O2 Dublin Gig-Lenses

hoganpoly

Anyone shoot gigs at the O2 in Dublin before, I have a pass for McFly ,have heard that once you pick which side of the stage you want to set up ,you cant switch over ,and no camera bags allowed,have a 24-70,70-200 and a nifty fifty ,which one if not all would anyone recommend thx

Ballyman

Give Paddy a shout - he's done plenty there.

b318isp

How fast is the 70-200? If 2.8, I'd bring that with a monopod. If f4, I'd probably consider the 24-70. Stick the nifty fifty in your pocket.

DotOrg

depends what you want to capture, what the band does and your shooting style. I've used a 16-35mm in there to shoot coldplay and i've used a 400 to shoot beyonce

if you want the focal lens that the majority will use, its the 70-200

each artist has different rules about where you can stand but i've never heard of no-bags rule in over 1 years of shooting concerts

PCPhoto

like what Dot Org says .... rules change for pretty much every gig (management companies...go figure !!)

Anyways .... McFly generally use straight forward lighting (not too much strobes) and are usually lit from the front which means they will be easily exposed properly.

Depending on where you are shooting from (Pit, 2nd Pit or Sound Desk) .... and the movement on stage will determine the lenses....they like to jump in the air with their guitars in their hands .... lifting their legs ...makes for a good pic.

A 70-200mm should cover it most of the time - but there will be occasions when one of them will run across the stage to the far side (or might come from across the stage to right in front of you) ..... I wouldn't go chasing them if they go running across the stage ... unless you really think something major is gonna happen.

Most gigs you are in the pit - right in front of them .... depending on stage height you can use any lens you want .... and can move around to get a different angle/view .... usually you are not limited while in the pit - but if they are recording for a video or something like that there may be big ass tv cameras getting in your way.

Enjoy the gig !!

ps... sometimes it makes a decent pic when you take a whole stage shot of the band with the "McFly" in the background in lights. .... it'll probably be the only way to get all band members in one pic.

As for the bag thing ..... I did have a gig at the O2 recently where we were not allowed ... can't for the life of me remember who it was .... but that generally means you just put the bag down at the side and pick it up on your way out .... I've rarely come across the bag thing....very rarely ..... maybe 5 times in about 10years.

hoganpoly

Thanks for all the replies, not sure where I will be set up Paddy ,will go with all lenses and see what happens,first time at the venue so should be an experience