4 ms·

Unfortunately, it still takes crappy concert photos. The combination of low light, crazy lighting, etc., still wreak havoc on the images. Fortunately, most of

Unfortunately, it still takes crappy concert photos. The combination of low light, crazy lighting, etc., still wreak havoc on the images. Fortunately, most of the venues I go to for shows generally have a "No detachable lens cameras" rule, which means my Fuji X100 is allowed. Unfortunately, security at the venues often ignores the policy and I don't want to be That Guy holding up the line arguing with them about it. (I'm also not one of those people that is taking pictures [and I never record video] the whole show, I just want a handful of high quality shots to help me remember the show)

9935c101ab17a66 4y ago
Even DSLRs have issues with image quality at concerts. Red lights are frequently used at concerts and cause notorious issues, regardless of camera. It’s great you found that work around with Fuji x100. I just think this is a valid though minor complaint since most cameras suffer in the same context, and I wish people would stop taking photos at concerts hahaha.
- cthalupa 4y ago
  I've had pretty excellent luck with my a7r3 when I've been able to bring it in, either because of scoring a press pass or a venue not having camera restrictions.
jibbers 4y ago
What is the thinking behind the "no detachable lens cameras" rule? I can't wrap my head around that choice.
- adrr 4y ago
  No professional photographers. I was told at a hotel that i couldn't use my mirrorless camera on their property by their security and that was the reason.
  - cthalupa 4y ago
    Now THIS makes no sense to me. In the Before days, I used to travel extensively for work, and would frequently bring my a7r along, and never once had any issues taking photos at a hotel across dozens of cities and a dozen countries. (Not doubting it happened, just think that's a very weird line of rationale from them)
    - adrr 4y ago
      Miami at a trendy hotel known for celebs.
- MBCook 4y ago
  I would guess to prevent professionals from taking pictures “for free” instead of getting contracts with the bands/venues and paying fees for the privilege. Or maybe they just annoy other patrons.
  - cthalupa 4y ago
    I have managed to get a press pass for some shows and bring my a7r3, nice lenses, etc. I've never been asked to pay any sort of fee for the pass.
    - MBCook 4y ago
      That’s good to know. That was my “everyone is greedy these days” part of my guess. Was it hard to get the press pass? Maybe it’s just to stop people avoiding that process.
      - cthalupa 4y ago
        It varies. A couple of times I just sent an email and they told me when/where to pick it up. Other times they wanted to see my work - a few of these, a personal blog with basically no traffic was enough to pass muster, a few, they wanted to see me working at some sort of actual publication (digital was fine, but it needed to be more than "cthalupa's concert blog")
- fortylove 4y ago
  I'd guess it's to avoid professional photography equipment that can take up a lot of space (think zoom lenses)
- cthalupa 4y ago
  There's a few primary reasons 1) Historically, some bands have been concerned about their image and felt that professional-looking photos that painted them in a bad light, whatever that meant in reality, would be more damaging than amateur photos. I don't hear this as much today, but 15 years ago it was frequently given. 2) Concerts with a lot of standing room near the stage already get quite crowded. Someone showing up with a bulky dslr (or even prosumer grade mirrorless) body and a 200mm lens is going to take up quite a bit of room. Prior to the advent of half the damn crowd keeping their phones in the air recording the show for the entirety of it I would also say it obscures vision and annoys people, but now it's really not any worse than that 3) They don't want someone to try and hold them liable if something goes wrong and some expensive camera body or glass gets broken. On the times I've been able to bring my full camera gear in without a press pass, I stick to as small of a lens as I can and avoid being near the front of the crowd. Thankfully, even quite a ways back from the front of the crowd, a 50mm prime lens will still take some fantastic photos on a real camera vs. what you get with a smartphone. I understand why the rules are in place, though, and I don't really have a problem with them in general.
  - coin 4y ago
    Pancake lens comes to mind
jakobdabo 4y ago
A good reason to own a Ricoh GR IIIx (or Ricoh GR III, which has a 28mm equiv. lense instead of 40mm on the "x" version). It looks very simple and non-professional, but the picture quality is comparable with the latest Fuji X100 series cameras.
- cthalupa 4y ago
  Thanks! I'll have to check it out. I've got an RX100 VII that I picked up for this purpose a few years ago, but haven't been particularly impressed with the concert results.
user_7832 4y ago
I’m curious what you feel is “good enough” for concert images. I recently went to a concert and took a ton of pictures on my Pixel 5, which IMO performed much better than my previous android (non flagship) phones to a level I was pretty happy with, albeit I do not have an iPhone to compare with. I uploaded some (slightly decent) images to imgur, could you let me know if this is better than or similar to your experience/photos? https://i.imgur.com/gm8jUkj.jpg https://i.imgur.com/gm8jUkj.jpg https://i.imgur.com/hrBL18U.jpg https://i.imgur.com/hrBL18U.jpg https://i.imgur.com/zLPFgPW.jpg https://i.imgur.com/zLPFgPW.jpg https://i.imgur.com/1kPzHZ3.jpg https://i.imgur.com/1kPzHZ3.jpg https://i.imgur.com/97R9asy.jpg https://i.imgur.com/97R9asy.jpg https://i.imgur.com/3ITpUuT.jpg https://i.imgur.com/3ITpUuT.jpg https://i.imgur.com/1MClydK.jpg https://i.imgur.com/1MClydK.jpg (No editing by me, though I did pick preferentially some photos that weren’t blurred majorly. The largest blurred object appears to be the DJ (BT) who was moving a decent bit.)
- cthalupa 4y ago
  Fairly similar, though you look to be closer to the DJ than I was to my subjects in the only concert I've been to with the new iPhone. I think the 14 Pro might edge it out a bit if I was at a similar distance to my subject.
  - user_7832 4y ago
    Thanks for your reply. Yep, that sounds quite likely given how old the pixel 5 camera hardware is. I was pretty close to the DJ (I guess 2 to 3 meters), none of the photos are cropped.

