Which body for stage performance lighting?

John M Roberts · Feb 18, 2015

I searched a bit but got tired of reading peripheral information and thought I'd just ask directly. Recently for fun I shot a musical staged event with some dynamic stage lighting and smoke machines. In order to capture any action I had to shoot iso 6400. Camera used, a Rebel SL1 with kit lens. I wasn't too excited with the results.

Having read how good the DF and F4 sensor is at high iso I was looking to hear from experienced shooters as to what body they'd recommend. I hear the focus on the D750 is a plus in lowlight. For this type of subject matter I'm not too concerned with MP's. In another thread I thought I saw the D750 has a bit higher DR reach than the DF but it didn't state at what iso.

I own a D800e and a D700 as well. Next time I'm going to give the D700 a shot at this type of scene. I guess I'm basically wondering which sensor D4, DF or the D750 would handle iso 6400 best and also would like to consider focusing in the mix as well. I'm guessing the DF would handle the iso better but the D750 would nail more low lit shots. Also which camera could be shot quietly if among theater type setting where you don't want to hear the shutter.

Thanks,

oneintenwords · Mar 2, 2015

I do concert photography, which also deals with unpredicatable lighting and smoke machines. I shoot a good amount of my work at ISO 6400 with a D610. I think the D750 may be a bit better but it wasn't around when I bought the D610.

Take a peek here for my concert photography. I do post in Lightroom and add ~20 noise reduction for ISO 6400 shots.

Loading…

www.oneintenwords.com

Have fun!

John

ruifonikon · Mar 2, 2015

I guess a DF/D4S would make more sense for concerts, followed by a D610/D750.

--
________________________________________
Flicker page:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruimc/

Happy Dragon Photography · Mar 2, 2015

John M Roberts said:
I searched a bit but got tired of reading peripheral information and thought I'd just ask directly. Recently for fun I shot a musical staged event with some dynamic stage lighting and smoke machines. In order to capture any action I had to shoot iso 6400. Camera used, a Rebel SL1 with kit lens. I wasn't too excited with the results.

Having read how good the DF and F4 sensor is at high iso I was looking to hear from experienced shooters as to what body they'd recommend. I hear the focus on the D750 is a plus in lowlight. For this type of subject matter I'm not too concerned with MP's. In another thread I thought I saw the D750 has a bit higher DR reach than the DF but it didn't state at what iso.

I own a D800e and a D700 as well. Next time I'm going to give the D700 a shot at this type of scene. I guess I'm basically wondering which sensor D4, DF or the D750 would handle iso 6400 best and also would like to consider focusing in the mix as well. I'm guessing the DF would handle the iso better but the D750 would nail more low lit shots. Also which camera could be shot quietly if among theater type setting where you don't want to hear the shutter.

Thanks,

Hey, I blog quite frequently about shooting live performances. You can see my work at Www.happydragonphoto.com. If you see a shot of a live show on my site, it was taken on my D4. At ISO 6400 you most likely won't even have to do much noise reduction in post. It's easy to get useable images up to ISO 12,800 and now that I have gotten a bit better in post I am frequently shooting at 25,600 and getting useable shots (at least for screen viewing, not necessarily for print)

I haven' had a 750 to compare to, or a D4S, but the D4 is a see in the dark ninja shooting machine when coupled with fast glass.

The only caveat I will give you is that it is NOT a quiet camera by any means. Yeah, it has a "quiet" shutter mode, but that really doesn't reduce the noise, just spreads it out, more like trying to open the crinkly chip bag as slowly as possible in the back row at church.

In a loud musical, dance show, circus or concert it's fine, but if you were shooting straight plays the shutter would be very noticeable, especially if you were shooting rapidly. When I shoot conferences or other low volume things, I tend to move around quite a bit and watch for nasty stares from people who are bothered by the noise.

