camera suggestion for a concert-goer?

[jglow]

I'm an avid concert-goer and need some camera suggestions.

I bought an Olympus Stylus 300 last September. It's a decent camera for casual snapshots, but when it comes to concerts, it takes terrible pictures.The pictures come out extremely dark. I've brought this one to several shows, all of which I've been up close thinking I was going to be getting decent pictures, but no.

Can anyone suggest a digital camera that takes good low light concert shots? Or if you're familiar with this Olympus model, do you have any pointers for taking better concert pictures?

Attached is what all of my pictures end up looking like. Any help would be much appreciated!

[Photo-John]

Are you trying to photograph at events where they allow cameras or are you sneaking your camera in? The reality is that the flashes on most compact cameras have about a ten foot range. If you really want better photos you're going to need to step it up and get a camera that allows you to use a hot shoe flash. If you're trying to sneak your camera in, that does complicate things since you'll then be carrying a flash as well as a camera. But it will make a big difference in your photos.

I have a Canon G2 and the top-of-the-line Canon 500 EX flash. It's got yards and yards of reach in the right conditions. The same goes for the Olympus 5060 with the Olympus pro flash and the Nikon Coolpix 5700 with the Nikon Speedlight flashes. The new Minolta A1 also has a flash hot shoe and they make an excellent flash. You're just asking toomuch of your camera.