$200 seems super low. You'd be better off using a cellular camera with a budget like that.

I don't know, I see people taking shots with -$100 cams that look pretty decent for what they are nowadays, and once you start getting into the $400 range the quality is notches above what you'd get back in the days for that. These RebelT1 cameras that everyone goes on about you can get for 6 bills.

I'm not trying to get hi-res magazine quality, I just need something that can handle the spontaneous club shots, while not worrying about fucking up an expensive cam if something happens to it. (I don't drink when I'm hired, but when I throw my own I'm two sheets to the wind)

I am willing to go a little higher though I guess for the right cam, but keep in mind these are just for random shots and I'll probably forget to bring it with me half the time.

buy a gopro and then use final cut to cut out your stills?
Hell i dont know if that will even work but its the only decent camera i can think of in your budget.

If you want something compact, look at things like the Canon S series (S95, S100) Olympus XZ-1 (a bit old but still a good camera)

The reason I say these is because they've got bigger sensors and much wider aperture lenses than a normal compact. You'll get much more natural looking photos in a club than just the flash washing out everything.

Otherwise, basically any SLR will be better, if you find one with something like a 24/28mm fixed lens. It'd be perfect for it.

Gopro mounts onto cranestand :) check the pic i posted on their instagram

instagram.com

Scrap the camera you used to take that pic, I can't really even tell what that GoPro was mounted to.

hahahahahah....TRUF

The big concern would be having a camera that can take great pics in low light situations (ie: clubs). It would also behoove you to know how to take low-light pics.

you need a camera and someone taking the pics....

Haha right!

Yeah here's one of my things... it would be nice to have a camera without a big protruding lens that can fit in my pocket, and then I could hand to any random and say "take a pic of me and these people right quick" and not have to give a tutorial on how to use it. A consumer camera that takes good shots in our situation, not a pro camera.



Aren't those video cameras? I was looking at those a while back but can't justify it since I already own the Zoom which is made for concerts/clubs and I've never actually bothered to bring it out.

Still I like that idea for mounted video.




Yeah this... I just want take halfway decent shots and tag people the next day on Facebook, I don't want to play prop-photog all night.






Thanks for the info, the PowerShot was one of the names I saw when Googling, but when searching Google I was bombarded with affiliate "reviews" rather than any proper details.

I grabbed a Canon Rebel XS refurb for a great price. It's an entry level SLR but once you figure out the manual settings for low light, it will give you way better results than any point and shoot camera. Ironically, once you do figure out the settings, it's basically just point and shoot!
www.ebay.ca

or here:
shop.usa.canon.com

Intrusting, any shots you can demo?

Haven't hauled it out to the club, but have taken a few night shots outdoors
www.dropbox.com

You're basically looking for the right combo of aperture, ISO, and exposure time. Takes some experimenting, but once you figure it out, you're golden. Then just switch it back to auto if you want to use the built-in flash. Pretty happy with it for the money.

And by no means would I call myself a photographer... Just messing around with settings until I get something decent. A little proper advice from a proper photographer would go a long way, I'm sure.

Yeah I know someone who started out as a photographer, ended up going to event management (concerts etc) and she could prolly give me a heads up and how to better use it. Thanks for the demo shots

(We should have you out to one of our Scarborough events some time)

Not as a photographer, though... LOL
As long as it's an old school gig! Haven't been keeping up with the hot garbage at all lately...

didnt really bother reading up... but basically you need a enrty level Dslr cam... either cannon or nikkon... i would go with nikkon since i always use them..... you would just need to adjust your Shutter speed and few other settings... but for motion capture you need 1/1000 shutter speed i believe if my memory serves me right in order to capture motion i mean freeze motion..... and of course you will need to adjust other settings since at the club it is low light..... bwt entry level cam can run you up anywhere from 400-500 bucks.. which is well worth it!! unless you can get it cheap if you can find a used one on craigs list or something

I guess just to give you an idea as to what to look for in spec sheets/reviews.

For low light, you want something capable of high ISO without excessive grain. Generally this comes from having a physically bigger imaging sensor which is why SLRs or cameras like the ones previously mentioned are better for it.
The way it's usually described is if you wanted to catch water, would you put a bunch of test tubes out in the rain, or would you use buckets?
In a camera you want to catch light, so having physically bigger pixels on the sensor will be better.

