D800 night gig with a manual lens another high ISO test (image heavy)

[rirakuma]

So I was real impressed with the iso performance of the D800 but wanted to test it for a much harder challenge. An old friend had a gig in the valley last night so I took the D800 and Zeiss 50MP for a test. At first I was real disappointed because I should've carried a medium tele lens to get more candid type shots, the crowd was wild and taking shots with a 50mm in the mosh pit seemed less than ideal. The lighting was very very harsh and a lot of the photos was overblown with reds so I had to desaturate it to preserve details and tone map to add a bit of character, I did manage to keep some with normal saturation though. These images are taken in ISO 6400 max because I absolutely hate the colour cast from the HI settings but if I knew that I was gonna end up desaturating the photos I probably wouldn't have mind using it.

When I was at the gig I was real happy with how the D800 performed, the ISO was holding up real well and focus confirmation was great although halfway through things got more hectic and movements became too quick to rely on focus confirmation. By the end of the gig I kept kicking myself for not bringing my 105mm because I could've had so many better shots with it but when I got home and transferred the photos I was pleasantly surprised at how much cropping was possible with the D800. The DR held up real well and with all the resolution, NR didn't make the pics look like oil painting.

Some images have completely overblown sections and this is due to the harsh lighting, I was using -1 or -2 EV metering through the night. I didn't use any flash throughout the night. Anyway here are the pics I hope you guys enjoy them, I know the PP might look overcooked for some people but I like vivid images for these kinda gig photos. BTW: there was not one point through the night that the buffer couldn't keep up with my shooting. I went trigger happy at some point and the camera responded fine even with my slow SD card. My personal fav is 18

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[Chris G]

um I have nothing to say... :D

actually I do, Just WOW seriously WOW and I'm not even sure that cuts into what I'm looking at or even feeling right now at 6am lol.

I have a friend (Amy) who does this for a living in Melbourne who uses a 5DmkII and I've never seen better shots to what she takes for mags ect from various types of musicians over the years, though I'm pretty sure she would be in the same state as I'm i, if she ever saw these, especially being done without a telephoto lens .. :eek: :th3:

Another set I've been hanging out to see from someone and the camera has achieved waaaay above expectations in real world situations :cool:

PS: they don't look over cooked either, quite pleasing to be honest..

Favs: 3, 11, 18, 20, 25, 29 :th3:

[geoffsta]

I agree with Chris... WOW... :th3:
I'm really glad you got that rude bloke in #22, picking his nose in #25 :D

[rirakuma]

um I have nothing to say... :D

actually I do, Just WOW seriously WOW and I'm not even sure that cuts into what I'm looking at or even feeling right now at 6am lol.

I have a friend (Amy) who does this for a living in Melbourne who uses a 5DmkII and I've never seen better shots to what she takes for mags ect from various types of musicians over the years, though I'm pretty sure she would be in the same state as I'm i, if she ever saw these, especially being done without a telephoto lens .. :eek: :th3:

Another set I've been hanging out to see from someone and the camera has achieved waaaay above expectations in real world situations :cool:

PS: they don't look over cooked either, quite pleasing to be honest..

Favs: 3, 11, 18, 20, 25, 29 :th3:

Thanks Chris, your compliments means a a lot :)


I agree with Chris... WOW... :th3:
I'm really glad you got that rude bloke in #22, picking his nose in #25 :D

Haha yeah cheeky bugger, I just smiled at him and picked a different subject to shoot. He had it up for a while too LOL :D

[richardb]

I am speechless.
Very sharp.
Thanks !

[Lance B]

Very impressive, but then now that I have a D800 as well, I knew they would be. :D

[kaiser]

Very nice indeed. Love what you have captured here and the treatment works really well.

[old dog]

I agree with all said. Wow. What a bit of gear...can`t wait for the D900 :D