Good P&S for concert photography?

[Curious]

My brother in law just gave me one that he found in the garbage. I was expecting a normal 35mm enlarger the way he described it. Then I almost crapped myself trying to load it into the truck.

they are hefty aren’t they? and the negative holder for a 35mm neg makes the negative look like a postage stamp. fortunately i had use of an advancing negative holder then too.

i am a bit surprised someone just threw out that enlarger. although to most folks it probably is garbage. one mans trash and all that. glad you got it.

[CauseISaidSo]

So I thought I’d post a followup here after making my decision. In the end, I couldn’t justify the cost (and possible extra hassle from security) of a micro 4/3rds for what I wanted it for, so I ended up going with a Canon Powershot G12. Why the G12? Well, my dSLR is a Canon so I’m already familiar with Canon software and my first digital was a Powershot G2, which I was really pleased with (even though it’s only 4MP, it still takes great shots).

After a bit of research, I narrowed it down to the SX30 IS and the G12. I really, really liked the 840mm-equivalent zoom of the SX30 and its extra 4MP resolution over the G12, but I went with the G12 because 1) it’s smaller (although still a bit large for a pocket, it fits comfortably); 2) it’ll do RAW; 3) higher ISO up to 3200; and 4) it has a hotshoe so I can use my 430EX external flash on it if I want.

Below are some comparison shots to show how it stacks up against the SD500 I’d been using for my concert memento photography.

First, please don’t mock my taste in music! I’ve already told you I’m a bit long in the tooth (although to my surprise it seems that about half of you are right there with me :)), so you should just be happy that I’m not listening to Lawrence Welk for cryin’ out loud.

Each set is a thumb of the whole image and a 400×300 full-res crop. Click on the thumb to see the full resolution photo if you’re interested.

First, Tom Petty on the SD500:

As you can see, it’s not great. And I got about 2 shots out 45 that are that “clear.”

Next, Rush on the SD500:

Even worse, especially considering how much light there is. Only 3 or 4 “usable” shots out of 80+ on this one.

Now, the only show I’ve used the G12 on yet, Elton John & Leon Russell. Here’s Leon:

I thought that one came out really well considering I’m about 35 rows back and completely on the other side of the stage. I’m about 20 rows back from where I was for the Petty show.

And here’s a couple of Elton:

Overall, I’m really pleased with it. You can see that the shots came out decently even though there was considerably less light. And all 50+ shots are usable.

My only “complaints” about it are: 1) I’d like a little more zoom (I may have to get the 1.4x tele-extender, which will take it to almost 200mm); and 2) it doesn’t support bulb shutter length – 15s is the max, which really isn’t an issue considering what I’m doing with it.

And the video? OMG, there’s no comparison! 720p in stereo with almost none of the distortion that I got from SD500. It’s awesome, really.

As for the shows, Petty was great, Rush was awesome (what’s not to like about playing the whole Moving Pictures album?) and Elton sounded good, but I think I waited about 20 years too long to see him. I was looking for Amoreena, Funeral For A Friend, Madman Across the Water, and hoping for All The Young Girls Love Alice. What I got instead was Tiny Dancer, Levon, Candle in the Wind and Daniel. Although he did play Burn Down the Mission and Take Me To The Pilot, which are from the Amoreena era.

[Curious]

nice shots. thanks for the update.

[Zero_Exponent]

Rush? The bromance is on!

Had to look up Leon Russell, even though “Leon Russell is a music legend and perhaps the most accomplished and versatile musician in the history of rock ‘n roll.” ( http://www.leonrussellrecords.com )

You can really see the difference between your old vs new in those blow-ups. About the RAW shooting, dunno if you saw it, but IIRC orionid mentioned a hack that will let you do all kinds of cool stuff, including RAW capture, for certain Canons – called CHDK.

See http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-unlock-extra-functions-canon-compact-digital-cameras.htm and http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK for more.

Anyway have fun with the new toy, I’m definitely jealous about that video capability.

[CauseISaidSo]

Rush? The bromance is on!

Awesome! He was really slappin’ da bass, mon at that show!

Leon’s a bit of a home-town legend, although I’m not a big fan. He’s responsible for what’s called the “Tulsa sound” and had a big influence on Clapton during his early solo years (see e.g. Livin on Tulsa Time). He also guided Petty during his early years.

And yeah, I’d heard about CHDK. I’d be surprised if they’ve got firmware for the SX30 yet since it’s so new. Native RAW support was just a bonus on the G12, though – the big things were the extra ISO and size. The SX30’s larger zoom makes it pretty much unpocketable.

[Edited to add:] The last two shots (of Elton) are at ISO-2000, which would’ve been impossible with the SX30.

[Curious]

Zero_Exponent love the posture and the look on that chicks face.

CauseISaidSo not much noise for ISO2000

[LeicaLens]

That noise is pretty damned good for ISO 2000 on a small sensor. Way better than my 4/3’s camera, which is dreadful over 400.
Nice shots, especially the chap with the wizard beard. I hope he claimed to be the keeper of the Flame of Arnor and shouted out “YOU SHALL NOT PASS!” at random moments.

[Author]

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