Aperture is measuring how wide the lens can open, so how much light gets let in. Again you obviously want as much as possible in a low light situiation, so look for a smaller number (something F2.8 or smaller is a safe bet)

Those two things alone are the key to getting sharp shots without having to use a tripod with not much light.
Adjustable flash level would also be a good idea to have, although it's rare to find a camera that doesn't have basic adjustment.
If you're looking at reviews, check the autofocus performance too. you don't want a camera that 'hunts' in low light because people will not wait while you struggle to get focus. (Focus speed is actually helped a lot by having a decent aperture lens)

That is extremely simplified, but might just give you a bit of an idea as to what to look for. The specs sheets all look the same after a few minutes.

/end camera nerd.

You should able to get an entry level Nikon d40 with lens for about $250 on craigslist. In fact I just checked right now (in Los Angeles) and there is one that's $275 (which I'm sure you can offer less for). Again this is just an entry level DSLR but it can take very decent shots and should suit your needs.

If you're looking for something a little more compact (not by much), look at the Canon G12 or G13.

no point and shoot is going to be able to give you reliable low light photos in a night club setting.

if you want photos for instagram then any point and shoot at target/wal-mart will work. hell i would even stick with my iphone.

if you want legit photos tho then you will need a camera with very good multi-point metering, fast autofocus, variable shutter speed and manual aperture aka dslr.

you'll need a body, 18-55mm lens and flash.

i wouldn't go lesser than a canon rebel t4i, but t1i or nikon 3200 can be had for about $500. keep in mind that the t1i doesn't have manual aperture.

Unless they do something seriously weird to the camera models that get shipped there, how do you figure the 500D/T1i doesn't have manual aperture control? It has aperture priority mode, and manual mode?

Taking low light club pictures to look professional is quite the art... Probably like taking polka music and trying to adapt it to a top 40 crowd...

i.e. hire a professional

my bad it has full manual in photo mode. in video mode it does not have manual aperture. it also can't record video in 60p or 24p.

there is a hack using a lens to get manual aperture in video mode tho

@shaman gopro takes pics 1.2.5.10.30 seconds as well as minutes heres a timelapse i did w it Watchm.youtube.com

LOL I'm not trying to take professional shots here, I've explained that.

Head shots, proper promo shots, I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole, I don't have the experience.

But I can't have a photographer with me 24/7 "just in case" something happens.

Sometimes at a party spontaneous wild shit happens, sometimes it doesn't, I've already wasted my time trying to bring out a photographer for these self-thrown fun gigs and it wasn't worth it.

LOL no not as a photographer. And the events we throw, even if we were planning on it being a new music thing always ends up being an old school jam anyway, it's mostly a 30+ crowd that clubbed hard back in the day but are now all grown up and like to come out and act wild once a month.

I appreciate the camera nerd stuff, the more I understand the physics behind it, the better prepared I am when I actually buy one

I won't go that far... just take some of the above advice, buy a camera that is good in low light situations and learn the art of taking those types of pics. KNOW that the cheapy cameras don't cut it in nightclub situations. You can get lucky on a pic once in a while but the majority will be not good. It's kind of analogous to guys wanting to do proms with low-end budget speakers. They don't cut it and you get what you pay for. My $.02.

Ah ok, I remember seeing that firmware hack a while back. Really interesting that those features could be added to it so easily.

I've used the Canon S95 for while, it's an excellent point and shoot, good in low light, but it still can't handle the darker clubs. I've since got the Sony RX100, bit pricier, but even better in low light, bigger sensor and wider aperture, but it still won't handle the darkest clubs.

I'm no pro, but I like photography, both those cameras take excellent photos, and give full manual control (should you want it), and they fit in the pocket, for me, that means I always have it on me and use it more than if I went for a dslr.

Got a flickr page, most of photos over the last few years are an s95 or the rx100, plenty of nightshots from either, but I'm getting much better people shots from the rx100 in the dark.

RX100: www.flickr.com
S95 : www.flickr.com

Or just search flickr as a whole for camera types to see how people use them, search for nightshot or similar to see how they cope in the dark.

The RX-100 is supposed to be the 'best of' that style of camera now. Although they aren't cheap.

I haven't had a chance to play with one extensively (they came out after I stopped working in a camera store) but have seen nothing but good comments about the quality and low light performance of them.

It is superb, and a big leap up from the s95 in low light, and all round, but I sometimes find the UI a pain, especially manual mode, better now I got used to it, but I still accidentally go into functions I don't want. The canon UI was much better. The sony also takes an age to power down, which is surprisingly annoying.

Sony were always quite horrible menu layouts, too many layers and icons that didn't make sense.

personally think you're better off just hiring an event photographer in the scene. They know how to take good crowd shots, use proper lighting, and will photoshop all shots for you.

