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Does anyone have any good picture/video taking tips for recording your favorite band at 'roo? While recording video, the sound often becomes garbled and bottomed out upon playback. What can I do to stop this? I'm using a Canon PowerShot800IS.
For videos make sure the volume is NOT turned all the way up.... and find something steady to lean against while shooting. I doubt you'll be able to get a tripod in (or want to lug it around for that matter). Do a few tests at your house. Turn up the music REAL LOUD and try a few different settings.
For still photos there's only one tip: Take lots and lots and lots of photos. Out of 2000 photos from the weekend you'll end up with at least one or two bad ass ones. Oh, and also do tests at your house with settings. Flash on? Flash off? Auto? Portrait? try them all.
Last Edit: May 23, 2009 6:14:06 GMT -5 by pisgah - Back to Top
that's exactly my technique. poeple always laugh becaus ei take so many pics... but then out of 1000 i get one or two that are amazing. totally worth it.
plus, the world looks neat from behind the lens. just don't spend all your time shooting. my camera battery died without a backup at a museum in nyc last summer and it was such a blessing, because i go to be in the moment, not behind the lens.
Post by itrainmonkeys on May 23, 2009 23:39:01 GMT -5
definitely take a ton of photos. if you get some down time when waiting for a band you can go through and delete the ones you know aren't that great. you just don't want to run the battery down.
I plan on taking a bunch of photos and a video or two of full songs of some shows (aa bondy, delta spirit....etc). Don't really have much advice.....I just kinda go with the flow.
Post by ilovebonaroo on May 24, 2009 6:21:08 GMT -5
ya my biggest worry is my battery dieing...i might buy an extra one just in case...and those power outlets you speak of lonlylily might come in handy especially if the battery dies before an act i really wanna see!
Post by rideincircles on May 24, 2009 12:06:29 GMT -5
As far as sound goes with your camera, you cant change the way it records audio. Best advice is to avoid recording video in front of speakers or where its loud on your ears.
The sd800 may have the same mic as the a710 which was my last canon camera. It could record good quality sound, but only at managable volumes. My rule of thumb was that if i knew it was loud as hell on my ears, the camera would record crappy audio. It also could not handle loud bass.
I still have some awesome videos recorded with it though, its worth capturing those epic moments.
For example 20000 people have watched this on youtube. Its not the best quality audio, but it captured the moment.
My new camera is a canon sd790 which was able to capture the sound of my bloody valentines finale at the loudest volume ever. My a710 would have been uninteligeble noise. I am upgrading to a canon sx1 for bonnaroo, and it can record stereo sound with hd 1080p with a 20x optical zoom and take raw photos. The only problem on the hd is that it eats memory alive, like 4gb for 6 minutes i think. I wont be utilising that much yet, maybe a nin video.
I do recommend using your highest quality video setting when recording, it makes the youtube videos look better.
As far as pictures go, take tons and use all your settings figuring out what your camera is capable of. Avoid using the flash in a crowd, but it can help at night if all the pictures are blurry. If you use a flash in a crowd avoid anything else in the picture in the nearest 15 feet. Otherwise shiny objects ruin a good pic. Also time shots with bright lights on stage.
This was My Bloody Valentines finale, it was basically 15-20 minutes of the loudest bone rattling noise that my camera captured effectively.
Post by rideincircles on May 24, 2009 12:10:41 GMT -5
On the batterieis note, you can order some cheap batteries on ebay from china, they seem to work alright. I got two camera batteries from china for $7 shipped, I only plan on using them for backup but plan on testing them before roo. You can probably get them before roo if you order some now.
Dont ever order usb or flash cards on ebay from china though, they dont work a large amount of the time. I did get a 99cent shipped sd card reader from china that works great though.
Also use rechargable AA batteries only, buy an extra set or 2. They are worth their weight in gold. Car chargers or a cigarette lighter power inverter are also great Roo items.
I was thinking maybe putting some tape over the mic on the camera to see if that would dull the sound. I usually take a ton of digital pictures but when it comes to video the picture is very good but the sound isn't the best. What I've been doing is using my computer to add the sbd recording to the video I shot so that it has better audio.
