Paging Mr. Moffatt

[S2M]

Need some photography assistance......please.

[MartyMoffatt]

I'm here. How can I help?

[Behshad]

I'm here. How can I help?

He needs to know how you take such amazing pictures with your 2 Megapixel camera/iPhone

[MartyMoffatt]

Easy. Don’t use it. The iPhone camera is probably the most inept image recording device ever invented and is a waste of space in an otherwise excellent product. You’d be better off sketching a picture with a pen and paper.

But, I suspect that wasn’t the real question….

[S2M]

Hey there.....thanks for responding.

I'm looking to purchase a DSLR-type camera/lens....in time for MRF2. I've been reading various sites/pages...etc.

I'm leaning towards the Canon EOS Digital Rebel T1i



and then adding a Canon 50 EF 50 mm f1.4 lens




Any thoughts, suggestions, comments?

Thank you.

[Behshad]

Before you even purchase a camera , you need to ask Saint John if he will let you sit on his shoulders at the show .

[MartyMoffatt]

It’s a great little camera by all accounts. I haven’t used one so I can’t talk from personal experience, but I do read reviews of new cameras on the market, and particularly Canons.

The Canon Rebel T1i (known as the Canon 500D here in the UK) has some great features, like a 15Mpix sensor, a wide ISO range and the ability to record HD video. The main difference between it and high end pro spec cameras (apart from the price) is often simply the robustness of the casing. Pro cameras tend to have metal bodies and better weatherproof seals to put up with the battering they get from professional photographers etc, whereas the T1i along with most cameras in that price range has a plastic body. In most general use that makes no difference, as I guess you will look after the camera and protect it from knocks and bumps.

The other main difference is that the sensor inside is a little smaller. I won’t go into the technicalities here, but the effect is that the image taken through any lens is magnified compared to a full size sensor camera (‘called a full frame sensor’) through the same lens. The difference is about 1.6x, which means the 50mm lens you are thinking of buying will effectively act like an 80mm lens.

Magnification like this has its benefits in a concert environment, but also has drawbacks. The good thing is that you will seem closer to the action, and the bigger the lens the closer it feels. However, it makes it more difficult to get wide angle shots of the whole stage.

The camera does have the ability to bump up the ISO very high (up to 12,800 I believe). This is a huge advantage in low light (eg concerts) as the higher the ISO the more sensitive the sensor. However, I suspect that if you set it at anything above 800 or 1,600 it will be very grainy (that’s my experience with other cameras anyway).

Now for the lens. Again there are some advantages and disadvantages in your choice. There are for any choice of lens, and that is fine as long as you are aware of its limitations. First of all the aperture – 1.4mm. With aperture, the lower the number (the wider the aperture), the more light it is capable of letting in, which is a good thing at concerts. 1.4 is very, very good in that respect. However, the downside is that the wider the aperture the shallower the depth of field (area in focus). Depending on circumstances (eg how far away etc) with a 1.4 lens you could find the depth of field to be just a few inches, meaning that unless you focus very accurately you might find that whoever you’re taking a picture of is mainly out of focus. Of course you don’t have to have the lens wide open and the ability to open up to 1.4 does give you a lot of options.

Secondly, the focal length. A 50mm lens (or in your case an 80mm equivalent) is fixed at that. You don’t have the ability to zoom in or out, so if your subject is too small in the frame your only option is to physically get closer, and if he’s too big in the fame your only option is to move back. Personally I would find this restrictive, but if you can get yourself into a good position this is an excellent lens.

I usually carry a selection of zoom lenses ranging from 20mm to 200mm, because I rarely know beforehand how far from the action I’m likely to be, and I frequently change lenses during a concert to get a variety of angles and compositions.

Does your camera come with a kit lens? Often they do and while this is likely to be a cheap zoom lens with a poor aperture capability, it does offer some versatility along with your 50mm lens. If not, it may be worth considering something like Canon’s 28-135 zoom lens (would be the equivalent of about 45mm-200mm on your camera) for about the same price as the 50mm 1.4. It’s widest aperture is nowhere near as good as the 50mm, but it does have built in image stabilization (preventing camera shake) and has a really useful zoom range.

There is no right or wrong answer, just choices. Whatever you choose I look forward to seeing the results.

Marty

[hoagiepete]

Reading Moffat's great information this makes me want to go mix up some D 76, Dektol, Stop Bath and Fixer. I can just smell it!

Oh wait...I guess we don't need them anymore! Thank goodness for digital photography.