Now that the D4S has been around for a bit you can probably pick up a decent price on a D4 at sites like Keh.com

jimoyer · Mar 2, 2015

A show shot under pretty much exactly the conditions you describe (except shooting at ISO 25,600) Friday night with my D4s. More pics available if you want to see them.

j_photo · Mar 2, 2015

I shoot theater frequently with the Df and D800. I use the Df at up to iso 12,800 with very nice results, definitely superior to the D800 even at iso 6400. But the Df controls make it harder to make fast changes in exposure comp or iso. I wouldn't really recommend it as a primary camera for the type of work you describe.

jtan163 · Mar 3, 2015

I think the D750 would do fine, though I have not shot that type of work before.
I do however shoot night architechturals with my D750 which have varying levels of light including quite dark frames.

One thing the EXPEED4 FX cameras have which I think may be useful for stage shooting is the Highlight weighted spot metering mode.

http://nps.nikonimaging.com/technical_solutions/d810_tips/highlight/
I believe the D810 and the D750 have it. Not sure about the D4s.

--

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9762497@N05
http://www.jtpix.com.au

riman · Mar 3, 2015

John M Roberts said:
I searched a bit but got tired of reading peripheral information and thought I'd just ask directly. Recently for fun I shot a musical staged event with some dynamic stage lighting and smoke machines. In order to capture any action I had to shoot iso 6400. Camera used, a Rebel SL1 with kit lens. I wasn't too excited with the results.

Having read how good the DF and F4 sensor is at high iso I was looking to hear from experienced shooters as to what body they'd recommend. I hear the focus on the D750 is a plus in lowlight. For this type of subject matter I'm not too concerned with MP's. In another thread I thought I saw the D750 has a bit higher DR reach than the DF but it didn't state at what iso.

I own a D800e and a D700 as well. Next time I'm going to give the D700 a shot at this type of scene. I guess I'm basically wondering which sensor D4, DF or the D750 would handle iso 6400 best and also would like to consider focusing in the mix as well. I'm guessing the DF would handle the iso better but the D750 would nail more low lit shots. Also which camera could be shot quietly if among theater type setting where you don't want to hear the shutter.

Thanks,

Thought you might find these useful Data is attached..

calson · Mar 3, 2015

Low light autofocus depends on the camera, the lens, and subjects, and the lighting. In stage settings there is usually plenty of light and the subjects are medium to high contrast most of the time. The camera's AF sensors need areas of high contrast to detect when focus is achieved. This is something you can quickly test at home. In low light I can focus on a branch much more readily than on a cluster of leaves and the difference is edge contrast.

Using an f5.6 lens is going to cause problems for most cameras. Some like the Df, D4, D7100, D750, D610, and D800 have f8 autofocus sensors which make a big difference but are situated as a single row at the center of the viewfinder. If you subject is dead center then they work but if not then the camera is relying on the less sensitive sensors.

Lighting in theaters for the audience is usually low but the stage itself is very bright and more than enough. You can help the camera in part by using a lens that provides for manual assist or by focusing on an area of high contrast, like the neckline of a dress instead of the person's face.

In terms of noise I would be inclined to use a mirrorless camera like the ones from Olympus and one of their excellent f2.8 constant aperture telephoto lenses - i.e. 40-150mm f2.8 or 12-40mm f2.8. Their mirrorless provide very good image quality up to ISO 6400 though I have never needed more than ISO 2400 in any stage environment.

khaledgawdat · Mar 3, 2015

King of low light king of autofocus, endless buffer d4s
--
K.Gawdat

sssesq · Mar 3, 2015

With the D750 have absolutely no fear at 3200. I traded in my D4 for a new D750 and glad I did as I was able to swing a Nikon 14-24 2.8 with the proceeds. Low light, to my eye is just as dynamic and clean as the D4. Here is an event from this past weekend at 3200.

