a cheap slr and a 50mm 1.7 would be way better but it is a hassle to carry when you want to mosh