Help Me Choose a Camera For Concert Photography

[leglessmoof]

I'm looking for help choosing a digital camera. My primary use will be amateur concert photography. I don't know a whole lot about photography (you might call me a "point-and-shooter") but I'm willing to learn.

Based on some preliminary research, here are the features I want on a camera:

• Under $300
• Good zoom
• Low noise/static at high ISO ratings
• Small enough to fit in my pocket
• Image stabilization

I haven't been able to find a camera that would satisfy all of these requirements, but I found some models that might be good compromises:

• Fujifilm F30 -- Lowest noise at high ISO ratings of any non-SLR camera, but only 3x optical zoom and no image stabilization.
• Canon PowerShot A710 IS -- 6x optical zoom and image stabilization, but only an 800 ISO rating (not sure how bad the noise would be).
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1 -- 10x optical zoom and image stabilization, but only a 400 ISO rating (or 800/1600 with limitations, and not sure how bad the noise would be).
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ2 -- New model, 10x optical zoom and image stabilization, up to 3200 ISO rating (not sure how bad noise would be).

Basically, here are my questions:

1. How important is the image stabilization feature for taking pictures in this environment (I won't be using a tripod)? Could I get by without it, or is it an absolute requirement?
2. My preference (remember I'm a newbie) would be to sacrifice a little bit of quality to get better zoom. How much quality can I expect to lose, and/or do you agree with this decision?
3. What are your opinions on the cameras I have listed here for concert photography, and/or can you think of any models that I haven't discovered?

Thanks in advance for your help. This is my first post here but I plan to stick around. :thumbsup:

[mwfanelli]

I'm looking for help choosing a digital camera. My primary use will be amateur concert photography. I don't know a whole lot about photography (you might call me a "point-and-shooter") but I'm willing to learn.

Based on some preliminary research, here are the features I want on a camera:

• Under $300
• Good zoom
• Low noise/static at high ISO ratings
• Small enough to fit in my pocket
• Image stabilization

I haven't been able to find a camera that would satisfy all of these requirements, but I found some models that might be good compromises:

• Fujifilm F30 -- Lowest noise at high ISO ratings of any non-SLR camera, but only 3x optical zoom and no image stabilization.
• Canon PowerShot A710 IS -- 6x optical zoom and image stabilization, but only an 800 ISO rating (not sure how bad the noise would be).
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1 -- 10x optical zoom and image stabilization, but only a 400 ISO rating (or 800/1600 with limitations, and not sure how bad the noise would be).
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ2 -- New model, 10x optical zoom and image stabilization, up to 3200 ISO rating (not sure how bad noise would be).

Basically, here are my questions:

1. How important is the image stabilization feature for taking pictures in this environment (I won't be using a tripod)? Could I get by without it, or is it an absolute requirement?
2. My preference (remember I'm a newbie) would be to sacrifice a little bit of quality to get better zoom. How much quality can I expect to lose, and/or do you agree with this decision?
3. What are your opinions on the cameras I have listed here for concert photography, and/or can you think of any models that I haven't discovered?

Thanks in advance for your help. This is my first post here but I plan to stick around. :thumbsup:

The bad news is that none of the cameras you list will work in a concert environment. All P&S cameras have lots of noise at the high ISO speeds you will need to use. Most of them probably don't even go high enough.

Concerts are not as well lit as your eyes/brain lead you to believe. A few months ago I went to what looked to be a very well lit concert with plenty of optimism. The result was shooting at 1600 ISO at f/2.8 on a DSLR to even get close to the needed exposure.

Others may have some partial solutions for you, but the bottom line is that concerts and cameras in general is a very tough shooting situation. With a P&S it is close to impossible without special close up and personal permission from the organizers.
.

[leglessmoof]

The bad news is that none of the cameras you list will work in a concert environment. All P&S cameras have lots of noise at the high ISO speeds you will need to use. Most of them probably don't even go high enough.

Concerts are not as well lit as your eyes/brain lead you to believe. A few months ago I went to what looked to be a very well lit concert with plenty of optimism. The result was shooting at 1600 ISO at f/2.8 on a DSLR to even get close to the needed exposure.

Others may have some partial solutions for you, but the bottom line is that concerts and cameras in general is a very tough shooting situation. With a P&S it is close to impossible without special close up and personal permission from the organizers.
.

I'm currently using a Fujifilm FinePix 2650 which is only 2 megapixels, 2x optical zoom, and an ISO rating of 100. With this camera only 5%-10% of the pictures that I take will turn out (the rest are blurry).

My friend uses a Casio EX-Z700 which has 3x optical zoom, anti-shake, and an ISO rating of 400. Very few of his pictures are blurry, but there is a lot of noise.

So I understand that no camera is going to do the job perfectly. I'm just trying to do as well as I can in this situation for under $300. And there's got to be something better than what I currently have.

[Jerryjohn]

Heya, Concert photography is my thing. I have a Canon S2IS and it works really good for concert photography for the price that you pay, compared to others. Now, they have the S3IS out. It's about a 6mp camera I believe. And if you look it up on this site, it's fairly cheap. I think it's around 300.

If you want to see some pictures I took with it, check out my photography myspace. As of right now, MOST of my concert pictures were taken with that camera. Some were taken with my cameras I had before that. An A610 and my first ever camera an A30(I think). The "people" pictures were taken with my new XTi, so unfortunately they wont come out that clean.

Hope this helps