ISO

Keefh

Keefh

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Keith
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I was at the Bluesfest (Albert Hall) yesterday. The room was dark but there were lots of lights on stage. What would be the default setting for ISO in your opinion? I tried 800, 1600 and 3200.
 
Depends very much on how high your body can go before noise becomes too obtrusive. Generally as low as possible, although to avoid messing about if the light gets worse, maybe a stop higher (if noise allows...)
 
The challenge is not to overexpose the highlights; these are usually on the face and it is really hard to get the skin tones looking natural if the exposure is too far out.
Easy rule is to expose for the face and the rest of the image can look after itself.
If the performers are spotlit, then the exposure can be remarkably consistent and I'll opt for Manual exposure.
Auto exposure can be very hit and miss under high contrast stage lighting; I do use it but always check the RGB histogram carefully to make sure the exposure is OK - you can't rely on looking at the screen.

My settings for shooting theatre / concerts are usually:
- Aperture wide open
- Shutter speed at least 1/125 otherwise the performers will have too much blur.
- ISO whatever is needed to achieve the above! Typically it seems to end up in the range 800 to 2500
 
DuncanDisorderly said:
The challenge is not to overexpose the highlights; these are usually on the face and it is really hard to get the skin tones looking natural if the exposure is too far out.
Easy rule is to expose for the face and the rest of the image can look after itself.
If the performers are spotlit, then the exposure can be remarkably consistent and I'll opt for Manual exposure.
Auto exposure can be very hit and miss under high contrast stage lighting; I do use it but always check the RGB histogram carefully to make sure the exposure is OK - you can't rely on looking at the screen.

My settings for shooting theatre / concerts are usually:
- Aperture wide open
- Shutter speed at least 1/125 otherwise the performers will have too much blur.
- ISO whatever is needed to achieve the above! Typically it seems to end up in the range 800 to 2500
Click to expand...
Thanks Duncan. That's what I did by accident rather than design. Had to use live view with hands high - so difficult to expose on a face. A bit of blur (some I like) and some passable snaps (because that's all I can call them. Not good enough to post - but they provide a memory of the event!
 
really as high as you need to get well exposed sharp shots - a noisy sharp image nearly always trumps a soft clean one
 
Any memory is better than none, Keith! Odd lighting is one condition under which I would consider shooting raw, so I could play more with different colour temperatures until I saw what I saw on the night. At screen resolution and small (6x4) print size, noise will probably not be a major problem until 3200 but as I said above, it's down to the user as to what he/she is comfortable with. Well exposed shots will show noise less than poorly exposed and rescued in PP ones.
 
Keefh said:
Thanks Duncan. That's what I did by accident rather than design. Had to use live view with hands high - so difficult to expose on a face. A bit of blur (some I like) and some passable snaps (because that's all I can call them. Not good enough to post - but they provide a memory of the event!
Click to expand...
If you enjoyed that experience and want more practice, then find out where some local bands are playing.
It's usually a challenge! Often there is terrible lighting, low and cluttered stage, cramped conditions.
But if you get some half decent piccies then you've got it nailed and can have high expectations from better venues.
However, I'd recommend contacting the organisers first to make sure they are happy about your camera being present - it's often prohibited in the tickets conditions of entry. You'll get many refusals, but an online gallery to showcase relevant work and persistence will pay off.

I've got two medium sized festivals and a large theatre production lined up for next year.
They are HUGE fun :)
 
Thanks Nod. A consideration for the future. Presently, I feel the camera should tell the tale. Post-processing is too much work for me. Good advice. A little closer to getting better.
 
Sounds good Duncan. Sound advice (in two senses) My son-in-law plays in a band. I may become a fervent follower.
 
Keith, have a good play with assorted WB settings and see which give you results YOU are happy with - you are your own "client" so it's results that you like that are important, not what others think of them (and it will tend to be only photographers who comment on "off" colours!) Somewhere in the Tungsten range will probably give the most natural (as in how you remember it looking) results but play and see what you like!
 
Use auto ISO. Stops me having to worry about ISO when lighting conditions are changing. Stick the camera into manual mode and pick the shutter speed and apature that are important to you.
 
A bit off subject but are you "THE" Great Roberto, that came to town.

Rhodese.
 
It's a song by Kevin Wilson.

Rhodese.
 
Last edited:
Nice one. I wish I could get that close!
 
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