What should I look for in a digital camera to take pictures of people moving from 50 feet away in low light?

Question

I am looking for a digital camera that will take better pictures of indoor performances. I am typically about 50 feet from the stage and the performers are moving. I use a tripod, but since it seems too far away to benefit from a flash (and the flash would interfere with the performance), the shutter speed is slow and hence I get a lot of blurred pictures as the performers move on stage. Are there certain features I should look for in a new camera that will help me? Any suggestions on a recommended camera?

Answer 1

This is not a matter of taste.. is just physics. Since not flash is recommended if disturbance is a factor, you only have 3 approaces to this... wich you can mix to empower your photo reach:

FIRST Get a camera with a veruy high sensitivity. Today 1600 or 3200 is common in cameras under $400. THat will help you to have faster shutter speeds fro yoiur shots.

SECOND If you dont mind presenting your Visa, or dieting the hard way... get aby of the popular SLR cameras on the market. If you need more light entering tyhe CCD or CMOS sensor, you will then buy a telephoto capable of low light takes.

Could be a fixed lens in the 500mm scale with the closer to f/1.2 you can afford... not f/ 4.... or get a telezoom on the 300 to 700 mm.

To be real, you can get a $180 f/8 500mm, but a low light will reach the 2 to 5 THOUSAND $$$... ALL DEPENDS ON YOUR POCKET.


THIRD Get a camera capable of infrared and ultraviolet shots, and soft assembly the images on at least 1/15 shots...

Besides that, all you can do is to get closer to the musicians, take advantage of the lights adn take as many shoots as you can, so buy a fast 4 to 8 GB memory card.

You need a Ferrari to beat a Porche, you now right?

Answer 2

You need one with a really high resolution. I recently picked up a Canon Rebel XTi Digital SLR, if I set it to ISO 1600 it does pretty well in low light conditions and without a flash it will pop 3 frames a second.

I'm not sure how serious you are about this kind of photography but they have some really good telephoto lenses (L series) that run $1500 but are superior in optic quality.

You should be able to shoot anything you need 50 feet away. If the people can see what their doing then you can get a picture of them.

Answer 3

Any Nikon DSLR body (execpt D40) with a Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR (which will cost $2000 USD) or a Nikkor 70-300mm f3.5-5.6 VR (which will cost $300+ USD) are good ideas.

When object is moving in the low light scens, it is hard to get everything in sharpness. Not only with a wide apeture, such as 2.8, we also need a Vibiration Reudcion (VR) system or Image Stablization (IS) to reduce the shake. In addition, those toys will hurt you if you don't have at least $2000 USD.

You know, life is brutal, yeh, to take these good things, we need to have good things too :)

I am dreaming of a VR lens, which i definitely can't get at this stage.

Good Luck

Answer 4

A Nikon DSLR with SB800 flash unit should do the trick. If one unit isn't sufficient, you can add up to 9 more, remotely controlled.

Answer 5

The Canon EOS 5D is supposed to be very good at high ISOs, so this may be the right choice for you.