Where you going to find the time to take photos if you're busy djing?

That was my point

Where am I going to find the time to run a party when I'm walking a photographer around all night when I want shots of certain things? I've brought in photographers before and it's ben waste, in fact that is exactly what motivated me to start this thread. Very recently I had someone in and they wouldn't take crowd shots or randoms because people were moving away or saying they don't want their pics taken, but if I go around with a camera people are falling all over themselves to get in the pics because they know me.

These are very spontaneous, fun events, even though I'm allowed to take full door if I want, I don't even charge.

Sometimes a DJ shows up that I haven't seen in years, sometimes it's just me and the usuals. (Look, I just invited Disgrace a few posts up)

I can't have a pro photog with me every single time in the event something happens or doesn't, I don't want to hold a photogs hand and say focus on that DJ more than that one among other things. To get a really good photog out every time, it will cost me more than I'm paying myself

Finally I don't have any pictures of anything I ever did, tours, TV shows, studio sessions with memorable artists... 20 years and maybe 6 pics. I'd like some for myself too.


Once or twice a year, sure, hire an event photog, no problem... but for one-offs and randoms that sometimes come together the night before? Why?

you don't need to have a photographer with you 24/7 - most of the photogs in my scene are willing to do it for a cut rate and show up for an hour during peak time, get some good shots of you, your crowd, you rocking the crowd, go home, and then do it up nicely. It's less about finding a pro, and more about finding a friend who happens to be a pro and is willing to do you a favour just like you might give them a discount if they need a dj for an art opening or something...

also from what I gather, the trick to getting some nice club shots is a proper flash with a disperser - having a remote flash doesn't hurt either...

get a low end DSLR camera... they're affordable.. and don't get caught up in the megapixel marketing game.
you don't need anything about 6 unless you plan on blowing them up for posters.

Still amazes me that the megapixel myth lives on. Nearly every customer I sold a camera to when I was at a camera store would start with "I want at least xxMP" ...i used to like asking them why they wanted that many. Was fun to see them either stutter around with no actual answer or come up with "because my old camera only had 6, and I want better quality" or the classic "my friend is a really good photographer and said I need at least 14 to get good shots"
Always waned to reply "well sir, your friend is in fact- a moron"
I usually just pulled out the Nikon D3 and pointed out that if megapixels mattered, shouldn't this $5k+ camera have more than 50? And if Nikon decided 12 was enough, they might know a little something....

TRUE STORY MAN.... pisses me off people always seem to think that more mega pixels means better quality.... which is true lol but only if you plan on making billboards.... for the average joe and dane... all they need is 4 maybe even 3 for your standard size photo -_- ... fuck i hate seeing people with nice DSLR and then they put it on AUTO and are clueless or just have no fucking idea what they are holding...... my friend got one recently and i asked him why??? and pretty much he said it looked like it would take good quality pictures and it has more megapixels then his previous point and shoot.... mind you he still takes the same crappy photos he took b4

In that price range check out the Panasonic LX series of point and shoots - they have the following advantages:

- lens by Leica
- widest angle lens of any P&S - 24mm (so you can take much cooler club shots)
- fastest lens of any P&S (so great low light performance w/o flash)
- great sensor in low light too
- hot shoe, so you can mount an external flash
- screw mount on the lens barrel, so you can fit accessories (filters, lens adapters, etc)
- 720p video - not 1080 unfortunately, but you can get great low light video that other cameras can't give you

Good thread.

Looking to get a DSLR myself for pretty much the same reason as the poster. Take some good shots of my setup at gigs. There is a store on long island called Cameta Camera. Little mom and pop shop that has been around for years. I think they have stayed open so long is due to their knowledge and customer service. Plan on going in for an education when I do decide to buy a camera and of course couple it with what the users are saying in this thread. I know people think photography is easy and by no means do I think it is, but I think with a little education you can certainly take better photos with an decent entry level DSLR.

t5i was recently announced. it is shipping in april. same as the t4i sans a few body improvements. ebay and cragslist will be flooded with t4i's. you will be able to find what some would call the best entry level dslr (non full frame) for dirt cheap.

www.imaging-resource.com

I've been showing my housemate the basic of an SLR he just picked up, not really going into any detail of exactly why you do particular things, just giving him rough numbers for settings to start with and play with.
If I was shooting photos in a club environment, I'd usually just put it in manual...pick one setting for the night and leave it at that.

For reference, I have a diploma of arts in photography, worked in a camera store and also work as a wedding photographer and have been shooting for about 10 years.