srika

They let me take the D70 into the club last night. Here is a teaser to start it off. This was my first time shooting in a club setting with the D70, did better than I thought I would. Although, it needed help. The biggest enemy was noise. So bad that I had to use a anti-noise program. I am quite sure I still don't have the settings optimal, I played around with lots of options and found the best option to be manual mode A, with "rear" flash mode. I'll just have to keep playing with it until I find the best setting - next time I am going to try turning down the ISO.. should have tried that this time but it escaped me. I wish it was easier to assess the noise level of the pics while taking the pictures - is there a way?

darko

What's the best anti-noise program that you recommend?

NYZGREATST

holy shit thats a great pic. since it was a club im sure it was pretty dark right?!!? wow thats amazing

srika

Well I can't really answer that since I've only used the one I have - Noise Ninja 2. I should probably post a before/after pic so you can see the difference for yourself. I will do that soon.

srika

Well, no. It looked just like you see it, in real life. The strobes were flashing :P

srika

btw you will see a comparison of that same shot w/ 3 lighting levels - with strobes, with some lights, and without...

srika

Its pretty easy to see which shots have the strobes on - they are the really bright ones. The last 3 pics are what I described above - same scene, different lighting.





























minimal lights


some strobe


max strobes

trancemission

Great pics Rubin... I wouldve loved to have been there...

BC2G

boom chi boom chi boom chi

kinda a small club huh?

srika

It's one of the biggest clubs in Chicago - but its spread out - this area is the upper room, and its 4 floors, but the footprint of this individual area is considerably smaller than, say, Space in Miami. There are 2 other more "mainstream" clubs inside the same complex, which I pretty much never go to. From outside, the building kinda looks like a castle.

Incidentally though, there has been a movement towards seeing the bigger DJ's in small very intimate venues - this isn't one of them. Friday night we had James Zabiela @ Spybar, which is VERY small... I think I kinda rather prefer seeing them in bigger clubs like this, just because of the greater space.

EuRTSX

lmao, that looks whack, and wow man, that first picture at the top, the right dancer looks like a man -___-;;


Anyhoo. Great pictures =P

waTSX

Nice hotties in the front row there

srika

LMAO!!!!

srika

Question for the photo ppl - would I get lower noise with a better camera? say, a D200 or a 30D, 5D, etc? how about a D2x? I mean, would it be easier to take non-noisy pics with those cameras? This might be an obvious question, but I'm asking because I don't know.

svtmike

For lower noise at high ISO, you want to go with a Canon FF but that's much more expensive than your D70.

I really can't see anything about the pictures you posted though that say you should jump to a different setup.

I've got a D200 and my brother has a D2X - they have pretty similar noise characteristics form what I've seen of pictures from each.

srika

what's Canon FF?

well the pix I posted are after post-processing to remove noise... is that a normal step for taking pix like these? is there any camera where I wouldn't have to use a de-noiser?

waTSX

He's referring to full frame sensors, i.e. sensors which are the same size as the "old" 35mm format. The Canon 5D, at about $3K has one. FF sensors are very expensive to make. Most consumer level SLR's have sensors around 2/3 the size of "full frame."

To answer your earlier question, if you are now using a compact camera, then yes, moving to one of the cameras you listed will result in better high ISO performance. The sensors, and photosites, in SLR's are larger, and less subject to artifacting, etc.

FWIW, Canon CMOS sensors generally give better high ISO performance than Nikon's CCD sensors, but both companies make outstanding cameras. Speaking from experience, Canon's are buttery smooth up to ISO 1600, and useable at ISO 3200.

srika

damn... I want a Canon FF !!!!

can you imagine a 1Ds Mark II!?!?!? that would be ridiculous.

waTSX

Yes, ridiculously expensive. Really, unless you're shooting pro, it's not necessary. A 30D or any of Nikon's fine offerings will give just about anyone exactly what they need. Take the money you'll save and buy some good glass.

srika

ok ok.. actually I just read up on it and it looks to be a bit of overkill..... LOL!

so you are saying you think I will get better pix with the 30D, compared to the D70.

waTSX

Not necessarily. The D70 is excellent, the 30D is much newer. I'm just saying that most people, and reviewers, report better high ISO performance with Canon DSLR's than with Nikon's. So if you do a lot of shooting in environments like the one in the pics you posted here, you might be happier with Canon, because you'd be using higher ISO settings more often. Like I said, my 20D up to ISO 1600 offers excellent image quality. In my film days, I never would have considered shooting film at that high of an ISO setting.

But both companies offer excellent SLR's, as does Olympus and others. You just have to define your usage parameters and go from there. Maybe Dan can give even more insight.

BTW, I like your pics in this thread. That looks like a cool place to party.

einsatz

Great pics! I love Infected Mushroom.
I liked the g-man in the white suit on the upper rails on this pic
Kinda OT but the "big names in small clubs" is a really awesome thing. When I lived in Rochester in the late 90s we'd get big DJs in pretty small venues and the experience is completely different from big clubs... It's fantastic.

