Looking for a good small camera for stage shots

> I need a camera that would be good for shots of performers on stage that
> would be printable with a good resolution.
>
> Sometimes they are moving so need to get them frozen and sometimes the
> lights are either too low or really bright.
>
> I don't want an SLR just a small one.
>
> I am in Sydney Oz so that is where I will buy. I don't have any biased
> towards makes but need something I can download and that will take bigger
> cards for bigger memory.
>
> Am I right that the higher the MegaPixel the better the shot for larger
> printing?
>
> Thank you
>
> Rock

Will you be able to use flash?

MG
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for a good small camera for stage shots 

On Dec 3, 4:02 am, Rock <1... RemoveThis @pobox.com> wrote:
> HI,
>
> I need a camera that would be good for shots of performers on stage that would
> be printable with a good resolution.
>
> Sometimes they are moving so need to get them frozen and sometimes the lights
> are either too low or really bright.
>
> I don't want an SLR just a small one.
>
> I am in Sydney Oz so that is where I will buy. I don't have any biased towards
> makes but need something I can download and that will take bigger cards for
> bigger memory.
>
> Am I right that the higher the MegaPixel the better the shot for larger printing?
>
> Thank you
>
> Rock


Problem with stage photography is often the lighting is less than
optimal for photography, especially if motion is involved. The other
problem is that the action is a good distance away from the camera so
telephoto lenses are necessary, that means a slow f-stop on most
portable cameras. That is why most stage photographers use SLRs or
DSLRs. I believe Panasonic had a superzoom camera with an f2.8 lens
(as small as an f-stop as you would want) but I'm not certain of the
availability. The quietest shutter on a DSLR was on the Olympus E1,
not sure of the new E3, and Olympus has some fast lenses. Their system
is a little smaller than the Canon-Nikon-Pentax offerings and most
likely not much bigger than the f2.8 Panasonic. You have put out a
tall order for a camera, and P&S cameras are generally not made for
pro work.

Tom
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for a good small camera for stage shots 

Rock wrote:
> HI,
>
> I need a camera that would be good for shots of performers on stage that
> would be printable with a good resolution.
>
> Sometimes they are moving so need to get them frozen and sometimes the
> lights are either too low or really bright.
>
> I don't want an SLR just a small one.
>
> I am in Sydney Oz so that is where I will buy. I don't have any biased
> towards makes but need something I can download and that will take
> bigger cards for bigger memory.
>
> Am I right that the higher the MegaPixel the better the shot for larger
> printing?
>
> Thank you
>
> Rock

I don't think you are going to find what you are looking for.
Small cameras pretty much need a lot of light, at least if you are
photographing moving people.

Even for a DSLR you would need a good lens if the light was not good and
if the light was too low even that would not be enough.

Scott
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for a good small camera for stage shots 

Rock wrote:
> HI,
>
> I need a camera that would be good for shots of performers on stage that
> would be printable with a good resolution.
>
> Sometimes they are moving so need to get them frozen and sometimes the
> lights are either too low or really bright.
>
> I don't want an SLR just a small one.
>
> I am in Sydney Oz so that is where I will buy. I don't have any biased
> towards makes but need something I can download and that will take
> bigger cards for bigger memory.
>
> Am I right that the higher the MegaPixel the better the shot for larger
> printing?

Small inexpensive DSLR with a fast inexpensive 50mm f/1.8 lens. Zoom
will cost too much if it's fast.
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for a good small camera for stage shots 

Paul Furman wrote:
> Rock wrote:
>> HI,
>>
>> I need a camera that would be good for shots of performers on stage
>> that would be printable with a good resolution.
>>
>> Sometimes they are moving so need to get them frozen and sometimes the
>> lights are either too low or really bright.
>>
>> I don't want an SLR just a small one.
>>
>> I am in Sydney Oz so that is where I will buy. I don't have any biased
>> towards makes but need something I can download and that will take
>> bigger cards for bigger memory.
>>
>> Am I right that the higher the MegaPixel the better the shot for
>> larger printing?
>
> Small inexpensive DSLR with a fast inexpensive 50mm f/1.8 lens. Zoom
> will cost too much if it's fast.
Not a bad idea, but if the light is low then even this might not be
enough. I might not be a bad idea for him to either rent or borrow a
camera with that lens.

I took this shot with that very combination. This was a fairly dark bar
but not all that dark and even at iso 800 I was shooting at 1/50 sec,
not nearly fast enough if people are moving.

http://www.pbase.com/konascott/image/89844405/original


Scott
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for a good small camera for stage shots 

Rock wrote:
> HI,
>
> I need a camera that would be good for shots of performers on stage that
> would be printable with a good resolution.
>
> Sometimes they are moving so need to get them frozen and sometimes the
> lights are either too low or really bright.
>
> I don't want an SLR just a small one.
>
> I am in Sydney Oz so that is where I will buy. I don't have any biased
> towards makes but need something I can download and that will take
> bigger cards for bigger memory.
>
> Am I right that the higher the MegaPixel the better the shot for larger
> printing?
>
> Thank you
>
> Rock


Thank you guys. I know I am asking a lot but at least that's starting at the
top then working down to the compromise I will have to make.

