before getting my lexington ky tickets, the arena told me no professional cameras allowed (which they said to them meant a lens longer that two inches.)

i have an olympus e-500 with a 4-5 inch lens (unzoomed) (150mm zoom) that i would LOVE to take in if they allow it.

i am on the 12th row, so if i can get it in, i will have some AWESOME pictures for yall. my friends say i will have nose hair pix! (sorry, gross)

if not, i may have to buy a smaller point and shoot camera with a good zoom, just for the concert.

i know each arena is different. but i read a post that said, since the shows are sold out, they dont really care.

did they search your bags? - *thinks to self - may try to get mine in then take it to the car if they wont allow it.*

Glendale had metal detectors. They glanced in my purse but I have a small elph camera. I'm not sure since they are all different. And I was way up in the seats but still recorded stuff and got ok sound - away from the major screaming on the floor level.

you can check it out at http://www.youtube.com/user/cookies4k. I would have loved to bring in my better camera with better optical zoom - but its huge and a pain to carry too.

They didn't search my bag(and it was a pretty big one, I had several books in it). They just glanced inside.

I have a canon rebel xti and they told me no professional camera are allowed (which is really unfair if you think about it). So I brought my p&s (to glendale) and they said that was okay. I was only seven rows up from the floor and I saw a women with a DSLR and they told she could not take pictures and they watched her the rest of the night.

Usually they do not allow professional cameras you can call the arena beforehand to see

I say, do it! Wont hurt trying. I once went to a luncheon fan event where I was told that cameras weren't allowed. So, I followed the rules and left my recording equipment home. You can imagine how surprised, and pissed I was to see lots of people with cameras and video cameras with them!

Try, what's the worst that can happen, eh?!

I'm pretty sure I have to leave my D-SLR at the hostel and bring a rather crappy p&s to the show instead, boo.
A metal detector in Glendale? Ouch, then my usual get-your-camera-into-the-arena-past security -trick won't work. Because I'm slightly paranoid & afraid that they won't allow p&s cameras I've always stuffed my camera inside my bra for every concert I've gone to (and hid it well with a scarf or something. Go laugh at me but it's worked like a charm! ;D) but of course having metal detectors blows my master plan completely! I guess I should just put it in my purse like normal ppl do and see how it goes

Somebody had a Panasonic Lumix at Glendale and posted some really nice pictures. The Lumix is sort of between p&s and pro.

They didn't have metal detectors at San Diego. They just briefly looked inside bags. I hid my camera under a book, but it's not a great camera though.

Sneaking my Digital Rebel in will probably end up being pointless. They'll end up seeing me with it and try to kick me out! That would NOT be good! Plus, I just have the stock lens and I've found that the images are really shakey unless you're really close up (and I'm no professional, so the settings are WAY beyond me).

I plan to get a P&S for the show. Any recommendations?

I plan to get a P&S for the show. Any recommendations?
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I have a Panasonic Lumix that takes some nice pictures and has good sound and video recording capabilities for a fairly reasonable price. It's a fairly small camera, so I haven't had any problems hiding it in my purse while going through security. My model has 10X optical zoom and the best feature is the Optical Image Stabilization feature. I got some great videos at a Train concert, but Security caught me videotaping the beginning of an INXS concert, so I had to put it away until they left...and then I started taking more videos again! :-)

thanks guys this helps a lot!

re: camera choices under 300 dollars, i have been researching the canon powershot sx100 (considering buying this one for the concert-has gotten good reviews), has 8 megapixels and 10 x zoom. if you go any higher into the zoom, price goes above 300 and the cameras start getting bulkier.

also the sony cybershot DSC-H3 seems pretty good - about 270 dollars -

alot of people like the panasonic lumix too.

i could go on all night about cameras, so i'll stop...

I have a Sony Cybershot, and I love it!


(also..this is from a friend on mine, so take it how you will) If you try sneaking stuff in..cameras or what ever it may be, put it in the bottom of your purse and cover it with 'female products'! They see it, and don't want to mess with it!

I am glad to hear this. I have a DSLR but I also have this camera and was planning on taking it since I know my DSLR won't be allowed.

I am considering this camera as well. I've been in need of a new camera, and thought that right before the concert would be an ideal time to purchase one.

I took two cameras to the San Diego show. I just had them in my purse, which got a cursory glance and nobody cared.

