HelP!! What lens is best for gig photography??!

They are only £30 cheaper from Onestop digital so its not even worth buying from them
 
Pix now up on flickr

hoping to be at Scala for Melanie C on Friday (hope that doesnt fall thru as im now looking to sell my ticket, ha) - always been pretty dim in there, success will also depend on pit or no pit. onwards and upwards!
 
Cheers! (if you mean mine)

Arent they just! (if you mean the other ones i posted from flickr that arent mine)

at some point ill post ones of mine that i like, but i'm not feeling terrible brag-ful at the moment...

:-)
 
Do it! Brag away!!!!! :D
 
dan_yell said:
latest shots - sans mr fancy lens

Here

and Here and agency shots (to compare and weep at) here
Click to expand...

i don't really think there's much difference in terms of sharpness between both sets of shots, as has been the main topic in this thread. i think the differences are in style and variation.

the agency guy's set has a greater variety of shots - wide angle, close crop, different compositions.

by using primes, you're limiting yourself to either 50mm or 85mm focal lengths. with the 'standard' 24-70, you give yourself so much more opportunity. you can see how the agency guy uses lights and 'empty space' to create different compositions. with a fixed focal length, you physically have to move to create similar scenes. and with smaller venues, this becomes less and less possible due to available pit space.

you only get a matter of minutes to take your shots, so the fewer complicating variables you can introduce, the better - one of these is having to think about moving yourself to/fro to get the composition you want. with 24-70 you can stand on one position and experiment with a whole range of possible compositions.
 
true true my friend true. that was the nice change when i rented the lens. i shall stop flogging a dead horse on that :-)

but look, i've grown, i was using 1250iso :-D
 
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dan_yell said:
true true my friend true. that was the nice change when i rented the lens.

but look, i've grown, i was using 1250iso :-D
Click to expand...

hehe i noticed that :thumbs: gold star!

looking at some of the other guy's pics, he had a couple of frames with a lot of noise in, but i don't think they detract from the image - in fact most of the time they add some character to the shot :)

ones like this one, and it's got loads of horrible blue light, but the whole frame (i think) is really nice, lovely starry lights, a thoughtful pose.

agencies usually require about 12-15 shots, ideally all from different angles/different styles... and generally 'clean' shots of the face, with no microphone intereference. this means you have to 'read' the songs, know when the singer is going to hit a big note, so generally moves the mic away from their mouth - so you have to position yourself slightly to the side. notice if they have a particular affinity with a guitarist, bassist, etc. and position yourself on that side of the stage so you can get some shots when they're not singing. or look for moments, as Mel C did, if they reach over to the crowd to high 5, or shake hands.
 
there were a couple of moments that i missed because my focus was off, and had the focus been on her face, would have been useable. In terms of reading songs, I really should have known better because i admit i was a little obsessed back in the day :-(

the blue light was a bit evil - but the lighting was the best i've ever seen it there, and better than for the support act. Makes me wonder why if they've got the lights they dont bother using them - and only someone 'bigger' seems to have warrented more lights. I had tried to choose the side that ppeared to have the best light based on the support, but had i stayed on my original side i reckon i'd have got the non mic hand side - boo.

I've had a couple of nice chats with a couple of photographers and i think if i were to be super lucky enough to get in with an agency i'd need that variable length lens. Another venue does ask for a variety of shots and i'm able to get that there with their bigger pit and many levels.

all that said, I am happy with the handful of shots i put on line, shame i missed a few, but given how the lighting had been i was kind of nervous that i'd get anything remotely good.
 
All I can do is echo Benners words. Good shots, just need more variation, and the ability to use a zoom just shows how you can change a scene in a split second, as apose to being stuck with primes.

Good set though :)
 
it's gone now... personally i treat amazon marketplace/resellers with exactly the same cynicism as ebay. not for me.
 
well thats interesting as i had just emailed him to ask about the history of it and why it was so cheap... hmmm... the lens has also disappeared..... hmmmm

i'm open to amazon and ebay. my 2 slrs are both from ebay - both used but both in pretty much brand new condition and have had no problems with either *touch* wood - which is why i just wanted more history from him.

ill put my savings book away :P
 
I always use here or MPB photographic
 
I have had 2 terrible experiences with Amazon Marketplace with sellers trying to scam me.

