Best lowlight on restricted budged

[jase]

I have been asked about a camera with good results in poor light (concerts, theatre, ballet,etc) for video and stills. 

Are we talking about "normal" concerts where normal means that the stage is lighted? Because if it is, i would say the LX100 is a good go, here are some screencaps (4k -> 1080p, fully zoomed f2.8) - at least for me. And if you are lucky, you will find a used one for less than 500 euros, nice stealthy package.

[jagnje]

@ Return of the Matt

you cannot change aperture with the chinese speedbooster on the tamron or other lenses without the manual iris ring.

[Lintelfilm]

the Nikon versions don't have aperture rings? Ouch.

[ac6000cw]

 

My lens suggestion would be a Chinese (Turbo or whatever) speed booster and the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 Mark I (the non-VC version). Though autofocus is obviously off the table with that.

I use exactly that lens (Nikon mount) + cheap Camdiox speed booster on a Pana G6 - works fine as the equivalent of a 12-36mm f2 lens, and that speed booster does have a aperture control ring for Nikon 'G' lenses.

Main downsides of the combo is that all the glass makes the camera very front heavy and there is no stabilisation.

The other cheap M43 low-light lens option is the Pana 20mm F1.7 (lots around used as it's quite an old lens now), which works well but the autofocus is slow and a bit noisy.

[Xavier Plagaro Mussard]

The only problem of the LX100, besides the "penis-factor" ;-) is that it's zoom is short (size does matter sometimes!). At Iso 1600 (which is pretty clean) and f2 you can work even the darkest shows. The OIS will help too! Of course there are much better solutions, not under 800€, everything else will be compromised too!!!

[Santiago de la Rosa]

Yes, with 800€, take the LX100, the lens is super, truly portable cam and OIS works.

[sanveer]

The only thing that will help you with that is a fast lens or getting some lights mounted on the camera. Just about any camera at that price would probably be decent up to 6400 ISO or 12800 ISO. And where your talking is the equivalent lighting of a dimly lit hallway at night. You need light.

Zack, in recorded history ONLY 1 guy recorded a Rock Concert with an On-Board Camera light. He was lynched by the band and the crowd, and nobody knows what they did to the camera. Hehehe

[Bioskop.Inc]

I have been asked about a camera with good results in poor light (concerts, theatre, ballet,etc) for video and stills. The problem is the budget, 800€. I have no clue, a d5500 maybe? He is used to canon... I wonder if any mirrorless has working AF in lowlight.

Is he going to be doing paid work or is it just for himself?

If its paid, then he'll be on stage, in the pit & anywhere else he can get a good shot - so he'll be able to take full advantage of any lighting setup on stage.

If he's used to Canon, then it might be worth trying to source a cheap 2nd hand 5D2 (saw a 2nd hand 7D go for £350, so 5D2 can't be far behind) - then he's always got the option to shoot RAW if he wants. And for the Moire-ists amongst you, really in those settings no one is going to be looking for that.

Forget AF for Concerts, Theatre or Ballet - the camera will just get confussed & you might find yourself in a neverending search battle!

I'll go with Matt on this one - BMPCC.

Once the new Micros come out, i'm sure he could pick up a cheap Pocket cam. Its a lot better than people think or realise in low light & any noise generated is film-like, not nasty DSLR-like. All he'd need is a few batteries or cheap power pack (Anker), a few cards, a cheap RJ Focal Reducer & a simple rig (I use an old Krasnogorsk Pistol Grip/Shoulder mount & a £10 viewfinder from my 60D).

This is the last concert I recorded, in ProRes HQ (should've recorded it in PR LT Video DR mode)

 

 

[j_one]

If you want something cheap, as I've said before on this forum, I'd recommend a sony a5100/a6000 with a speedbooster and a fast nikon lens (modern or legacy).  But, that's to assume you wouldn't mind adapting or manual focusing.  If you only have time for native mount then I'd agree with everyone elses recommendation on the nikons (d3300/d5300).

[TheRenaissanceMan]

I'll go with Matt on this one - BMPCC.

Once the new Micros come out, i'm sure he could pick up a cheap Pocket cam. Its a lot better than people think or realise in low light & any noise generated is film-like, not nasty DSLR-like. All he'd need is a few batteries or cheap power pack (Anker), a few cards, a cheap RJ Focal Reducer & a simple rig (I use an old Krasnogorsk Pistol Grip/Shoulder mount & a £10 viewfinder from my 60D).

 

THIS! The BMPCC produces some grain when pushed to 1600 and 3200, but it's filmic and pleasant-looking. There's two or three ready-to-shoot BMPCC kits on sale at BMC User for $600-700. Pick up a couple fast lenses, and you'll be making low light your bitch in no time.

[hmcindie]

How about a used A7s? They go for like a grand now.

[TheRenaissanceMan]

How about a used A7s? They go for like a grand now.

The lowest I've seen on forums is $1500. 

[Nikkor]

Haven't talked again with the person so no idea what he's finally going for. Anyway, thanks for all the replies. 

What seems to be clear is that there is still no good answer, the technology seems to be there, but all the products still have some major compromises, even when spending several grand on a a7sii or a7rii leaves you with an uncomplete product.

[Cinegain]

Don't go for BMPCC it is terrible in low light. Don't even go for DSLR's, you are trying to document a concert. Try something by Sony. I know that for a fact an A7s would be perfect for documenting this stuff. I'm looking at Sony in terms of being used as a tool not what these test shooters use them as.

Ehm. Concerts usually have bright colored lights. You know what the A7S does to stuff like that, right?

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

 

What seems to be clear is that there is still no good answer,

D5300/5500. 

[Cinegain]

We're talking about 800 euros, mate. And myself in particular, I was referring to the A7S color channel clipping that could occur when it's faced with stage lights.

Really think the 5DmkII was an honest to god decent option. It's great for stills and you get fullframe lowlight performance. People have used it for years, it's not suddenly a throw-away-camera. But you got to have realistic expectations if you're only spending 800 bucks. If you're big on stills and lowlight, you can't take anything M43 over it I think, really.

I'm with you on the BMPCC, I can't see how you'd want that to work for 'good results in poor light (concerts, theatre, ballet,etc) for video and stills'.

Best mentioned option though might be the one suggested by Ebrahim. Nikon D5300/D5500. Stills. Check. Video. Check. Lowlight. Fair enough. Handling, mweh, but you'll manage.

[red]

Does the D5500 allow manual WB Kelvin control?

Was finally in the market for a B-Cam for the D750 and wondering what to pair it with. D5500/D7200 or stump up for a FF Nikon.

[M Carter]

Man, I shoot several theatre events a year - music shows, band gigs, concerts (from local guys to smaller indie stuff) and they're rarely situations I think of as "low light". The only times they're low light is a band playing the bottom-of-the-rung live clubs with no lights or no stage. If someone wants to **pay me** to shoot like that, I bring a DJ truss and a dozen 300 to 650 fresnels. 

D7100 frame grab, this camera had an old push-pull 80-200 2.8 on it (yeah, that's Emmylou, and yeah, at 68 she still gives you chills):

(EDIT: this was video not a still)
 

[Nikkor]

I have the d800 and color noise is horrendous over iso 1600.

[Nikkor]

Shure you can blur the color channel and get shitty colors but you can do that on any camera. I'd rather buy a 5dmkii.