D7100

Golf007sd

@spraynpray: Sorry buddy....totally miss read your post. My mind was on concert photography due to an email and friends has asked me a question, so I was in a totally different mind set. Ooops

spraynpray

No worries Ali.

@sevencrossing: I never thought about the 16-35, might be a possibility. As you say, VR is useful.

sevencrossing

Beware, especially if buying S/H some 16 -35s are a bit soft at the edges, @ 16 mm but generally sharper at 25 mm than the 24 -120 at 24 mm

if you really want to shoot in poor light @ 24 mm then the 24mm f 1.4 is the beast to get

bland

Telephotos's are not the ideal lens for concert photography...the 24-70 2.8 would be nice choose, however, for those type of setting, if I was shooting them, I would stick with primes. The 24 1.4G would be my go to lens...great choice for wide-angle, sucks in light like a black-whole, and amazingly sharp. Followed by a 35 1.4 for the group shots and extra reach; lastly the 85 1.8G for the nice isolated shot of the band and extra reach.

I agree the 1.4 and 1.8 primes shoot faster and have better low light quality doing concert shots but the problem is trying to get the capture while they move all over stage. I also encounter people shooting video and stills in the photographer's pit that block me out of many shots, if I would be using a prime. Another problem is only getting the first two songs to shoot the job, it just doesn't give one the time to capture the good shots when shooting with primes.

That said, when shooting bar bands and small concert venues primes would be awesome to use because you have all evening to get the shots and they're not moving all over the stage because the stage is too small. For those shots I would agree on the 24mm and the 85mm (for profile shots). Plus these types of venues normally have poor lighting so the 1.4 and 1.8 lenes are a must.

But when shooting the big shows in low light one must have the 24-70mm 2.8 and the 70-200mm 2.8. I always shoot the first song with the 24-70 and then shoot the second song with the 70-200.

One must have the D800 or better to shoot the above mentioned but the D7100 is awesome for shooting outdoor concerts and music festivals during the daylight. I would actually use my D7100 over my D800 when shooting daylight concerts with the 18-105 and 70-300 DX lenes.

Golf007sd

@bland: Well said. My friend who send me an email was asking me about a setting within a confined area, hence a stage within a bar. Glad to hear that you agree with my recommendations to him. I also added the following to my email:Shooting concerts, from what I have observed, can deliver great results should the photographer has good access to the band, different shooting venues (such as high and low point to shoot from), lighting on the stage is well managed, and good understanding/vision of the shoot within in your mind...patience will come in handy here.

Photobug

FYI, Adorama is selling reburbished D7100s at a very low price. Shockingly low.

Paulohn

Has anyone bought genuine Nikon or third party grips for the D7100? Any recommendations, specially regarding third party grips?

Thanks.

blackfox

yes i got a third party one from a supplier in south wales u.k ,£30-00 next day delivery via e/bay .it fits like a glove and works extremely well ,brand name is NEEWER ,highly recommended and as i tend to use a 300mm-f4 lens and a i.7tc virtually full time it acts as a counterbalance to .it won't come off till i sell the camera thats a certainty

blackfox

FYI, Adorama is selling reburbished D7100s at a very low price. Shockingly low.

see my previous posts ,my gut feeling tells me they have had more than a few returns on this model thats being kept q.t .on my second body now and extremely pleased but my friend who had the same problems with his and had it replaced as well seems to be struggling with his replacement body at the moment .till i actually see it i don't know

tc88

blackfox, does your grip drain power unexpectedly even without taking pictures? A major problem with many 3rd party grips is the power usage since they probably don't know all those power saving protocols that Nikon/Canon keep secret. But if your grip doesn't leak power, that would be good to know. Thank you.

spraynpray

@tc88: I have the genuine Nikon MB-D11 and if you don't leave the grip switch in the 'L' position it will drain your grip battery/ies very quickly so the problem you attribute to third party grips is there on genuine grips too. There is a thread on here somewhere about it.

Photobug

Sraynpray...what is with the switch not being in the lock position draining the battery? I never had that issue with my Nikon MB-D10? Was this with Nikon batteries or generic? Do you think this is a design flaw with the MB-D11 grip or a change by Nikon?

spraynpray

I'd say we have zero chance of Nikon owing up to a design flaw, but IMHO that is exactly what it is. I had the D90 and grip too and it was OK on that, I used both genuine Nikon Batteries and NimH's (in the AA tray) and the irritating problem was/is still there.

Photobug

Thank for the quick response. Sure does look like a design issue. Having to move the grip switch from the "L" position is not to inconvenient, just a nuisance.

Got to admit that at a half day shoot a few months ago with my D300 & grip I kept hitting the shutter button accidentally on the grip and had to use the "L" position. Really not a big deal. However, it's too bad we have to use the lock position to avoid draining the batteries.

blackfox

blackfox, does your grip drain power unexpectedly even without taking pictures? A major problem with many 3rd party grips is the power usage since they probably don't know all those power saving protocols that Nikon/Canon keep secret. But if your grip doesn't leak power, that would be good to know. Thank you.

nope not had a problem so far ,it performs its job extremely well i find it great in reality and a perfect counterbalance for a longish lens

tc88

blackfox and sprayandpray, thanks for the info. I may give one of those a try sometime.

Photobug

Update on my new D7100. The day I got it took 50 pictures then did the picture of the white paper to check for dust or oil on the sensor. Clean, no issues.

Just got back from vacation, shutter count is now 1,244 so today I took another picture of white paper and blue sky. No dust. I am so happy.

clskelton

Update on my new D7100. The day I got it took 50 pictures then did the picture of the white paper to check for dust or oil on the sensor. Clean, no issues.

Just got back from vacation, shutter count is now 1,244 so today I took another picture of white paper and blue sky. No dust. I am so happy.

Very nice. What lens did you use the most and do you swap lenses very often? I usually use my 18-200 on vacations and sometimes get dust because of the zoom.

Photobug

Clskelton....I use a 17-55mm F2.8 most of the time. The first few days I was switching between my wide angle, 35mm F2.0, and a 70=200mm F2.8. Also did a lot of switching at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh a week ago. Normally a couple of switches at an event so I was pleased with the results.

I should tell you I am extremely careful about changing lens to minimize dust keeping the camera orientation so the lens mount is never turned face up when no lens is mounted on the camera and I minimize the amount of time with the lens off the body.