Music Photographer - DPChallenge Forums

04/20/2009 07:07:56 PM · #1

Heyy! :)
I'm a 21 year old student and very much into photographing music, particuarly the promotional side of it. I had been trying to get into this feild for a long time but have only been shooting for around 6 months and have been lucky enough to get some of my work published in a major music magazine. Now that I am getting more requests and commissioned work I am looking to improve my kit, more specifically a lens, as my current lenses pretty much suck.

My current lenses are the 18-55mm canon standard zoom (boooooo) and a 50mm 1.8 which i love however isn\'t up for the job! I was fortunate enough to loan a friends 10-22mm canon wide angle as i love shooting wide however i can\'t borrow it forever! I\'m looking somthing within Â£300 - Â£400 which can also work well as a general portraiture lens as I occasionly shoot fashion also, as always crisp sharp image quality is a must and i know this is not made easy with my budget and camera (Canon 400D) which i love but im sick of however does the trick for now!:) I\'m looking at the Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 EX DC HSM and am wondering if this is a good choice? any other reccomendations would be greatly appreciated! I\'m willing to go for a not so wide lens also, just any advice on what you think may suit my needs :)

Below is a sample of the sort of stuff I shoot...

Cheers!

michaelmonn

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

04/21/2009 06:55:15 AM · #2

first off i want to say EXCELLENT job i do band photography as well and that is some quality stuff :) secondly, do you want a zoom or a prime?? and are you sure especially for fashion that you want a wide angle? if you want a wide angle from all ive heard about it, dish out for the 10-22mm ( is there any way you could get one sent from the states? you can get then for like 680 USD here which would suit your range) im intending on buying one soon to use for the same purposes and for a short time was looking at the 17-40L as well ( i know its the same range as your 18-55 but itll be much sharper and could be kept as a consideration) finally from doing my own research i see that a significant group of people use longer tele lenses for fashion and portraiture such as the 70-200L series of which the 70-200 f/4 would be right within your price range. i mean what it really come down to is do you want a zoom or prime ( in essence slow or fast) and do you really want a wide angle?

-max:)

ps: i see that you do live shots as well and if you were looking to improve in that aspect i was originally looking at the sigma 20mm f 1.8 for my live lens but eventually decided to stick with my 50mm 1.4 which i LOVE and go with a sharper wider zoom

i hope i helped even a little :)

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f3.5-5.6G ED VR

04/21/2009 08:06:54 AM · #3

yo man! thanks alot for the reply and compliments!

well to be totally honest, although my post made it seem like i'm only after a wide lens (as i forgot to mention distortion is a bitch!) i'd happily go with anything around 18mm whether its zoom or prime but i'm not looking for a long lens as my 50mm gives a good enough zoom effect as i always stay pretty close to my subjects. So really anything with crisp image quality. The 17-40 looks perfect for what i am doing though, thanks alot for the reccomendation! I'll be sure to look into it.

BJokerud

Nikon D3s

04/21/2009 08:40:26 AM · #4

I have nothing to add, just wanted to compliment you on your work. CRAZY good photos in my oppinion!

BrennanOB

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

04/21/2009 08:51:22 AM · #5

If you are going to be upgrading to a full frame sensor in the near future the the 17-40 is a great lens, but if you are going to be staying with a 1.6 crop sensor for a while, it just isn't wide enough for the sort of drama you are getting in these shots. Since it is fixed f/4 there is no real speed advantage over the F/3.5 to 4.5 of the wider 10-22. For the sort of high impact, in your face energy of the shot of the lead singer you have here, there is nothing to compare with a very wide lens, very close up.

For longer work, an alternative to the more flexible 70-200 f/4, assuming the f/2.8 IS is out of reach, check out the 200mm 2.8 prime. Though you will be zooming with your feet the DOF controll is very nice to pick out soloists, and it is in the same price range as the 70-200 f/4

Mephisto

Nikon Coolpix A

Panasonic Lumix G 14mm F2.5 ASPH

04/21/2009 09:01:13 AM · #6

hey cool shots! i'm into band/concert photography also and i used to be shooting with a tokina 12-24 f4, excellent lens and only almost half the prize compared to either the canon 10-22 or sigma 10-20 (you should be looking at the older model, cheaper and just as good as the upgraded version!). the latest model is also well worth a look: Tokina AF 11-16mm f/2.8 though it's a little out of your given budget.
as for the sigma 20 1.8 it's an excellent lens for low light photography, but (imnsho) on a crop sensor just not wide enough for concerts so i wouldn't recommend it (plus it's pretty soft wide open).

keep up your good work!

Message edited by author 2009-04-21 13:01:52.

jpochard

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

04/21/2009 09:11:32 AM · #7

Very nice pics! I don't have much to offer on the advice end for the lenses, but I really like the style of your shots. Nicely done.