I can use flash most of the times and I suppose mostly the light will also be
bright enough, what with follow spots and floods.

It is the stopping of movement which I think is more of a concern and still
getting a high res pix that can be used for printing at 600 plus.

I don't know how many great pix I have taken, which I can't use as they are too
blurred from the performer's movement or the res is just too low to print at a
reasonable size.

I do need high res so I guess a higher Megpix is needed. Is there much
difference between what an 8 or a 10 will do?

I have a Panasonic GS400 video which I have tried to use for stopping movement
looking at each frame, whilst this is a great way to get a good shot, the res
is not high enough although I'm still exploring how to do better.

Anyway I thank all of you for your wisdom and experience. You have taught me a lot.

Rock
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for a good small camera for stage shots 

Rock wrote <edited for brevity>:
>
> It is the stopping of movement which I think is more of a concern and
> still getting a high res pix that can be used for printing at 600 plus.

How many inches wide for the prints?

> I do need high res so I guess a higher Megpix is needed. Is there much
> difference between what an 8 or a 10 will do?

No, not much difference. There is a noticeable difference between 6 & 10
but not between 6 & 8 or 8 & 10. 5MP is pretty acceptable for so-so 8x10
prints, even 3MP makes decent 8x10's. Fewer mexapixels will actually buy
you better low light performance to an extent.

The other thing that buys you low light performance is large aperture
lenses (small f/stop number) at the cost of limited depth of field. The
shallow DOF can be useful for artistic effect by blurring out
distracting backgrounds though.

> I have a Panasonic GS400 video which I have tried to use for stopping
> movement looking at each frame, whilst this is a great way to get a good
> shot, the res is not high enough although I'm still exploring how to do
> better.


Video is generally extremely low res (well under 1 MP) and hungry for
light.
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for a good small camera for stage shots 

Any Fuji Finepix digicam with SuperCCD should provide
high-ISO shots almost as good as a top-quality DSLR.
For example, F31fd.


Rock wrote:
> Rock wrote:
>> HI,
>>
>> I need a camera that would be good for shots of performers on stage
>> that would be printable with a good resolution.
>>
>> Sometimes they are moving so need to get them frozen and sometimes the
>> lights are either too low or really bright.
>>
>> I don't want an SLR just a small one.
>>
>> I am in Sydney Oz so that is where I will buy. I don't have any biased
>> towards makes but need something I can download and that will take
>> bigger cards for bigger memory.
>>
>> Am I right that the higher the MegaPixel the better the shot for
>> larger printing?
>>
>> Thank you
>>
>> Rock
>
>
> Thank you guys. I know I am asking a lot but at least that's starting
> at the top then working down to the compromise I will have to make.
>
> I can use flash most of the times and I suppose mostly the light will
> also be bright enough, what with follow spots and floods.
>
> It is the stopping of movement which I think is more of a concern and
> still getting a high res pix that can be used for printing at 600 plus.
>
> I don't know how many great pix I have taken, which I can't use as they
> are too blurred from the performer's movement or the res is just too low
> to print at a reasonable size.
>
> I do need high res so I guess a higher Megpix is needed. Is there much
> difference between what an 8 or a 10 will do?
>
> I have a Panasonic GS400 video which I have tried to use for stopping
> movement looking at each frame, whilst this is a great way to get a good
> shot, the res is not high enough although I'm still exploring how to do
> better.
>
> Anyway I thank all of you for your wisdom and experience. You have
> taught me a lot.
>
> Rock
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for a good small camera for stage shots 

Paul Furman wrote:
> Rock wrote <edited for brevity>:
>>
>> I have a Panasonic GS400 video which I have tried to use for stopping
>> movement looking at each frame, whilst this is a great way to get a
>> good shot, the res is not high enough although I'm still exploring how
>> to do better.
>
> Video is generally extremely low res (well under 1 MP) and hungry for
> light.

I should have kept my trap shut here, it's possible low res camcorders
perform well in low light because of the low pixel count, I was thinking
of 'movie' cameras which need lots of light even with super fast lenses.
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for a good small camera for stage shots 

Rock wrote:
> HI,
>
> I need a camera that would be good for shots of performers on stage that
> would be printable with a good resolution.

Could you define "good resolution" in more specific terms
e.g. size of final print?

