Live Events - Camera Settings

[ItsClobberingTime]

Hi guys,

 

I'm going to my first TNA live event this weekend at Wembley Arena. This will be the first wrestling event I've been to with my newly acquired DSLR from Christmas.

 

Usually my photos come out fairly dark at gigs and WWE shows etc. I'd previously been using your normal point and click digital camera.

 

Obviously I need to get my shit together to take some decent ones with the DSLR or else they'll come out even worse.

 

I was wondering if anyone could share their personal preferences/settings? How to get around motion blur, bad lighting, multiple coloured crazy lighting etc?

 

I'll be sitting around 3rd row tiered.

 

Thanks for any help, and hopefully this can be useful for others going too.

[matbro1984]

First of all, you're presuming you'll get a DSLR in. Most venues I've experience get really shitty about large cameras that look professional. And it's a complete ballache to find somewhere to put it, and worse than that would you even trust your beloved SLR in a cloakroom? I know I wouldn't. I would email Wembley about it and get it in writing that your camera would be welcome. If not, don't chance it. It's simply not worth the trouble. Granted, in terms of wrestling, my experiences have all been with WWE during tapings (which might be WWE's evil doing rather than the venue itself).

 

I have a Panasonic Lumix TZ10 (which has manual control) as a compact that I can take to events which has much of an SLR's features, but without the bulk and most importantly it's not at all as conspicuous.

 

Presuming that you do smuggle it in without any hassle, though:

 

The main tips for getting action shots / decent shots indoors are:-

1. Widest aperture you can use.

2. Highest ISO setting (without the photos coming out like grainy hell - 800 or 1600 should be OK)

3. Shoot JPG instead of RAW and have it on burst mode. You capture photos quickly, but losing RAW and its post-processing jiggerypokery is a tradeoff.

 

Typically, I'd begin shooting some in manual mode with the aperture set to its widest. Then you should cycle through the various quick shutter time options and let the camera do the rest. You'll need to look at how the photos turn out, trial-and-error style, to find the shutter speed that works best. I would presume 1/2000 will be too quick (and come out too dark), whereas something like a 1/60 will be too slow (brightly lit, loads of colour, but blurred). Depends so much on how well the venue is lit that it's impossible for me to guide you in that respect.

[dangerously420]

Can someone confirm that Digital SLR cameras are allowed in Wembley Arena for Saturday? I know a couple of people with them that are going to the show so will help a lot. Cheers.

[Swift89]

Can someone confirm that Digital SLR cameras are allowed in Wembley Arena for Saturday? I know a couple of people with them that are going to the show so will help a lot. Cheers.

 

From the Wembley arena website. http://www.wembleyarena.co.uk/faqs/

 

Our standard policy dictates that anything with a 35mm+ lens, audio and video recording cameras are prohibited. Small cameras are fine, unless the artist/promoter requests that all cameras are banned. In this case it will state this on our website.

[Dirty Eddie]

This is what it says on the Arena site...

 

Please Note: The promoters of the concert or event will inform the Arena of their policy regarding the admission of cameras to their shows. It should not be assumed that any camera will be admitted, as their policy may change at short notice, and without prior notification, at the artist

[Barramya Inc]

I have tried before to get my DSLR in - I contacted Wembley, and explained the camera, they said it was OK. I wasn't convinced so explained it was a DSLR, and they do have interchangeable lenses which I would only be using one fixed to the camera. They told me "bring the camera down" to check it.

 

They did not understand that the lens I had on my camera would in fact be WORSE than the compact camera I also had with its zoom.

 

They saw the camera and said "oh its more than a 35mm lens not allowed". Wasn't a major issue, as it was early so had time to run it back to the hotel, it was more the fact they had originally said it was OK as they didn't have a clue. I would also be careful if you have a compact with interchangeable lenses.

 

Saying that, last year there were people in the building with DSLRs, so unless they have relaxed the policy (which I doubt it) I personally wouldn't risk it.

[David]

Personally I wouldn't risk it. Even if you do get it in, your standard 18-55mm lens won't catch much in that lighting, you'll need something f/1.8 or so. Most standard 18-55mm lenses are f/3.5 and upwards, which won't get great results.

 

In fact, aside from the zoom (which the security won't allow you to use anyway), the picture quality won't be much better than a good quality point & shoot.

[Spike Sharpe]

From personal experience, I would forget about taking pics completely, and just concentrate on having a good time.

 

If you want a few snaps as a memento, I'd take your compact. To be honest, it's probably not worth attempting to take pics of the action from that sort of distance, no matter what your camera. Unless you are virtually ringside, there just isn't sufficient light to enable you to take good quality pics during the matches. The only time you'll get really crisp shots of the ring is with the house lights up. If there is any movement at all in the shot, it'll come out blurred.

 

Sorry to sound negative, but it's just an inherently difficult subject to photograph well.

 

Hope you have a good time at the show though. Would've loved the chance to see a bit of live TNA again. Usually go to a Coventry show, but there isn't one this time. :-(

[Tony B. Liar]

I agree with Spike Sharpe.

 

I would much rather go and enjoy the show rather than getting sub par photos from a distance.

I have wasted a lot of shows going and taking endless amount of photos when really I did nothing with them.

[Surf Digby]

Our standard policy dictates that anything with a 35mm+ lens

This is physical size, not focal length. For this very reason, don't even bother wasting your time trying to explain how lenses work as the rule was conjured up by someone who had no clue whatsoever what they were on about.

 

Fuji do a good line of bridge/superzoom cameras that do nicely in these situations. For the most part, you can stick it in Aperture Priority, set it to the lowest f number possible and snap away until your heart's content. If not, stick it in Manual at 1/125 and f3.2 (or lower, if you can) and then increase the ISO until you're happy with it.

 

For crazy mixed lighting, leave the white balance in auto and just hope for the best. If lighting is mixed and unpredictable, you won't be able to set in manually before it changes again.

[ItsClobberingTime]

Thanks a lot for all the feedback. To be honest I didn't think about it not being allowed, as they're so widely available these days, and I'm sure I've seen people at WWE events before but maybe they just got lucky.

 

I think I'll leave it at home and just take my smaller one to the Fan Interaction and maybe a few during the show itself.

[Big Benny HG]

One of my friends had his decent digital camera taken off him on the way into Wembley Arena for the Raw tapings a few years ago.

 

What made it funny was that we'd been telling him all throughout the day he would probably not be allowed to take it in and he'd said, "Don't worry, I'll get it in: I have a plan"... a plan so cunning in its complexity it consisted of him hiding it in his coat pocket. Of course, the security staff found it straight away and it was taken to the storage area for the duration (with hundreds of replica title belts, interestingly enough) with a ticket for collection at the end of the show.

 

What made it hilarious was that, being a bit of a stingy bastard, he'd also tried to sneak his own 3 bottles of Fanta into the arena too. Again, his cunning plan had seen him stash them in his pockets and, again, security found them immediately after confiscating his camera. Must have thought they'd hit the jackpot with this chancer. They actually relented and let him take the drinks inside, but only if he took the tops off all the bottles. This was in case they fell on the floor, and someone stood on them, or something.

 

So, as it happened, he was left carrying 3 open bottles of Fanta in his hands around Wembley Arena all night... and no camera.

 

What made it ridiculous was that the next day, upon leaving our hotel and heading back to Wembley for the Smackdown show, he decided he was going to try to take his camera in AGAIN.....