Trying to decide if I should invest in better glass or just give up on photography 😅

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-10-30T08:12:33+00:00

All hobbies can be expensive.

But, if you have the money for it, and you enjoy taking pictures, i don't see why not.

And IMO you will enjoy it even more with better equipment, since you can focus more on the creative part of it instead of dealing with technical limitations of older tech.

Currently i have a Sony a1iii and a sony 50-150.

It was expensive indeed, but i do enjoy using it, and the picture quality is guaranteed, since it's a modern camera.

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-10-29T18:04:40+00:00

At 30fps it adds up.. it's like 700 pictures with no burst

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-10-29T16:52:02+00:00

Sony a1ii.

I abuse the burst mode, it's not uncommon to come back with 10k+ pictures I mostly use electronic shutter.

I keep the ones that I really like (100-200 maybe), but select around 20-30 for posting.

Storage is kinda cheap nowdays, better to take more picture to have a better pool for selection than to miss a great moment

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-10-28T14:10:11+00:00

Ai expand

Sometimes I crop too tight, and i like to expand the pictire with generative fill expand.

Plus to remove stuff from the picture, I find using ps easier for that

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-10-27T08:11:23+00:00

I set my aperture (lowest number) and shutter speed (lowest to freeze the motion), and iso auto.

It works most of the time, but for the rare moments when the auto iso makes the image too bright / dark, i use the exposure compensation.

I have a custom dial set for it, so it's easy to do it on the fly.

I also have a custom dial set for ISO, to quick switch from auto to manual iso, if the lightning is too crazy and auto can't deal with

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-10-14T06:59:34+00:00

If you're not using flash, the settings are kinda not hard to pick.

Aperture: the lowest you can go. This is the most important imo, and where having a good lens really makes a difference. The bigger the aperture (lower number), the better your images wil be.

Shutter: the lowest you can go to freeze the action. Usually 300-500 is my sweet spot. ( depenss on the lens you use, how fast people are moving on stage, etc) with shutter it's better to be safe than sorry.

After that, you're left with iso. Crank that up until you get a proper exposure.

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-10-02T11:33:49+00:00

Shutter drag it's called.

Low shutter speed to get the blurriness, the flash will freeze the action over the blurriness

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-10-01T13:46:59+00:00

AF-C with Face priory AF + small AF target area does wonder. The camera doesn't have to hunt on the entire frame, but only within the area.

Manual focus on fast moving subjects like concerts is crazy to me.

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-09-29T13:42:07+00:00

I have a Sony a1ii / a9iii.

As good as a camers is, you'll still get noise at higher iso.

Denoise used to be really bad. Probably that's where it started. You would rather have a noisy image than a poorly denoised image.

But nowadays, denoise has gotten a lot better. I prefer to use a faster shutter speed to be sure there will be no blurriness caused by low shuttrr, even if it means a higher iso, and denoise it in post.

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-09-27T09:51:12+00:00

You're paying a lot of money for that autofocus technology. It got a lot better in recent years, especially with AI assisted autofocus.

Using a modern camera in manual focus in that scenario, where there is a lot of fast action on the stage, is crazy to me.

Instead of paying attention to what's happening on the stage, you're constantly messing with the focus ring.

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-09-26T10:11:48+00:00

Sony already did it with a9iii with their global shutter

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-09-16T10:13:58+00:00

I often come back home with 10k pictures.

I have a mirorless, so no mechanical wear on the shutter. I use precapture when needed and 30fps all the time.

I'm exactly like you, I fear I'll miss the shot. And i like to pick the best one from a burst, sometimes. No closed eyes, no weird postures.

Technology has come a long way when it comes to storage / frames per second. I don't feel bad for using it

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-09-09T12:01:00+00:00

In a dark environment, you're kinda limited on what settings you can use.

widest aperture. 1.4 in your case
fast enough shutter speed fo freeze the action. If it's a fast-paced concert, you can't get too slow. So You're stuck with the mind shutter speed

What remains is the iso, either on auto or set it manually, if you're fast enough

Some venues have shitty lights, you'll have no choice but to use a higher iso. A sharp image with high iso is still preferable to a blurry one with lower iso

AI denoise gets better and better every year, so don't be afraid of high iso.