9935c101ab17a66 4y ago

Even DSLRs have issues with image quality at concerts. Red lights are frequently used at concerts and cause notorious issues, regardless of camera. It’s great you found that work around with Fuji x100. I just think this is a valid though minor complaint since most cameras suffer in the same context, and I wish people would stop taking photos at concerts hahaha.

cthalupa 4y ago
I've had pretty excellent luck with my a7r3 when I've been able to bring it in, either because of scoring a press pass or a venue not having camera restrictions.

jibbers 4y ago

What is the thinking behind the "no detachable lens cameras" rule? I can't wrap my head around that choice.

adrr 4y ago
No professional photographers. I was told at a hotel that i couldn't use my mirrorless camera on their property by their security and that was the reason.
- cthalupa 4y ago
  Now THIS makes no sense to me. In the Before days, I used to travel extensively for work, and would frequently bring my a7r along, and never once had any issues taking photos at a hotel across dozens of cities and a dozen countries. (Not doubting it happened, just think that's a very weird line of rationale from them)
  - adrr 4y ago
    Miami at a trendy hotel known for celebs.
MBCook 4y ago
I would guess to prevent professionals from taking pictures “for free” instead of getting contracts with the bands/venues and paying fees for the privilege. Or maybe they just annoy other patrons.
- cthalupa 4y ago
  I have managed to get a press pass for some shows and bring my a7r3, nice lenses, etc. I've never been asked to pay any sort of fee for the pass.
  - MBCook 4y ago
    That’s good to know. That was my “everyone is greedy these days” part of my guess. Was it hard to get the press pass? Maybe it’s just to stop people avoiding that process.
    - cthalupa 4y ago
      It varies. A couple of times I just sent an email and they told me when/where to pick it up. Other times they wanted to see my work - a few of these, a personal blog with basically no traffic was enough to pass muster, a few, they wanted to see me working at some sort of actual publication (digital was fine, but it needed to be more than "cthalupa's concert blog")
fortylove 4y ago
I'd guess it's to avoid professional photography equipment that can take up a lot of space (think zoom lenses)
cthalupa 4y ago
There's a few primary reasons 1) Historically, some bands have been concerned about their image and felt that professional-looking photos that painted them in a bad light, whatever that meant in reality, would be more damaging than amateur photos. I don't hear this as much today, but 15 years ago it was frequently given. 2) Concerts with a lot of standing room near the stage already get quite crowded. Someone showing up with a bulky dslr (or even prosumer grade mirrorless) body and a 200mm lens is going to take up quite a bit of room. Prior to the advent of half the damn crowd keeping their phones in the air recording the show for the entirety of it I would also say it obscures vision and annoys people, but now it's really not any worse than that 3) They don't want someone to try and hold them liable if something goes wrong and some expensive camera body or glass gets broken. On the times I've been able to bring my full camera gear in without a press pass, I stick to as small of a lens as I can and avoid being near the front of the crowd. Thankfully, even quite a ways back from the front of the crowd, a 50mm prime lens will still take some fantastic photos on a real camera vs. what you get with a smartphone. I understand why the rules are in place, though, and I don't really have a problem with them in general.
- coin 4y ago
  Pancake lens comes to mind

jakobdabo 4y ago

A good reason to own a Ricoh GR IIIx (or Ricoh GR III, which has a 28mm equiv. lense instead of 40mm on the "x" version). It looks very simple and non-professional, but the picture quality is comparable with the latest Fuji X100 series cameras.

cthalupa 4y ago
Thanks! I'll have to check it out. I've got an RX100 VII that I picked up for this purpose a few years ago, but haven't been particularly impressed with the concert results.

user_7832 4y ago

I’m curious what you feel is “good enough” for concert images. I recently went to a concert and took a ton of pictures on my Pixel 5, which IMO performed much better than my previous android (non flagship) phones to a level I was pretty happy with, albeit I do not have an iPhone to compare with. I uploaded some (slightly decent) images to imgur, could you let me know if this is better than or similar to your experience/photos? https://i.imgur.com/gm8jUkj.jpg https://i.imgur.com/gm8jUkj.jpg https://i.imgur.com/hrBL18U.jpg https://i.imgur.com/hrBL18U.jpg https://i.imgur.com/zLPFgPW.jpg https://i.imgur.com/zLPFgPW.jpg https://i.imgur.com/1kPzHZ3.jpg https://i.imgur.com/1kPzHZ3.jpg https://i.imgur.com/97R9asy.jpg https://i.imgur.com/97R9asy.jpg https://i.imgur.com/3ITpUuT.jpg https://i.imgur.com/3ITpUuT.jpg https://i.imgur.com/1MClydK.jpg https://i.imgur.com/1MClydK.jpg (No editing by me, though I did pick preferentially some photos that weren’t blurred majorly. The largest blurred object appears to be the DJ (BT) who was moving a decent bit.)

cthalupa 4y ago
Fairly similar, though you look to be closer to the DJ than I was to my subjects in the only concert I've been to with the new iPhone. I think the 14 Pro might edge it out a bit if I was at a similar distance to my subject.
- user_7832 4y ago
  Thanks for your reply. Yep, that sounds quite likely given how old the pixel 5 camera hardware is. I was pretty close to the DJ (I guess 2 to 3 meters), none of the photos are cropped.