OOPSOS · Mar 3, 2015

DF AND d800 24-70 AND 70-200 F2.8

--
'Photography is about feel of view, not field of view'
I view, I feel, I shoot

Loading…

gplus.to

Billstek · Mar 3, 2015

Consider the d810. Highlight weighted metering, plus very quiet shutter.

sssesq · Mar 3, 2015

OOPSOS said:
DF AND d800 24-70 AND 70-200 F2.8

--
'Photography is about feel of view, not field of view'
I view, I feel, I shoot
http://gplus.to/Grandpaparazzi

As I look over you photos on your website I was very impressed by their clarity and sharpness. This one, however, left me feeling a bit fuzzy. As I often do, not to put anybody down, but only to point out areas that may benefit by additional processing. I did the Focus Magic blur app to sharpen it up a bit. IC that your shutter speed is a bit low for the fl u used. Did you have VR enabled?

j_photo · Mar 3, 2015

Billstek said:
Consider the d810. Highlight weighted metering, plus very quiet shutter.

I would second this. I shoot with the D800 and could definitely take advantage of both of these improvements. I wouldn't mind the bump in fps either.

Also keep in mind, good theater lighting is frequently much brighter than you might at first think. Good exposure is often more to do with protecting highlights than stretching iso. This was shot last weekend with the D800:

OOPSOS · Mar 3, 2015

sssesq said:
OOPSOS said:

DF AND d800 24-70 AND 70-200 F2.8

--
'Photography is about feel of view, not field of view'
I view, I feel, I shoot
http://gplus.to/Grandpaparazzi

Click to expand...

As I look over you photos on your website I was very impressed by their clarity and sharpness. This one, however, left me feeling a bit fuzzy. As I often do, not to put anybody down, but only to point out areas that may benefit by additional processing. I did the Focus Magic blur app to sharpen it up a bit. IC that your shutter speed is a bit low for the fl u used. Did you have VR enabled?

Thank you for your comment. Will take note of that ,but just curious about compression of DPR website?

--
'Photography is about feel of view, not field of view'
I view, I feel, I shoot

Loading…

gplus.to

sssesq · Mar 3, 2015

OOPSOS said:
sssesq said:

OOPSOS said:

DF AND d800 24-70 AND 70-200 F2.8

--
'Photography is about feel of view, not field of view'
I view, I feel, I shoot
http://gplus.to/Grandpaparazzi

Click to expand...

As I look over you photos on your website I was very impressed by their clarity and sharpness. This one, however, left me feeling a bit fuzzy. As I often do, not to put anybody down, but only to point out areas that may benefit by additional processing. I did the Focus Magic blur app to sharpen it up a bit. IC that your shutter speed is a bit low for the fl u used. Did you have VR enabled?

Click to expand...

Thank you for your comment. Will take note of that ,but just curious about compression of DPR website?

--
'Photography is about feel of view, not field of view'
I view, I feel, I shoot
http://gplus.to/Grandpaparazzi

I really meant to delete this post as When I saw your website I could see that you know about sharpness and needed no advice. IDK if this website compresses stuff, but I know that I upload examples and they seem to be sharp. Look at my post above - Hit the "original" to see the full size file. (the original I uploaded is 1.93 MB).

riman · Mar 4, 2015

sssesq said:
With the D750 have absolutely no fear at 3200. I traded in my D4 for a new D750 and glad I did as I was able to swing a Nikon 14-24 2.8 with the proceeds. Low light, to my eye is just as dynamic and clean as the D4. Here is an event from this past weekend at 3200.

You really should take your camera in for repair that is one very distracting blue oil spot..in case you didnt notice..

billslatteryjr · Mar 4, 2015

My D4 is so noisy that it caused a diver to fault at a swim meet and others to complain. I'll only use it now once they leave the board. Most of the time I give up the FPS for the D810. It also draws lots of unwanted attention and comments at ball games and other sporting events. It has spooked a good many close birds. Much more than my old D800. If the Df or D750 have a quiet mode that is actually almost quiet like the D810 quiet mode, you may want to sacrifice the FPSs and get one of those. The D4 is very LOUD!

riman · Mar 4, 2015

billslatteryjr said:
My D4 is so noisy that it caused a diver to fault at a swim meet and others to complain.

Which body for stage performance lighting?

Senior Member

Member

Senior Member

Well-known member

Senior Member

Attachments

Veteran Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Forum Pro

Forum Enthusiast

Senior Member

Leading Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Veteran Member

Attachments

Leading Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Leading Member

Senior Member

Keyboard shortcuts