SaraR

Sony Alpha a7R III

Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM

04/21/2009 10:08:58 AM · #8

No advice for you, but thanks for posting the photos - I have really enjoyed viewing them. Thoroughly impressive work!

04/21/2009 10:10:36 AM · #9

Originally posted by BrennanOB:

. For the sort of high impact, in your face energy of the shot of the lead singer you have here, there is nothing to compare with a very wide lens, very close up.

that was actually shot using my 18-55 standard with a fish eye adapter, not the best quality but is fun for small gigs such as that one!
also, yes i am only really looking to by EF lenses as i will be upgrading in the future! so the 17-40 is looking like a winner, i just might have to save for a little longer, so thanks for the advice!!

Mephisto! thanks alot for the compliments :) i'll be sure to take a look at the tokina!

Panasonic Lumix G 14mm F2.5 ASPH

04/21/2009 11:52:47 AM · #10

Originally posted by Mephisto:

i used to be shooting with a tokina 12-24 f4,

I really like the look of this lens, however some websites are telling me it will work with full frame and some are not, do you know the actual fact? thanks.

Mephisto

Nikon Coolpix A

04/21/2009 12:02:42 PM · #11

Originally posted by plims:

Originally posted by Mephisto:
i used to be shooting with a tokina 12-24 f4,

I really like the look of this lens, however some websites are telling me it will work with full frame and some are not, do you know the actual fact? thanks.

definately doesn't work on full frame (unless there's a hack to "convert" it so it focuses on a full frame, but i once tried it on my analog nikon F50 and besides the heavy vignetting it also didn't seem to be able to focus on infinity)!

on the crop body it's one of the best lenses, great IQ and built like a tank!

Mephisto

Nikon Coolpix A

Panasonic Lumix G 14mm F2.5 ASPH

04/21/2009 12:07:08 PM · #12

FWIW, the sigma 12-24 f4.5-5.6 is the only super wide angle lens i know about that is designed for both full frame and crop sensors. it's not really fast though and the IQ is mediocre as far as i know.

BrennanOB

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

04/21/2009 12:16:36 PM · #13

You might be interested in this thread . when you are looking at lenses, assume that eventually they will all be replaced. Buy what you need and plan on getting about 85% of your money back on resale if you buy decent stuff. If you cant afford your ideal yet, rent it. But buying a kit of lenses to fit a camera you don't own is silly.

By the way nice work on the lighting. What are you using, and are they gelled or did you yank the colors in workflow?

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

04/21/2009 01:13:24 PM · #14

The only reason i was looking to buy an EF mount was because some day in the distant future i would like to upgrade to a full frame and would like to be able to keep all my lenses, however if i were even able to afford a full frame, chances are i would be able to afford some new and better lenses also haha.

Anyway, thanks alot for all the advice and input, I'm deffinatley considering the tokina :)

As for the lighting, the 2 shots at the top were shot using a single nikon flash gun (can't remember the model, it was rented) on a hot shoe with a radio slave. The middle and bottom left I used a reflector brolly with a bowens flash head, i also had a hair/rim light for that shoot to create some seperation but murphys law prevailed again and the powerpack refused to fire both lights. The final live shot i used a cheap fisheye adapter and the built in flash.

Message edited by author 2009-04-21 17:14:15.

hotpasta

Nikon D800

04/21/2009 02:13:46 PM · #15

10-20mm Sigma all the way!

BJokerud

Nikon D3s

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f3.5-5.6G ED VR

04/21/2009 02:41:01 PM · #16

I advise checking faster lenses than the sigma. Being able to go down to 2.8 if needed is a lifesavior, but your prime could just as well cover that area. Now I'm thinking live shots. I don't like it much being shot in the face with a big flash whenever I play a gig (not that is all that often, but it happens).

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX100

04/22/2009 11:13:33 PM · #17

I've gone ahead and have bought the tokina 12-24mm f/4, in my opinion it is an excellent rival to the sigma and canon options, built like a tank and only Â£340. Was very close to buying the 11-16 f/2.8 but had to ask myself is that extra speed worth extra Â£100 and the loss of that little bit of focal length. Would have been nice though :) Thanks everyone for your advice!

As far as using flash at gigs, i generally try to avoid it but that particular venue was tiny and the lighting was very poor, worked out ok though and he didn't seem to mind :P

spiritualspatula

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

04/23/2009 06:23:51 PM · #18

Bummer you're UK... Adorama just dropped the price on the Tokina down to $399 which apparently is Â£272, so if any US folks are in the market...

04/24/2009 04:29:12 AM · #19

the joy of hinesight. atleast its free postage and comes with a free microfiber cleaning cloth haha! i usually opt for my t-shirt. either way im stoked for this lens :)