Concert photography emergency - F2.8 vs F1.8?

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claire82

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Hi

I'm new to taking photos at live music events and had a last minute request to shoot at my first event this friday evening.

I wanted a 28mm lens anyway as will be close to the stage (already have an old 50mm prime for any closer shots) but can't decide between the following - which do you think would be best for concert photography with the low light and fast movements etc? I have a Nikon D90.

Nikon 28mm F2.8 - £230
Sigma 28mm F1.8 - £339

I'd be happy to pay for the more expensive lens if can be convinced it'll produce more professional results at low light music concerts over the long term as this is something I want to do more of.

Two things concern me:

The 1.8 will be better at handling low light but what about the more narrow depth of field - is it likely that a lot of my pics with the 1.8 would be better exposed but maybe out of focus in comparison to the 2.8? Where I might struggle more with the lighting ...

and

Is there any difference between the Nikon branded lens and the Sigma one? I've only had Nikon ones before.

Many thanks if anyone can reply quickly - I'm going to have to buy one very very shortly!

CJ
 
I know nothing about the lenses, but both should give you enough dof wide open unless you're on top of the band. Whether either is sharp wide open i don't know.
 
four meters away at f1.8 will give you 1.5meters of dof. Plenty eh? :)
 
are you going to be using flash as well, if you are you could stop the lenses down a bit for more dof. i used an old 50mm f2 manual focus lens with the pop-up flash the first time i tried gig photography, and because i was working at a max of f4 a lot of shots suffered from a lack of focus. how close will you be to the action, if you're only a couple of feet away like i was the dof at 1.8 will be tiny, but at the same time if the 1.8 is stopped down to 2.8 it will be sharper than a lens with a max aperture of 2.8.

is it worth the extra 100 quid to you?

like dean i know nothing about either lens so i'm make assumptions here.
 
I'd probably just grab the Nikon 28/2.8 as I would not pay a lot more for a sigma with only just over one stop faster.

Other lenses worth considering are Nikon 35/2 (superb lens!) and Nikon 35/1.8 (will only work on DX so not so future proofed as 35/2)
 
Hi Claire
I can recommend the sigma 1.8 as i've used mine plenty for gigs on a d90
Pm me and i can send you some sample shots
Psst check my ad in the classifieds:D
 
similar money you can get the tamron 17-50/24-70 f2.8 which is much better overall for gig stuff.

2.8 is fine and don't be afraid to pump the iso up. Gig shoots you should start at around iso 1600 f4 1/125th and move from there (try to shoot manual as the lights can play havoc with meters).

a 2.8 zoom will offer you a lot more than a prime as performers move all over the stage, and also you wil not be able to get more than one type of shot with a 28mm.
 
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