Good Point and Shoot Camera for taking concert pics
 

Hello everyone! So for a long time now I have wanted a really good point and shoot digital camera that I can use to take decent concert pictures with. So I did some research and found this nice Sony Cybershot camera that has 14.1 mp and 10x optical zoom. It got pretty good reviews online so I figured I would buy it and try it out. I got it yesterday and went on my back deck (I live in the city of Pittsburgh) in the evening and took several pictures of the city. When I looked at the pictures they look very grainy. I was really surprised because when I took pictures with alot of light they looked fantastic. So my question is there any camera out there that is a point and shoot that can take good pictures at night and isnt crazy expensive? I would appreciate any input!
Thanks!


Check out the link below to see the camera I just bought.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+C...774875&st=sony cybershot&contract_desc=null

I got a Nikon Coolpix S550 a 3 years ago .It does a nice job.I take ok video too.Thats a awesome camera you got.good luck and share your results with the photos you've taken.Oh please turn off that beacon{Camera Flash} or anything that lights up in front of your the camera that the security can hone in on you at the show.

Thanks I might have to check out that Nikon that you got. I got this camera to take good concert pics with and am just really disappointed with it. Do you think turning the flash off would help the pictures turn out better?

A decent camera for concert pics is something I've wanted for ages too. I don't want to spend the entire concert shooting away, but if I take a few shots, I'd like for them to turn out half-decent.

i hear ya there. i am always up close at concerts and my pictures look like i am about 50 rows away. i hate that!!

WOW is this like the $64,000 question. I can't seem to find anything. I know that Canon is a good brand that works well in low light. At least that's what the reviews seem to claim.
Do you need it soon? I know that Canon as well as a few other brands like Fuji and Samsung have a bunch of new models coming out in September. If you don't need it right away I would wait a month.
Oh and for concert photos always shut the flash off. The idea of concert photography is to use the stage lighting. It's very hard to with the P and S cameras out there but they are improving. You also don't want to blind the performers and of course you don't want to get tossed out.
Good luck!

greggy-licious recommended the canon powershot sx120is to me a couple of months ago because i saw his concert pics and they were FRAHmazing. of course, he's like, kinda amazing, too. anyway, i ended up with the canon powershot sx 210is because the 120 was kinda bulkier than what i wanted. i haven't taken any concert pics yet, so i can't say what MINE looks like. his were excellent. he said it also took great video.

thanks everybody for your input! i am going to try to take some more pics without the flash and try a couple of other things to see if that helps before i return the camera. i wanted to use it for saturday and sunday for stone temple pilots and maroon 5 but its not a big deal.
michelle2677, i gotta check out that canon you mentioned. i have heard so many good things about canon's that i might just have to get one.

I'm going to try out my Casio Exilim FH 10o this week at the Stevie shows. I got it because it takes 40 fps stills and HD video. We shall see.

A friend gave me a canon SD 1200 and it's like pulling teeth to take good pictures with it. Everything is grainy no matter what I do, or what conditions I shoot in.

It looks like a good camera to me. I have a Pentex (pink) with 5x Zoom which I think has been since discontinued. And I was cussing it last October when I took it to the last Hall & Oates concert @ the Spectrum. But our seats were on an angle, people going in from of me constantly, & the lighting sucked, :shrug: so I couldn't blame the camera because when you're close enough & the lighting is just right, the pictures come out good. I get a big memory card & snap away. That way you have plenty of room for bad & good pictures & you can pick & choose. I also allow for video room if the security people aren't mean & tell you to stop recording. :rolleyes:

Lee :)

Yeah I think I was expecting too much from the camera. I tried it again last night on manual mode with no flash and messed around with the ISO settings and the picture was alot better. I keep forgetting that my 5th row concert pics are going to turn out much better than the pics I am taking of the city that is 2 miles from my house -ha! The zoom on the camera is awesome though. It can zoom right in on those buildings with no problems. I like that it takes HD video too.

Hopefully you can get to the stage. At Tahoe, I just stood near the front on the side instead of taking my seat. As soon as the lights went out, I just walked up to center stage. They let us stay up there the whole concert - everybody was taking pictures.

Good luck with the camera!!

Thats awesome that you got to the front of the stage!! I am not going to any Stevie shows this year unfortunately.:(
I just want to take good pics at the rest of the shows that I will be going to.