BugBear
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for a good small camera for stage shots 

On Dec 3, 7:05 pm, Rock <1... RemoveThis @pobox.com> wrote:
> Rock wrote:
> > HI,
>
> > I need a camera that would be good for shots of performers on stage that
> > would be printable with a good resolution.
>
> > Sometimes they are moving so need to get them frozen and sometimes the
> > lights are either too low or really bright.
>
> > I don't want an SLR just a small one.
>
> > I am in Sydney Oz so that is where I will buy. I don't have any biased
> > towards makes but need something I can download and that will take
> > bigger cards for bigger memory.
>
> > Am I right that the higher the MegaPixel the better the shot for larger
> > printing?
>
> > Thank you
>
> > Rock
>
> Thank you guys. I know I am asking a lot but at least that's starting at the
> top then working down to the compromise I will have to make.
>
> I can use flash most of the times and I suppose mostly the light will also be
> bright enough, what with follow spots and floods.
>
> It is the stopping of movement which I think is more of a concern and still
> getting a high res pix that can be used for printing at 600 plus.
>
> I don't know how many great pix I have taken, which I can't use as they are too
> blurred from the performer's movement or the res is just too low to print at a
> reasonable size.
>
> I do need high res so I guess a higher Megpix is needed. Is there much
> difference between what an 8 or a 10 will do?
>
> I have a Panasonic GS400 video which I have tried to use for stopping movement
> looking at each frame, whilst this is a great way to get a good shot, the res
> is not high enough although I'm still exploring how to do better.
>
> Anyway I thank all of you for your wisdom and experience. You have taught me a lot.
>
> Rock

600 plus ???? do you mean 600ppi plus? If you are going for such high
res you will need as high mp as you can get, a 10mp camera will give
8x12 x 300ppi. Is this for a magazine? The one I shoot for says 8x10 x
300ppi no upres. To keep the lens speed up and the noise down you are
almost locked into a DSLR. Yes the Fuji SuperCCD is a good idea but at
telephoto it still has a slow lens, not good for stage, wouldn't hurt
to try it. My suggestion would be a Canon, Nikon or Pentax with an 85
f1.8 lens. I know the Nikon 85 f1.8 is under $400, I'd assume Nikon
and Pentax are similarly priced. Another lens that would be iffy f-
stop wise but versitile would be a 50-150 f2.8 Sigma, a little more
expensive.

Tom
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for a good small camera for stage shots 

On Tue, 04 Dec 2007 11:05:21 +1100, Rock <1940.TakeThisOut@pobox.com> wrote:

>Rock wrote:
>> HI,
>>
>> I need a camera that would be good for shots of performers on stage that
>> would be printable with a good resolution.
>>
>> Sometimes they are moving so need to get them frozen and sometimes the
>> lights are either too low or really bright.
>>
>> I don't want an SLR just a small one.
>>
>> I am in Sydney Oz so that is where I will buy. I don't have any biased
>> towards makes but need something I can download and that will take
>> bigger cards for bigger memory.
>>
>> Am I right that the higher the MegaPixel the better the shot for larger
>> printing?
>>
>> Thank you
>>
>> Rock
>
>
>Thank you guys. I know I am asking a lot but at least that's starting at the
>top then working down to the compromise I will have to make.
>
>I can use flash most of the times and I suppose mostly the light will also be
>bright enough, what with follow spots and floods.
>
>It is the stopping of movement which I think is more of a concern and still
>getting a high res pix that can be used for printing at 600 plus.
>
>I don't know how many great pix I have taken, which I can't use as they are too
>blurred from the performer's movement or the res is just too low to print at a
>reasonable size.
>
>I do need high res so I guess a higher Megpix is needed. Is there much
>difference between what an 8 or a 10 will do?
>
>I have a Panasonic GS400 video which I have tried to use for stopping movement
>looking at each frame, whilst this is a great way to get a good shot, the res
>is not high enough although I'm still exploring how to do better.
>
>Anyway I thank all of you for your wisdom and experience. You have taught me a lot.
>
>Rock

Unfortunately you have receieved nothing but misinformation from the DSLR
trolls, most of whicih don't even use cameras. They use these newsgroups like
some fantasy alternate life. (i.e. If only they had a camera and the least bit
of photography talent, the camera would do this, and do it this way. Basing all
their information only off of what they read on the net, not from real
experience).

Look into some of the Fuji Finepix P&S line of cameras for excellent high ISO
performance in dim lighting conditions. Rivaling most any DSLR.
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for a good small camera for stage shots 

On Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:02:46 +1100, Rock <1940.DeleteThis@pobox.com> wrote:

>HI,
>
>I need a camera that would be good for shots of performers on stage that would
>be printable with a good resolution.
>
>Sometimes they are moving so need to get them frozen and sometimes the lights
>are either too low or really bright.
>
>I don't want an SLR just a small one.
>
>I am in Sydney Oz so that is where I will buy. I don't have any biased towards
>makes but need something I can download and that will take bigger cards for
>bigger memory.
>
>Am I right that the higher the MegaPixel the better the shot for larger printing?
>
>Thank you
>
>Rock

A DSLR would really be best, but one of the Fuji cameras should give
fair results. If you're not going to print larger than 8x10", 5 or 6
megapixels should do fine. Take a look at the Finepix F31fd or F40fd
(I think they tried to cram too many pixels on the F50fd).

Bill
 >> Stay informed about: Looking for a good small camera for stage shots