Rock 'n roll dance night

[andya700]

I may go along to a local club, where there is a lot of jive/jitterbug music. I think the lighting is going to be fairly standard, and the people moving quickly. I have the Sony Alpha 700 with only the pop up flash (I cannot afford a better one at the moment, and have not made up my mind which one to go for). I am torn between two lenses, the kit lens (18 - 70) not great, a Sigma 35 - 70 (which I like, because it seems to deliver brighter, sharper shots than the kit lens).
I am no expert, and have not even used the pop up flash yet (owned the camera for three months), which is shocking, but I have not found a suitable subject.
Are there any suggestions as to which settings I should use, because if I take any decent shots, then they may want to use them for a website.
Thanks,
Andy

P.S. I have used stand alone flash on 35mm cameras regularly in the past, using bounce, diffusion etc., but this situation has confused me.

 

[mcneep]

Hi Andy,

bump the iso up so you can keep the shutter speed high cause I think they will be moving really quickly during those dances.

I dont know what the lighting will be like, but I think you might struggle with the kit (no experience of the other lens).

 

[zilly]

orrrr
Slow the shutter down
Rear Curtain sync the flash (if you can) and enjoy some arty blur behind pinsharp subjects

 

[andya700]

Thanks both of you, I was thinking of a some and some approach, because I think that movement in dance can be spectacular if done correctly, and this is going to be purely a practice session (If some good comes out of it, then all well and good). If it was ballroom dancing, then panning may come in useful (quickstep for instance), but with rock and roll, the action tends to be centred more, with arms and legs moving very quickly.
I was thinking of using 1600 speed anyway, because the images are still pretty crisp at that setting. I must remember to fill the frame, because that is an area where I fall down badly.
Andy