Dan Martin

It's nice when the venue provides their own strobes for you to use.

Cool stuff!

srika

Ok. I have to say though after reading your input on the matter and reading more about it at various sites, I think the choice for me is Canon. So I think I will be making efforts to get probably a 5D. I would love to be able to take pics even close to the ones at this site - LOVE these pics. The color on them is amazing - I wonder what kind of post-processing went into them, if any. I think the 5D would get close?

Here are some highlights from the above site:

http://johnnymonsoon.com/gallery/lscaugust/A8C8696
http://johnnymonsoon.com/gallery/lscaugust/A8C9747
http://johnnymonsoon.com/gallery/lscaugust/A8C9799
http://johnnymonsoon.com/gallery/lscaugust/A8C9293

that's club photography!

Some details (from the first pic): 1D Mark II, shutter 1/32 sec, F/2.8, exposure 1/30 sec, ISO 3200 ( )...

srika

is this the main reason they look so good?

srika

I agree with you, it's cool. What's not cool though, is that these places are typically not designed for this number of ppl. So when it comes to such trivial things as the restroom, it kinda sucks. I guess you could like, not drink anything. But what fun would that be.

srika

oh yeah the full gallery of Infected Mushroom pix is here:

http://www.delobbo.com/gallery2/v/09...shroom_vision/

srika

http://www.ritzcamera.com/product/54...bct=%3Bcicanon

stogie1020

I am totaly ignant with respect to photography so indulge me... What is "noise" in a picture? Maybe a pic with alot of it and the same pic with none? Thanks.

moeronn

I'm no expert, but the pics you took look darn good. The ones you linked to do not seem all that much better. Most of the difference comes down to composition and probably getting to know your equipment better. Your pics are mostly crowd shots, whereas the linked pics are mostly portraits with background. You'll also notice that in the linked pics, there is still quite a bit of noice - mostly in the backgrounds - because of the low light. :halfacent:

srika

I'll post the comparison shots later on tonight to show you what it is - its basically the "speckling" and "dots" that you see mainly in low-light pictures.

srika

thanks, maybe its just a case of the grass being greener on the other side - and good observation about the content of the pictures (closeup vs. wide) - but I still can't help but feel the D70's shots leave something to be desired. I haven't really paid attention to the background on those shots much..

srika

well I've pretty much given up on any thoughts of getting the 5D... I definitely would not want to get a stellar body - but not be able to make the most out of it by having to settle for a mediocre lens.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/5d_pg7.html

so I think I will consider the new Rebel XTi, the 30D, or the D80.. but I really kind of feel like I wanna go Canon.

stogie1020

Thanks. I would love to pick up the new Canon Rebel 10mp. Any thoughts on a good general lens for it (I read that the "kit" lenses with the Rebels are not so great)?

I need a good intro book on photography to guide me, as well.

Dan Martin

The Rebel XTi is a great camera, but as with any photographic equipment, try it before you buy it. If you have big hands, you might find it a little small.
The kit lens is actually pretty good. It doesn't have the best build quality in the world, but optically it's fine. For beginners, there are a thousand other things to screw up an image before the lens becomes a limiting factor.

srika

ok... after reading for a while, I feel like I should still keep the 5D in mind. And, consider a lens such as this one:

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...9&modelid=8503

what do you guys think?

or even this:

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...&modelid=11924

Dan Martin

The 5D and 1DsMKII are the undisputed leaders in low noise, high-ISO performance. The comment on lenses is common to all bodies, but edge sharpness can be a problem for cheap wide and standard lenses on full-frame bodies. If a 5D is a 10/10 for noise performance, a 30D is a 9/10. A 30D with a good lens and a nice flash would probably be a better bang for your buck than a 5D with a cheap lens.

Billiam just grabbed a 5D, so he would be the best to answer any specific questions...

Dan Martin

The 24-70 is probably better for your club shots because of the faster aperture. The 24-105 is lighter and has image stabilization, so it makes for a better walk-around lens.

srika

he did!??! that fool.. I know he had posted a link about it sometime ago. Billiam what's the word? mind giving us a review of that beast?? pix would be nice too Although I've seen enough pix at dpreview to convince me of its quality.

Dan I hear you on the bang for a buck from the 30D - I think I will have to decide between that and whether I want to go for the 5D. It's quite a difference, all things said and done - given that I would have to get a flash, along with the higher price of the body.

Dan Martin

You want to get a flash regardless of which body you go for. Clubs are very hard to shoot in due to the low (and changing) light conditions. I was never a fan of flash photography until I got a dedicated unit. It gives you so much more flexibility than an in-camera flash.

You might want to look a fast wide prime when you want to shoot with available light.

Check out this page for some tips & tricks: http://blog.rl-digital.com/wordpress...b-photography/