Does The Canon Powershot Sd990 Take Good Concert Pics?
Posted on December 23rd, 2009 by digital camera canon powershot
I have a Canon PowerShot SD1000 and it doesn’t do very well when it comes to concerts. The main problem is that I don’t use flash and that makes the picture blurry. I have to hold it at a stillness that my hand can’t achieve with out help. Does the Canon PowerShot SD900 have better image stabilization?
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While image stabilization can help, it is not the cure for your blur problem although I just checked and neither the SD 1000 nor the SD 900 have IS … look at the SD1100 IS or SD990 IS with manual controls
What you need is a camera that you can adjust the f/stop and shutter speed manually. You see, the lighting on the stage is such that the promoter can video tape the whole concert. That means that there is plenty of light to get good shots using a digital camera. You just need to be able to control the camera … P&S cameras attempt to control all the exposures, so can be fooled by almost any thing that interferes with the way the cameras sees the scene.
I shoot about two or three concerts a year. I set my cameras ISO to 1600 and then meter the stage at the start of the first set. I meter the scene with the lens one stop down (to give me some depth of field and a little sharper image). That assures me that the shutter speed I am using is at least 1/250th of a second. I then set the mode to manual and use those settings throughout the whole concert. To correct for any slight exposure differences from say the lead guitar to the drummer, I also shoot in RAW. This gives me the ultimate control if I need it.
Not really for your situation. The problem is that concerts are dark places. In order to get the correct exposure your camera needs a slow shutter speed. Slow shutter speeds result in blurry photos when either the subject is moving or the photographer is moving. You can eliminate camera shake caused by you moving by using a tripod. Not that they are practical or allowed at a concert. Your other option which most likely wont be any better is to increase the ISO setting on your camera. The problem with this is that high ISO settings create noise or graininess in the photos. You also probably can’t increase the ISO high enough to get the shutter speed you would need. You are right when it comes to the flash. Unless you are on stage you wont be close enough for the flash to be of any use. Sorry to tell you this but there is very little you can do unless you are in the front row or on stage.
PLEASE get the SD1100IS
its exactly the same as your old cam, but with image stablizer. So your pics will now be great