One sent me a fake Amazon order via email and a request to pay him via moneygram which I forwarded straight to Amazon fraud department.

The second I actually paid over £500 for on 23rd November via Amazon and was told by the seller that it was being shipped from Germany, it can take up to 21 days to arrive and it was not trackable online.
There was no mention of the camera coming from Germany or the long long delivery time when I ordered but what really set my alarm bells off was the package not trackable statement.
I contacted Amazon with my concerns and was told to wait for 14 days and see if it arrives.
While I was waiting I was emailing the seller every other day and I never received a reply.
Sure enough, it didn't arrive and on the 14th day I contacted Amazon CS and was told to wait another 3 days and file a claim.
This I did and was then told it can take up to 21 days to receive a refund as they have to give the seller time to provide a resolution! All this despite the fact that after the initial contact he had not replied to me.

So I'm over £500 out of pocket until (at the latest) sometime in the new year.

Amazon marketplace do not provide customer support, it should be called seller support and these 2 experiences mean I will never purchase from Amazon marketplace again!
 
Yeah that sounds like a complete nightmare! I hope you get it sorted.

Well give all that i would prob not do marketplace, but i'm still on the fence about ebay - its been ok so far and it was where i was going to look when the time came.

but seeing as I have found the good people of talkphotography and there seems to be some selling going on here, i can consider that too.

I had my last gig of the year at Koko, a band at a club night - totally wouldnt have used 2.8 here, so dark! ew. narrowly escaped getting fallen on by bouncer as someone on the crowd started on him (the bouncer was only telling him to stop smoking...) and almost got taken out by mic stand as the lead got caught on their big screen which was being raised for the band!

A couple of fun people to take photos of, but other than that, a bit of a damp squib - onto 2012!!
 
from what I can gather, amazon marketplace is a just a poor, unregulated version of ebay, so I'll just steer clear.
If I'm not buying new, I'll buy from the classifieds on here, much more trustworthy and there's always someone selling something of interest :)

dan_yell I think you need to look at upgrading your camera body, rather than get a growing ill-feeling for 2.8 lenses. no-one's going to get desirable/useable images from a 2.8 if it's stuck on an entry-level DSLR. i know you don't have an entry-level, but if you're going to seriously get into dark event photography, then a higher spec body is going to be a must.

agency workers/pros will very very rarely use a 1.8 or 1.4. i know there'll be the odd one who may, but the majority will use a 2.8 24-70, 70-200 combo. and they can do that as the bodies are of good enough quality.

you can put racing tyres on a Nissan Micra, but it won't make it a competing rally car ;)
 
I will def. be keeping eye on classified and MHb photography as well. thanks for the heads up.

Benners - yes I agree. i dont have any ill feeling towards the lens though, i know its my 40d limiting me. Unfort. my budget right now limits anything more. As i say, then the new canon is out i'm hoping that might swing a good 5d mark II deal my way.

this was the reply in the end from the amazon person......no confidence added there then...

Thank you for your express interest in my Product,

Delivery takes two days max.You receive the package before Christmas.

First of all i want to tell you that my products are new in box,
with 12 mounths manufacturer warranty, product comes in its box with all original acceosrile included.

The price is so special for Christmas offers,i have a stock liquidation.The product is available in stock, the product is UK version
My return policy is that is 14 working days you can return the package and you will receive your full money back guranteed.
All transaction goes through the A-to-z Safe Buying Guarantee Protection
I make the transaction under Amazon Service and if you want to buy send me your full name and shipp address
to forward them to Amazon and start the transaction.
Then you will be contacted by them with the rest of the order(payment and shipping detailles).
tell me if you are intrested to buy it so we can make the next step.


Thanks for ordering and Merry Christmas.
Waiting your email, to complete this transaction, together
 
expect another email shortly, from his Nigerian uncle...
 
dan_yell - sale now on at Park Cameras:

EOS 5D MK II Body
was £2,299.99
now £1,475.00

EOS 5D MK II + EF 24-70mm F2.8L USM
was £3,499.99
now £2,469.00
 
Thanks for the heads up. I think its been about that price on amazon (not marketplace) for a while though. But good that there signs of sales.

no lottery win tonight. booo.

Not heard of park cameras i dont think, have yoy used them?
 
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