dan_vidal1

I have the "Exif Viewer" plugin for Firefox.

<p>

<a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3905">You can get it here</a>.

</p>

If I can advise one thing off the bat, and that's buy L. Not necessarily for the sharpness, since lenses like the

EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS are on par with most L's in sharpness, but for the build quality. You will bang up your gear

pretty hard in a concert/nightclub situation. I went through a few cheap lenses, and then got the 17-55, but

ended up trading it in for the venerable 16-35 2.8 L. Though lacking a stabilizer, this is a great walkabout lens

for club/concert shooting. I ditched the 17-55 because it just wasn't robust enough for the environment. The

smoke, haze, and getting bumped about was too much for it and the stabilizer developed a fault 8 months into the

purchase.

<p>

I'd also recommend the 70-200 2.8 L IS for any big shows where you can't necessarily be on top of the performer.

</p>

<center><p>

<a href="http://forum.talknightlife.com/gallery2.php?g2_itemId=16905"><img

src="http://talknightlife.com/gallery2/item/16905" alt="012" /></a>

</p>

<p>

30D - 16-35 2.8 L f2.8 1/50s ISO 1600

</p>

<p>

<a href="http://forum.talknightlife.com/gallery2.php?g2_itemId=13099"><img

src="http://talknightlife.com/gallery2/item/13099" alt="030" /></a>

</p>

<p>

30D - 16-35 2.8 L f2.8 1/125 ISO 1600

</p>

<p>

<a href="http://forum.talknightlife.com/gallery2.php?g2_itemId=7137"><img

src="http://talknightlife.com/gallery2/item/7137" alt="078a" /></a></p>

<p>

30D - 70-200 2.8 L IS f2.8 1/125 ISO 800

</p>

</center>

<p>

You may balk at the initial cost, but what I do is I only actually own the 16-35 L, and rent everything else on a

per-gig basis. I don't shoot enough arena shows at the moment to justify the 70-200. But if I did, I'd buy it.

</p>

Hope this helps.

John:

You manage to carry a monopod with you in a nightclub environment?

(golf clap)

My "stabilizer" is leaning against something and hoping for the best.

Oh, and Nikonians, does your wireless flash system permit rear-sync?

You can get along well with a bargain lens. But be prepared to replace it. A lot. I went through 3 or 4 bargain kit lenses before I saw the light, spent the extra money, and got an L. With L, you're not just paying for the quality, but the robustness.

Depending on how you shoot, you stand a good chance of screwing something up.

So yeah, a $1,000 lens might be necessary. You just don't get the build quality at a lower price point.

As far as flash usage? Depends on what you're looking to do. I personally avoid it unless it's for a grin-n-grip shot, since most clubs are disgusting with the 'harsh light of reality' turned on. Yeah, even your $10,000/table joints on South Beach look and smell like you-know-what with the house lights turned on.

But again, it's always your choice.

Thanks!

In my experience, the nightlife sites that are looking for a certain "look", it's not worth bringing out expensive gear for, per se. If they just want 75 grin-n-grip girl portraits, you can accomplish that with a bog-standard kit zoom and a flash on a bracket. Don't kill yourself for what is probably crap money too. I've had a lot of experience with those sites, and it's not pretty dealing with their methods. I'll leave that for another thread though!

Now, if you have the freedom, I'd definitely go with mine and some of the other recommendations on here for gear.

To distill it down:

- wider the better. 16 to whatever you can get.

- fast. 2.8 or better.

- flash? Get it off the camera. You Nikonians have it easy in that respect.

From there, the sky's the limit.

Have fun!

<p>

This is pretty much what I do for a living.

</p>

<p>

It's a matter of style really, but if I can advise anything, is that you should have a fast-and-wide lens. Now,

I'm not on the Nikon system (Canon here), but what I use on Canon is the venerable 16-35 f2.8 L.

</p>

<p>

Now, I know what you're saying, and that is that "Dan, why the hell do you bring a $1,000 piece of glass into a

noisy, dirty nightclub?"

</p>

Well, what it came down to me was that the 16-35 was the most robust lens for the price for the performance. It's

tough, goes wide, and used, the price isn't horrid for what essentially became my permanent walkabout lens as well.

<p>

Prior, I had a 17-55 f2.8 IS (EF-S) lens. It's a wonderful lens, and the stabilizer was great for those epic

"room shots".

</p>

<p>

I got rid of it, simply because it wasn't robust enough considering what I paid for it. After about a year of

heavy use, the stabilizer seriously acted up (it "stabilized" even when the camera was sitting on a table), so I

got it fixed, took the hit, and traded it for the much-simpler, but more robust 16-35 L. I just had to remember

how to work without a stabilizer.

</p>

<p>

Now, the 16-35 2.8 is very versatile. It works great for ambient-light images:

</p>

<a href="http://forum.talknightlife.com/gallery2.php?g2_itemId=14037"><img

src="http://talknightlife.com/gallery2/item/14037" alt="011a" /></a>

<a href="http://forum.talknightlife.com/gallery2.php?g2_itemId=14956"><img

src="http://talknightlife.com/gallery2/item/14956" alt="042a" /></a>

<a href="http://forum.talknightlife.com/gallery2.php?g2_itemId=13047"><img

src="http://talknightlife.com/gallery2/item/13047" alt="002" /></a>

...and for the occasional grin-and-grip-not-worth-a-damn-except-to-those-in-the-photo shots.

<p>

<a href="http://forum.talknightlife.com/gallery2.php?g2_itemId=13426"><img

src="http://talknightlife.com/gallery2/item/13426" alt="042a" /></a>

</p>

Flash? Whatever you use, get it off the camera. It's fun.

Now, if you're smart, you can work with and without flash. If there's enough ambient light bouncing around (the

club's light tech is your friend), screw using flash, especially with DJs or performers. They get irritated

easily when people pop their flash.

I've gone and retained all my EXIF if you want to save the images and see what my settings are. You'll see a

confirmation of a flash all the time since I have an ST-E2 mounted.

<p>

Now I know this is the Nikon forum, but this does seem to be a bit more of a general question...it was on the

front page, after all!

</p>