Would Nikkor 105mm f2.8 micro be suitable for (low light) small pub / club gigs on Nikon D7000?
I'm also wondering about Nikkor 85mm, f1.8 (smaller, lighter, no VR) but might this be too 'short'..?
Would I need longer than 105mm? E.g. Nikkor 180 f2.8?
All 3 have good to excellent reviews here
Ian
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I think 100 mm is too long. 180 mm is way too long.
Maybe try this: go to a gig with your camera and a slow kit lens. Fire away and don't worry about blur. When you get home, analyze the exifs of the photos. See which focal length works best for you. Then buy a prime accordingly. Maybe it'll be 50 mm, maybe 85 mm, maybe 30 mm.
I'm thinking the Tokia 50-135mm f/2.8. I had the Pentax 50-135mm f/2.8, which has the same optical design (they're both tested here I believe), and it was a great lens which I wish I still had. It gives great optical quality, and I believe the Tokina (as the Pentax did) has great build quality.
Sigma also have a 50-150mm f/2.8, and from the test here it seems it's a very good lens.
I would think the range of these would fit what you want great, and 2.8 is not too dark when you use the D7000 which has very good ISO performance, if I recall correctly.
Personally I think f/2.8 is way to slow for your intended use. I would go with a 28/1.8 50/1.8 or 85/1.8 depending on the size of venue and where you are located.
Allan
With the K-x I could use the Pentax DA* 60-250mm f/4 at concerts, now with the K-5 I could go even darker. This is a limit of course, but f/2.8 for the Nikon D7000 is far from too dark IMO.
[quote name='allanmb' timestamp='1296035745' post='5768']
Personally I think f/2.8 is way to slow for your intended use. I would go with a 28/1.8 50/1.8 or 85/1.8 depending on the size of venue and where you are located.
Allan
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[quote name='Alexander ' timestamp='1296049319' post='5769']
With the K-x I could use the Pentax DA* 60-250mm f/4 at concerts, now with the K-5 I could go even darker. This is a limit of course, but f/2.8 for the Nikon D7000 is far from too dark IMO.
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[quote name='backcountryskier' timestamp='1296000643' post='5764']
I think 100 mm is too long. 180 mm is way too long.
Maybe try this: go to a gig with your camera and a slow kit lens. Fire away and don't worry about blur. When you get home, analyze the exifs of the photos. See which focal length works best for you. Then buy a prime accordingly. Maybe it'll be 50 mm, maybe 85 mm, maybe 30 mm.
[/quote]
All very helpful. Thank you!
I'll try your suggestion and use the 16-85mm that I bought instead of standard kit lens as a trial - it's f5.6 at 85mm, but if that's long enough on DX, I'll be well pleased - I like the idea of using a smaller, lighter lens like the 85mm f1.8 D for this.
Ian
[quote name='IanCD' timestamp='1296069197' post='5773']
All very helpful. Thank you!
I'll try your suggestion and use the 16-85mm that I bought instead of standard kit lens as a trial - it's f5.6 at 85mm, but if that's long enough on DX, I'll be well pleased - I like the idea of using a smaller, lighter lens like the 85mm f1.8 D for this.
Ian
[/quote]
I realised after this, maybe I could use data from previous gigs shot with a Panasonic Lumix. Duh...!
Seems I used equivalent to 90mm a lot... anyway, bought 50mm 1.4G and 85m 1.8D. One gig so far, used 85mm most of the time.
Novice..! I didn't change metering to centre-weighted (portraits of band members), nor get the exposure right for the lighting (difficult), but this has given me samples to work from.
Thanks again
Sounds like a good choice to me, Ian.
I've typically carried a 35mm, 50mm and 85mm (f/1.4 - f/2) for small club/pub performances - that setup pretty much covers all the situations you might face: sometimes you can't get up front because of the crowd, other times you might want to capture the room atmosphere etc.
I guess a 100mm or 135/150mm could be useful too, but then you may have problems with slow shutter speeds (unless you have image stabilizer).
Actually, once you have a nice lens setup, I find the red/purple spotlights are the biggest challenge to a photographer. <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='  ' />
[quote name='Pinhole' timestamp='1299368397' post='6547']
Sounds like a good choice to me, Ian.
I've typically carried a 35mm, 50mm and 85mm (f/1.4 - f/2) for small club/pub performances - that setup pretty much covers all the situations you might face: sometimes you can't get up front because of the crowd, other times you might want to capture the room atmosphere etc.
I guess a 100mm or 135/150mm could be useful too, but then you may have problems with slow shutter speeds (unless you have image stabilizer).
Actually, once you have a nice lens setup, I find the red/purple spotlights are the biggest challenge to a photographer. <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=' ' />
[/quote]
Yes, I can see the 35, or maybe even a bit wider, would be good at times.
Nice gig in a cafe last night, could have done with a bit more width, but also a bit more length at times. Even 150mm will be usful sometimes, but I wouldn't want to carry anything really heavy / cumbersome.
The spotlights were a hassle, plus the light one of the band members was using to read music.. very bright..! (Oh, and the dancers..!)
Some of the best shots were from the side, & the light levels meant I was using both lenses wide open, so only one or two of the band in focus at any time (when I got in focus, that is... this is going to take a lot of practice).
Even with the 1.8 and 1.4 I was still using ISO 3200 to get ~ 1/80 - 1/100, and that's at -1EV (I've found pics with histograms showing 'correct' exposure look way too bright and don't capture the atmosphere of the place and the gig).
[quote name='IanCD' timestamp='1299446807' post='6562']
Yes, I can see the 35, or maybe even a bit wider, would be good at times.
Nice gig in a cafe last night, could have done with a bit more width, but also a bit more length at times. Even 150mm will be usful sometimes, but I wouldn't want to carry anything really heavy / cumbersome.
The spotlights were a hassle, plus the light one of the band members was using to read music.. very bright..! (Oh, and the dancers..!)
Some of the best shots were from the side, & the light levels meant I was using both lenses wide open, so only one or two of the band in focus at any time (when I got in focus, that is... this is going to take a lot of practice).
Even with the 1.8 and 1.4 I was still using ISO 3200 to get ~ 1/80 - 1/100, and that's at -1EV (I've found pics with histograms showing 'correct' exposure look way too bright and don't capture the atmosphere of the place and the gig).
[/quote]
Ouch - 3200 ISO is quite high if you want to get shots for printing. Plus (on my camera at least) there is a red colour cast, image degradation etc. at such high ISOs.
If you are working on a contract basis and the band/performer are paying you to do publicity/album photos etc., it's often better to speak to the lighting technician and the band and tell them you want more overall light.
I always make a point of giving customers a realistic idea of what to expect if the lighting is bad, and advise them to increase the lighting if they really need large prints for posters, flyers etc.
There's also the option of using a bit of flash with coloured gel, but I've never really had satisfying results that way.
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