Using Micro 4/3 for Concert Photos

 

Monograma, by Gary Ayala on mu-43.com

Image Source: http://www.mu-43.com/f88/brea-jazz-festival-ii-34199/

 
Gary Ayala has shared a series of images from the Brea Jazz Festival, all shot with an Olympus OM-D. He used both Lumix 100-300 4-5.6 zoom (as in the shot above) and the Olympus 75mm f1.8 prime lenses.
 
(Click Here) to see Gary's post on mu-43.com. There are more pictures there.
 
I have been using my Panasonic Lumix G3s for live music events for quite some time. Most opt for DSLRs, for the larger sensor and lower noise performance. Overall, I'm quite pleased with the G3, even at high iso settings.
 
Here are a couple of my own results. The first is with the 100-300mm zoom:
 
 

Storyteller Tim O'Brien, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 100-300mm f4-5.6 at 100mm

iso 1600, f4, 1/100 sec

 
 
And here's one with the Olympus 75mm f1.8 that I just got. This is the first and only show I've shot with it so far.

Acoustic Burgoo at Watermelon Park Festival 2012, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Olympus 75mm f1.8

iso 800, f2.8, 1/100 sec

 
I'm very happy with the Olympus lens so far. But, as I mentioned, I've got a lot more testing to do with it. It is a gorgeous lens, and sharp as a tack.
 
I need to learn how fast I need the shutter to be to handhold it steadily, since it does not have stabilization (that's built into the body with Olympus, so the lenses don't have it). The rule of thumb is to keep your shutter speed faster than 1/ the focal length (equivalent at full frame 35mm). So, in this case, since 75mm on the Micro 4/3 sensor has the same field of view as a 150mm on the full frame sensors, I should keep it faster than 1/150 sec. The shot above is at a slightly slower shutter speed, so I got lucky. That wasn't always the case. I would have been better off increasing the iso to 1600, and getting a 1/200 shutter speed. I didn't want to open the aperture wider, since I wanted all of the band members to be reasonably within the depth of field. In terms of focus and depth of field, I achieved my goal - central focus on Melissa, the singer, and the rest of the band in adequate focus.
 
Lots of fun to be had with the new Micro 4/3 products - that's for sure!
 
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