K5 at the REO Speedwagon concert.. 12 photos

[Jim Radcliffe]

Many here know that for the last 10 years I have done all of my concert photography using Canon gear, mainly the 20D, 5D and 5D II. Several people have commented, either in email or in a post, that they wondered if the K5 would work for my concert work since I sold every piece of my Canon gear.... the answer is yes.

Saturday night I had my first chance to test the K5 as a concert camera and the results are good. I used the K5 and the 18-135 (for versatility) and shot most of the time at ISO 800 and 1600... dim stage lighting forced the higher ISO.

I would say that if I had a zoom with a little more reach and a little faster glass I could have done much better but I am satisfied with the photos below as the K5 is still new to me and I am still learning the camera and its various settings and functions.

Anyway... here is REO Speedwagon performing at Billy Bob's in Fort Worth, Texas.

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Terrific photos! Looks like a terrific concert as well.

 

[benroy]

Really good stuff, Jim. Enjoyed them all.

Roy Benson

 

[Armanius]

Excellent Jim! Great photography! And it looks like the K5 held its own in low light. What kind of shutter speeds were you getting with 800 and 1600? Did you do a lot of PP other than downsizing? How did the 18-135's perform in low light? Still fast and hunt-less?

 

[iiiNelson]

Great shots... You always seem to squeeze every bit of performance out of every camera. Your shots with the D-Lux 3 inspired me to buy a D-Lux 4 when it came out.

 

[ashwinrao1]

Wonderful captures, Jim. Great demonstration of the energy and joy these guys bring to the show...they are getting older, as are we all, but seem lively as ever...

 

[scho]

Very nice concert shots Jim. The K5 can also produce good images up to ISO 6400 if needed.

 

[jonoslack]

HI Ashwin

Wonderful captures, Jim. Great demonstration of the energy and joy these guys bring to the show...they are getting older, as are we all,

. . . are you getting older? your avatar makes you look about 22!

quite agree about the shots though - well done Jim!

 

[JMaher]

Very nice concert photos. They show off your skill and the capabilities of the K5 at the same time.
Jim

 

[Jim Radcliffe]

Thanks to everyone for looking and your comments. I'm sure once I read the manual a few more times I can do better with the K5. That 18-135 is a pretty good lens.. just wish it was f/2.8 for concert work. Even though the K5 does well at ISO 800-1600 I prefer not to go there if possible.

Before going to the concert I went to a rodeo and will try top post some of those photos in the next day or so. I was really trying to give the K5 and the lenses I have a workout.. used the 77 and 31 most of the time at the rodeo.

 

[raist3d]

I like the frozen shot of the battery-guy. To me that's my favorite. And the one of the singer extending his arms like preaching. Reminds me a little of Steve Martin in Leap of Faith.

Technical observation:

For some reason I am finding Pentax in their default color profile or even a straight raw conversion, oversaturate some colors like brown-orange and blues. The first shot to me shows this signature very well. I personally don't like them like that, I have been able to change this but sometimes it's a bit more work. Have you noticed this? (compare if you have, to an Olympus JPEG color profile or Fuji S3/S5/X100).

- Raist

 

[Jim Radcliffe]

I like the frozen shot of the battery-guy. To me that's my favorite. And the one of the singer extending his arms like preaching. Reminds me a little of Steve Martin in Leap of Faith.

Technical observation:

For some reason I am finding Pentax in their default color profile or even a straight raw conversion, oversaturate some colors like brown-orange and blues. The first shot to me shows this signature very well. I personally don't like them like that, I have been able to change this but sometimes it's a bit more work. Have you noticed this? (compare if you have, to an Olympus JPEG color profile or Fuji S3/S5/X100).

- Raist

You are dealing with stage lighting here as well as show clothing... Not really a fair assessment. I find reds tend to oversaturate more than anything but you can adjust this in-camera or in post.

 

[raist3d]

I have seen many stage shots and my own experience too, and can't help but stand by my observations. The color I describe goes with daylight and my own experience when shooting a stage / low light shots. I have seen this since I got the camera last year. Inalso noticed it in the carnival shots posted earlier.

Look forward to more shots from you and your k-5. I should get some this weekend hopefully.

 

[biglouis]

Excellent shots. I've been shooting my son's band using a GF-1 and more recently GH-2 using the 20/17 and 45/2.8 and been fairly happy with the results. These are obviously far higher quality. Very impressive indeed.

Shot #4 of the drummer and the second to last shot are the standout ones for me as I know how difficult it is, especially with drummers to capture and freeze movement in the often highly variable stage lighting at gigs.

LouisB

 

[markwon]

Good looking shots Jim! Do you know how the 18-135 compare in size to the 16-50 DA or sigma 17-50?

I'm expecting my K5 along with the 31, 77, and a couple of zooms, one of which is the Sigma 17-50 (wary of the SDM issues on the DA 16-50) to try out Mon/Tues. I'm hoping the K5 will be a better compliment to my M system over the Pannys, which I just unloaded, except for the GF1 and 20.

Please share some more!