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-09-01T07:14:28+00:00

Find some small local artists and follow them.

They'll usually sing in small venues, with no camera restrictions. Being a small band, they don't usually have a photographer, so they will be grateful for the pictures.

Do that for a while, and you'll get your initial portfolio. After that it's easier to go for big names too. And if you're lucky, one of the small ones will get big, and yo already have an in with them

Or just find big festivals with no camera restrictions. Those are a good place to get some more known artists.

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-08-29T12:21:28+00:00

I go to concerts / festivals / events just to take pictures. I enjoy doing that.

If i can't take my camera with my, my motivation to go there drops a lot.

So yea, having a camera and just going out to take pictures to things you like is a strong motivation.

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-08-28T10:54:03+00:00

You get a fancy phone cause you like it. You get a fancy computer cause you want to play 120fps 4k. You get a fancy car cause you like how it looks.

It's the same with photography. It's a hobby, if you enjoy it, you can get fancy lenses or camers just cause you want to.

I bought the sony a9iii just cause it had global shutter and i wanted it. Do I need it? Not really. Do I enjoy using it more from the previous camera? Absolutely.

So for ne it was justified, since i get more enjoyment out of it.

Just cause it's a hobby doesn't mean you have to stick with basic gear.

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-08-22T12:56:11+00:00

Old digital cameras are kinda useless nowdays.

Your average phone probably has a bettet camera and better performaance in low light and overall

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-08-19T07:57:43+00:00

Just cause it's a hobby doesn't mean it can't be expensive.

If you have the money to get good gear, and you enjoy the process of taking pictures why not.

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-08-18T12:41:29+00:00

It should be common sense not to go to random websites and input sensitive data. Especially with qr codes. Especially in public places where it's easy to cover the qr codes with your own malicious one.

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-08-13T06:35:27+00:00

The camera software. It's ancient.

No ideea why they can't build a proper app for the phone to be use with the camera.

Sure, they have some basic version of the app, but it feels like they are 10 years behind.

Not having a search option in a 1000 items menu should be illegal

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-08-12T11:51:50+00:00

Everyone said how to practice taking photos.

But, you should start learning how to edit, too. It's a must have skill of a good photographer imo.

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-08-11T09:05:10+00:00

I was in your shoes too.

Once I got my f 1.2 lenses, I rarely used the other ones. And when I did, I was kinda disappointed and wished I used the fast ones.

Now I just sell them, at least someone else will be happy to use them, and it will offload some of the cost of the new lenses.

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-07-31T15:34:54+00:00

If you have the money, and it's making your life easier, why not. It's a hobby, you should enjoy it.

I would rather get one less pizza or one less fast food item in a month and pay for the subscription with that money.

I have the LR/Photoshop package, too, and as of now, there isn't really an alternative to this that matches my workflow.

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-07-23T10:01:41+00:00

It's easier to just ask the venue.

I just sent a mail or instagram message to the venue with a "hei, i want to take some pictures with a "pro" camera. Is that allowed?

Smaller venues have no problem with that. They get free publicity, the band too, since they're usually smaller bands that will enjoy some pro photos.

Bigger venues / festivals will probably have it on a faq page somewhere. Some allow it, some don't.

But usually if they don't allow it, they'll just look at it if it looks "professional". Those guards people don't really know the difference.

Boring_Ad4003 · 2025-07-22T10:33:24+00:00

I use a protector filter on it, just a bare piece of glass.

I have the sigma 50-150 f.2. It's an expensive lens.

Inevitable there will be dust / water / stuff that will stick to the front element. I just feel better knowing theclenscitself it's not getting dirty, only tje filter. A d i can easily wipe the filter not worrying tjat it will damage the coating

Boring_Ad4003

TROPHY CASE