[Patang]

Well I just got back from the Sydney Superdome where I was taking photos of Maroon 5 for the company that I work for.

It was amazing! We were in the pit literally five feet from the main singer and I have so many great shots.

I was using my K10D with battery grip for extra support, and I took in 3 lenses: my 31mm limited, my 77mm limited, and my tamron 28-75mm because I didn't know how far away I would be. I only used my 31mm and it was pretty much the perfect focal length for it! Everyone else was using canons so i was feeling the odd man out but of course, my little baby performed beautifully!

Unfortunately I am not able to post any photos of the actual concert according to my contract with the touring company, but ig you guys want, once they go live on the website I work for I'll link the pics in.

Wow. I could really get into that sort of thing!

Just had to share.

[deludel]

That is so awesome, what an amazing experience! Definitely post the link, I'd love to see how they came out.

I am going (as a fan!) to a stadium show in Phoenix in May. The line-up is Keith Urban, LeeAnn Rimes, Sammy Hagar, and Kenny Chesney .. I have front row seats!! I've been toying with the idea of bringing my K10. Here are my thoughts, please feel free to weigh in:

- It's a 7-hour event
- I'd hate for anything to happen to the K10 .. but those things are durable!
- I could bring my pocket P&S only, but the quality would be worse, and the batteries would drain FAST
- I'd be working with the kit lens .. I also have a 80-200mm, but it's old and manual .. I wouldn't want to figure that out in that environment
- I only have the "kit" battery right now .. if I take the K10, any advice on batteries? I haven't gotten a feel yet for how long those batteries will take me.

[Patang]

Tha sounds like an awesome line up! I wonder if 'our' Nicole will be somewhere near you too!

The big question is will you be allowed to take your camera in? I know that for a lot of concerts they don't allow 'professional' cameras unless you are an accredited member of the press so you should double check that info first. If they do let you in with the K10 definitely take it and the kit lens. I found I was able to shoot at ISO 320 (I could've gone lower to be honest) at about with a range of about f/3.2 which gave me shutter speeds of around 1/125. But then I was using the beautiful 31mm! The reason I say kit lens is because the front row is very very close. We were just in front of the front row and my 31mm was almost not wide enough for some of the shots!
If you can, try get your hands on a constant f/2.8 lens like the sigma or tamron because that will give you a lot more freedom and versatility. I realise that it may not be possible due to funds, but they are worth it!
As for the battery, get a spare one. You may not need it but I'm a big believer in being safer rather than sorry...er. One battery on a full charge will generally last a very long time, but with the battery indicator being what it is... well... you just never know!
And of course take the point and shoot anyway as you'll want to get some photos of you and whoever you're going with in the crowd and to show just how close you are to those great performers.

Am I just funding your camera addiction with this answer? I'm not too sure!

[k100d]

hey Patang: did you use a tripod, or was there sufficient lighting for you to take pictures handheld... and did you use a flash?

deludel: you'd probably want a faster lens for concerts cuz the lighting conditions are so unpredictable

[Patang]

No tripod allowed and no flash either. It was just me, my camera body, and my lens and they all worked beautifully.

[Patang]

My photos are up in case anyone wants to have a look at them...

Please wait...

Of course, they look better bigger!

[Pentaxtic]

Looks very good! Would love to be able to shoot a band up close.

[monochrome]

That is so awesome, what an amazing experience! Definitely post the link, I'd love to see how they came out.

I am going (as a fan!) to a stadium show in Phoenix in May. The line-up is Keith Urban, LeeAnn Rimes, Sammy Hagar, and Kenny Chesney .. I have front row seats!! I've been toying with the idea of bringing my K10. Here are my thoughts, please feel free to weigh in:

- It's a 7-hour event
- I'd hate for anything to happen to the K10 .. but those things are durable!
- I could bring my pocket P&S only, but the quality would be worse, and the batteries would drain FAST
- I'd be working with the kit lens .. I also have a 80-200mm, but it's old and manual .. I wouldn't want to figure that out in that environment
- I only have the "kit" battery right now .. if I take the K10, any advice on batteries? I haven't gotten a feel yet for how long those batteries will take me.

Hi deludel - there is a thread about RENTING Pentax (and other) lenses over the internet. If you can get your K10D into the conert you might want to consider this. Thread Link below

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/24688-finally-...-s-lenses.html

[rmtagg]

Congrats! Looks like you got some really great shots! I could see where this would be very exciting

[lithos]

The line-up is Keith Urban,

As a former Tamworth resident, who was there during Keith's formative years, I sincerely apologise not taking him out when I had the chance.

Sammy Hagar, though, will most definitely rock.

[Stratman]

Great shots Patrick !!!!

[AlanR]

Wonderful, glad you posted these!

[vievetrick]

Nice work.

[JCSullivan]

Thanks for posting a link to the images - Well done. Of course it makes some of the rest of us a litte jealous.

I often go to a bluesfest but never with my SLRs - care to share the EXIF or settings please. I nephews have a band and I would love to go BUT I hate the music and they probably wouldn't like it much if I wore ear-plugs.

[Patang]

Settings were fairly stable at about f/3.2 and with ISO340 which gave me a shutter speed of between 1/100 and 1/180 depending on the lighting conditions. All of this of course with my 31mm.

Watch out for a coming thread though... more news ahead!