My P&S camera is a Cannon Powershow SD1000 (which is now the SD1100). I can't recommend this camera enough if you just want a small pocket camera. Easy to use, very good quality photos and what's great is that it actually takes killer video too -- which is great for concerts where no video cameras are allowed. I got some nice concert bits of David singing. It has both an optical and digital zoom. (digital zoom pics will be slightly grainy, optical zoom will always give you better quality)

And what's cool is you can take pics, switch to video, switch back to pics very easily, all on the same card. Just be sure you get a very large memory card (the one that comes with the camera is practially useless.) I bought a two gig card and you can get about a hour of video or 700 photos (at the high quality setting) or some mixture of the two.

My better quality camera is a Canon Powershot S3IS (which is now the S5IS). It's larger than a point and shoot, but smaller than what would be considered a "professional" camera so I've been able to get it into a lot of venues. It's got a much more powerful zoom lens than the little P&S, and a lot more adjustment settings, which is helpful in a concert situation where you have extreme lighting contrasts and a flash is useless if you're more than 15 feet away from the stage (unless you actually like perfect pictures of the backs of the heads of all the people in front of you! <g>). But it also has an "anti-shake" feature to help keep things in focus when you are zooming. It's a very nice mid-size camera that will often skirt under the "professional" limitation. Oh and it functions as a video camera also.

It's probably going to vary from venue to venue about how hard-ass they're going to be. That's why I brought two just in case I had to take one back to the car. As it happened, it didn't matter so I just gave my smaller one to my friend and told him to have at it while I manned the bigger one <g>

KTFaye

Do you have any of your pictures uploaded that you took with the S3? That's the camera I have, and I'd love to see how concert pix turned out with that.

I'm working on getting them off the camera and on to my website right now. I kept fiddling with some of the settings so some came out better than others. The smoke they used during "Billie Jean" really confused the heck out of the autofocus! When I get them uploaded I'll post a link. My biggest problem was other fans who felt the need to imitate the American Idol pit "swaybots" so unfortunately, I've got a lot hands in front of David's face!

Cool! Thanks...I look forward to seeing them.

I was reading somewhere tonight that at some of the venues security was confiscating cameras if people were taking video. Is this true? My only camera these days is my Olympus SP560UZ with 18x optical zoom. My seat is 2 levels up and sort of on the right side of the stage. I was hoping I could take it in and get both photos and video. What have concert-goers seen or experienced so far with regards to cameras inside?

I called the Tacoma dome today *where the concert will be held* and they said that I can bring a camera BUT NO video cameras. I am still glad I will at least get to take my camera though

My Canon Powershot S3IS also functions as a video camera. I took some video, but not a lot because I didn't want to use up the memory card. (stupidly, I only bought 1 2GB card.) But no one can really tell if you're taking a still photo or the video and most people don't know which cameras do video and which don't. But because it just looks like a still camera, I didn't have any problems at all. But I suppose it's going to depend on the venue.

I got hassled one time (not on the AI tour) by a guard. I simply told him I'd take the camera to my car, and then just went outside and back in through another door where the guard didn't care.

Thanks to everyone for all of the recommendations. I'm looking at 3 different cameras right now. The first one is the Canon Powershot SD1100. I like this camera based mostly on the price. It seems to be the best I can get in this price catagory. The second camera I'm looking at is the Canon G9. It's a bit bigger than a standard P&S but smaller than an SLR. I looked at some of the pictures taken with this camera (see my note about flickr.com below) and it seems to be the best of all Canon P&S cameras (I'm a Canon girl, sorry!). It's 12.1 megapixels and give you an option to shoot in the RAW format. The only problems with it are that it's a bit bigger (about the size of old school 35MM p&s cams) and the lens is removeable (although you'd have to really look to realize it) and that could technically put it in the "professional" catagory... and the other big problem is the price. The cheapest I've seen this camera is about $400. The third camera is the Canon SD950. It's 12.1 megapixels and it takes pretty good quality concert pics (not as good as the G9, though). And the price is a bit more affordable (but not by a lot). PLUS, it's tiny and cute like the SD1100, only a bit more curvey. Plus I need to factor in the cost of buying memory... and wow. This is a hard decision.