Post by rideincircles on May 24, 2009 13:24:47 GMT -5
The best bet would be to try it at home and see if it helps, at the field it may come off. I have also switched the audio out a few times for some videos but there are always shows that no one seemed to have recorded. Canon definitely upgraded the mic on the newer cameras, so its unnecesary for me now.
Post by rideincircles on May 25, 2009 1:30:40 GMT -5
Oh yeah, what I was gonna mention earlier is that you can get a warranty from squaretrade on almost any electronic device. Its cheaper than most store warranties, and they are pretty reputable. Its around $100 to insure your iphone for 2 years against anything. I am probably gonna get my new camera insured through them. www.squaretrade.com/pages/
For Photo's try to get as close as possible, and on most models of digital cameras if you push down on the shutter button halfway it should auto-focus your picture. That way your pictures will be sharp and clear. Take a lot of pictures because most wont come out. I like to turn around and get crowd shots of all the people standing around/by you. Sometimes these can be quite impressive.
As for video, This has become my favorite thing as of late. I record on a small compact digital camera with good results.
My camera doesnt allow zoom's while recording so I dont zoom at all while recording. I get a good shot lined up and I have learned to go into the menu and look for the focus setting. You want to set your focus at a certain distance. It should tell you how far each focus setting is, on my there is 2 feet, 4 feet, 10, 24 and 00 infiniti. When In doubt I use the Infiniti setting which looks like a sideways 8. This will kept your image from fluttering in and out of focus.
When you record dont get too lost in the frame, keep your eyes open for things going on onstage and around you(crowd surfers, etc).
Also find out where your microphone is and be sure not to cover it or touch it while your holding it recording.
This may seem very basic, but make sure you've got the strap around your neck or hand. Shit can get out of hand really quickly. My camera flew out of my hands about 15 feet at MMJ last year, and got really wet. It's a miracle I found it and that it was still functioning.
Also, does anyone have experience with the Flip HD cameras? The video quality is amazing, but I wonder how well they record loud concert audio?
Post by questionablesanity on May 28, 2009 8:40:52 GMT -5
I just started taking concert photos with my D60 and, by far, the most important thing to do is take as many photos as possible. I went to a Hot Buttered Rum show a few weeks ago and shot over 300 and had maybe 25 keepers.
A Thieve's Parade 2/24 Conspirator 2/26 Kevin Smith 3/11 Keller 3/17 Papadosio 3/18 JJ Grey 3/25 Bela Fleck/Edgar Meyer 3/26 Toubab Krewe 3/27 O'Death 4/11 Budos Band 4/22 EOTO 4/28 Summer Camp 5/6-29 All Good
ok so i want to get a new camera and am looking for some advice on a good one for shows. i went and saw coldplay this week and they came out and played on the lawn i was soo close and the pictures still came out blurry even with me standing still to take the pictures..im reading all of these reviews on websites and am so lost..right now i own the canon powershot sd 450..thanks!
ok so i want to get a new camera and am looking for some advice on a good one for shows. i went and saw coldplay this week and they came out and played on the lawn i was soo close and the pictures still came out blurry even with me standing still to take the pictures..im reading all of these reviews on websites and am so lost..right now i own the canon powershot sd 450..thanks!
This thread here is tremendously helpful! I actually just bought a new camera today to replace my SD450! You'll find lots of cameras in this thread mentioned with pros/cons and prices and whatnot
Post by plasticpepper on May 28, 2009 20:19:46 GMT -5
Here's my tip: if there's a hot boy dancing VERY energetically in front of you, you should take multiple pictures because he is probably going to wave his arms in front of what would have been a really awesome picture of Manu Chao.
I just got a Kodak Zx1 HD mini video camera for the sole purpose of documenting roo (not just the shows, but the camping scene, roadtrip, etc).
Took it for a test run at The National show in Boston last weekend - video from the front row (with speaker right in front of me) came out pretty good:
