Concert Photos With The Canon 5D Mark IV

When the Canon 5D Mark IV was announced I pre-ordered it right away. I had been preparing to buy a new camera the whole year and was hoping to purchase a 1DX Mark II but when I saw this I pounced on it because even it were only slightly better than my wonderful Mark III I'd be happy. I was a little worried though because I wondering how much better the ISO performance would be because from the announcement the ISO range wasn't anything close to what Nikon offers with its brand-new line of cameras. So I was excited/nervous to shoot my first show with the camera. But ... from the images below it's obvious that the ISO performance and dynamic range is amazing. I'm so happy with this camera. The most important thing I'd like to point is how sharp these photos are even with heavy cropping because I was shooting from at least 100 yards away. That 30MP sensor is fantastic but if you miss the focus it will make you pay. Also it was great to take advantage of the wifi and transfer photos to my phone right away. So far, I haven't found any issues with this camera.    

Getting Comfortable At Arena Shows

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Now that it's officially summertime there are tons of big arena shows on the calendar and for the first time ever I'm feeling comfortable shooting these big shows. In the past I would pass on shooting arena shows when they were offered to me because I just never thought I'd be able to get clean photos since photographers usually have to shoot from the soundboard, which is at least 30 yards away from the stage. 

Shooting in these environments wouldn't be so bad if I had, say, a Canon 1DX and a 400mm f/2.8L but I don't so I really have to push my camera's limits. But before I even compose a shot, the first tool necessary for a great shot is a stool. That will put you head and shoulders above the standing crowd and will give you a clear sightline of the stage. Then, I just have to hope that there's enough light since I'm using a 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L. At times for these shots I was shooting at ISO 6400 with a shutter speed of 1/500 and f/5.6 -- that's about as far as I can push my camera and still get photos that aren't cluttered with noise. They're not perfect but for now I'm happy with them.