BTW, A really great resource for finding out what kind of pictures a camera takes is Flickr.com. You can search for a camera, then once you find it you can search within that camera's photos for things like "concert" and "night" or whatever your heart desires. You should definitely try it out if you're looking to buy a new camera.

i really want a new camera that has great zoom, and jsut takes great pics.
the kodak camera i have now i think was realllllllllllly cheap and the zoom is only 3x optical.
the pics i took at the idol concerts the last two years just have not been that amazing and most have come out blurry.

and it doesn't help that i have really shaky hands. =P

any good suggestions ?

i was looking at the lumix, but i'd have to get a cheaper one.

oh and another question. since i do have shaky hands, is there a camera that could still take good pics without them being blurry?
i guess that's my main question. hahaha.

Try: http://www.dpreview.com/

I have read several reviews on their that say that some cameras have image stablizers to help with that. Sorry that I can't remember which ones, specifically!

I've had a lot of trouble taking good concert photos in the past. I have a Canon PowerShot with a 6X zoom. I tried auto, night, fireworks, not flash and varying ISO settings. Does anyone have recommendations for what settings I should use? My past pictures have almost all been blurry. I'll be sitting 18th row floor center for St. Louis and 2nd row side stage for KC.
Thanks!

If you camera has a "sports" setting, you can try that. It works well on my friend's Nikon P&S at the concerts we go to.

I just have a regular digital camera but it can take video. Hopefully security won't notice though. I hope my venue doesnt have metal detectors. If they don't I'll probably just hide my camera in my clothes or something.

Thanks Stacey! It does have a Children and Pets setting, I wonder if that would be the same as a sports setting?

<<Must find camera instruction manual!

This is gonna sound strange...but it works. If your camera is small/compact enough...slip it into a Tampax box or maxi pad bag and put it in your purse. If a guy checks your bag...he won't even touch it. He'll skim the contents of your purse very quickly and wave you through. LOL. Seriously, I do this all the time to take a camera into a venue.

i have 2 different kodak easy shares and i think they both work great. my newer one has image stabilization so i think thats the one i will use more at the concert. im going to try to get them both in (then when one dies, i just go to the other).

I DO THAT ALL THE TIME! I thought that was my special secret. Even GIRLS won't touch it. For added security, I glue the box shut so it looks like it's new. Hilarious!

LOL! They are going to start wondering if all the women at the concert are all biologically in sync!

I stopped by the Indianapolis venue the other day and asked about cameras and they said no cameras allowed at all. I could hardly believe it, so I just called the box office and was again told no cameras. I said but so many phones have cameras and the guy just sort of said well, yeah, I guess so... I guess I'll try the tampax box thing!

That's funny.

any new camera stories to share? anyone got caught with a DLSR in the first few rows? want to take my long zoom lens...

any new camera stories to share? anyone got caught with a DLSR in the first few rows? want to take my long zoom lens...

Enjoy!

did they allow big bags or back packs into the arenas?

I have a Canon 40d with a 100-400L mm lens that I am going to try to sneak into the Lexington show. I would not take a backpack. All security has an aversion to backpacks no matter the size. I don't know why when some purses are just as big as some backpacks. I wish, because I have a camera backpack.
I'm planning on taking a big purse. Putting the camera body in my friends big purse and the lens in its case in the bottom of my purse under something (thanks to the suggestions, maybe a tampax box).
I went to the Cincinnati show, because I got lots of pics of David before the show, I decided not to chance trying to bring it in the concert. Well, I think I could have got it in, as I was going through I saw a lady getting through with what looked to be a dslr but without a large lens. But I was on the end on the floor right next to a security guard so I'm quite sure I wouldn't have been able to use it because of the lens.
However my seats at Rupp Arena are low on the side, good seats but I think security might not be able to see me as well. I desperately want to be able to take my own pictures at the concert. I know there are plenty of great David concert pictures out there, but there is something special about taking your own. I also won't bust it out until David is on stage. Will try to be real sneaky.
What is the deal with not allowing pro cameras anyway. I wish they would believe me when I tell them I'm not trying to make any money off these pictures which is the only reason I can come up with why they don't allow them. Ah, what I wouldn't give for a press pass.

i didnot take my dlsr but took my small panasonic lumix. fyi to help others.... i put it on sports setting put had to up the exposure setting or it was too dark . a few were still blurry. you must get to know your new cameras well before the concert so you can make last minute/second light adjustments during the concert. i studied mine a lot and i was glad i did. it really helped me get some good shots. i spent the first nine finalists getting my settings right for dc - then busted out a fresh card and battery just for him....good luck to all!