Beginner needing equipment advice!

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darihaze

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Daisy
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Hi everyone.

I'm in need of some advice, on Saturday I'll be taking some photos for a few punk bands in a 60 capacity venue I've never been to this venue but from photos I've seen I think it's going to be low light. I do have an external flash but I don't really like using it.

The only lenses I have right now are a 50mm 1.8 and a bog standard 18-55mm kit lens. I do love the 50mm but for such a small gig I think I'm going to struggle which is why I'm trying to find a lens ideally under £250 that's going to perform okay in low light and small space.

I was thinking of getting the Canon 24mm 2.8 but I'm worried that aperture is going to be unusable in low light especially as I'm not confident with external flash.

I'm using a Canon 750d, I don't just have to have Canon lenses obviously but I'm having a hard time navigating reviews so I'm just a bit clueless as to what will be the best for my tight budget, any advice welcome thank you!
 
The nifty fifty will be your best bet for low light .if you can find a 1.4 version even better. A 2.8 lens will probably be ok also but you may have to crank the ISO to compensate .Sometimes grainy images will suit the scene .
 
They do seem to be everyone's go-to gig lens I have taken some great shots with it at gigs also but in smaller venues I do struggle with getting more than just someone's face in the frame, I think at some point I will sell my 1.8 and get the 1.4 though! I do love some grain and I think the it'd definitely fit with the ambience of a punk gig for sure. Thank you!
 
I know what you mean I'm definitely not just buying the lens for this event as I've been trying to figure out what I've wanted for a while now, I've probably used the 50mm at around 10 gigs (had the lens for 2 years now so has been used for pretty much everything) and have got some great very arty shots both I and bands have been pleased with but I'm looking to get more in the frame ideally I'd want some kind of fish eye or super wide angle but most of those lenses are way out of my price range.

I haven't used my kit lens in a very long time so maybe this week before the gig I should pick it up and familiarise myself with it again, thank you!
 
If you're not already doing so, consider shooting in RAW (shoot RAW + JPeg if you've not shot RAW before, so you've got the JPegs to fall back on if you have problems processing the RAW), as you shoudl be able to better handle any noise from higher ISO in post.
Additionally, if images do look too 'noisy', consider converting to black and white - an image that is borderline in colour can often look fine in B&W.
 
I do have my camera set to take the raw and jpeg files but I tend to just deal with the jpeg because I got lazy but thank you I'm definitely going to use the raw from this gig!
 
I'm a fan of 50mm on FF but on APS-C I find it a bit long.

Back when I had Canon DSLR's I had a Sigma 20mm f1.8 which is a FF lens but it'll work on APS-C giving an equivalent filed of view of 32mm. There's a similar 24mm f1.8 too and both can be found used hopefully within budget. Another one I've had which might be worth a look could be the Sigma 30mm f1.4 EX DC HSM which is an APS-C lens but I think I'd have a long and hard think about if I wanted to buy a new lens for this. Maybe it's best to stick with the (IMO) rather long on APS-C 50mm and just accept the slightly long focal length.
 
darihaze said:
Hi everyone.

I'm in need of some advice, on Saturday I'll be taking some photos for a few punk bands in a 60 capacity venue I've never been to this venue but from photos I've seen I think it's going to be low light. I do have an external flash but I don't really like using it.

The only lenses I have right now are a 50mm 1.8 and a bog standard 18-55mm kit lens. I do love the 50mm but for such a small gig I think I'm going to struggle which is why I'm trying to find a lens ideally under £250 that's going to perform okay in low light and small space.

I was thinking of getting the Canon 24mm 2.8 but I'm worried that aperture is going to be unusable in low light especially as I'm not confident with external flash.

I'm using a Canon 750d, I don't just have to have Canon lenses obviously but I'm having a hard time navigating reviews so I'm just a bit clueless as to what will be the best for my tight budget, any advice welcome thank you!
Click to expand...
Learn to use that flash and save your money!
 
50 f1.8 is the lens to use from the set you have. I'd try to stick with ambient lighting to retain the atmosphere - flash can freeze action, but especially if you produce work in colour, it can completely destroy the atmosphere. It may also affect the performance for others, and some venues might ask you to leave.

If you really want to buy a lens (that will be useful afterwards too) then consider these:
£109 https://www.ffordes.com/p/SH-42-045935/canon-eos/24mm-f28-stm-ef-s
£129 https://www.ffordes.com/p/SH-42-038478/canon-eos/12-24mm-f4-atx-pro-sd-canon-eos
£199 https://www.ffordes.com/p/SH-42-044545/canon-eos/11-16mm-f28-atx-pro-dx-ii-canon-eos
£289 https://www.ffordes.com/p/SH-42-045328/canon-eos/28mm-f18-usm

I'd see the 28 f1.8 to be a good pairing with your 50, and it will always be a great lens what ever else you shoot too. The 11-16 f2.8 would give you a chance to catch more atmosphere with a faster aperture, but could be a bit wide, and the Tokina would be more versatile except for the f4 aperture. The 24 f2.8 is really good value, and would also be handy for this kind of work if the light levels aren't too terrible. I would probably leave the kit zoom at home.
 
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