specific lens

[bubba622]

hello, i own a rebel xt, with the kit lense, i aso own a sigma 18-200:1:3.5-6.3 lens wich is pretty much my everyday lens.....my wife is an opera singer & most of the shots i am able to take of her are from the back of an auditorium, the sigma lens gets me close enough however lighting (not enough...photos are typically yellow-ish) and motion (too much) are the issues...the photos are disappointing....what lens could i buy that would give me a more natural looking light as well as freeze motion (say that of a conductors arm)...i have seen some magnificent "concert" photos & wondered HOW?     appreciate any advice......thanks

[Bob Atkins]

For low light work with shutter speeds fast enough to give you sharp shots you need and fast lens and/or a high ISO setting.

The problem with fast lenses is that they tend to be pretty expensive, plus the fastest lenses are primes, not zooms.

If we rule out the really expensive long fast primes, probably the best compromise of speed, cost and focal length is the EF 85/1.8 USM. It's a sharp lens, it's fast at f1.8 and it's not too expensive at just under $350 - Canon EF 85/1.8 USM . If 85mm is long enough, then it would certainly be the lens of choice here.

If 85mm isn't long enough, then the 135/2L USM is also very good indeed, but considerably more expensive around $1000 - Canon EF 135/2.0L USM

If you want a zoom, the one to get would be the 70-200/2.8L IS USM. It's not as fast as the primes, but it is image stabilized which makes it easier to hand hold at slow speeds - though slow speeds may not feeze action. It's also pretty pricey at just under $1700 - Canon EF70-200/2.8L IS USM

One other option would be to pick up a camera like the new EOS 50D which has improved performance at high ISO settings and can be used up to ISO 12,800, which is 3 stops faster than the ISO 1600 maximum of the XT.Canon EOS 50D.

A faster lens will give you higher quality image than a faster ISO setting, but both togther give you the most options.

Unfortunately there's no really simple and cheap solution to low light action photography when there's no way to use flash.

[KeithB]

Low light will not make photo's "yellow", it will make them noisy.  This sounds more like a light balance issue. 

What settings are you using on the camera?

Are you shooting in RAW?  This will give you more lattitude over color and exposure adjustments.

If you you shoot in RAW, you can probably set your exposure a stop lower and "push" the exposure in your RAW software.  make sure you are shooting at ISO 1600!

Though I have had good luck with Canon's matrix exposure mode in tricky situations like this, you may also want to use the spot-meter mode and meter just on your wife.

And, experiment, experiment, experiment.  Digital cameras make it easy for two reasons:  Photos are practically free, and all the info is recorded in the EXIF data so you can see what worked later.

[Bob Atkins]

I'd agree with Keith that the yellow color is a color balance issue. The stage lighting is probably tungsten based and that pretty much always comes out yellow if you are using one of the automatic white balance settings (even the Tungsten setting). Shooting in RAW and adjusting white balance during conversion with DPP is certainly the best way to optimize your color balance.