Sony RX100 - Music To Your Ears!

This powerful but easy to use compact camera is perfect for shooting bands and live performances, as leading music photographer Richard Johnson reveals.

Live performances make for thriving photography, but it's not for the faint-hearted. The combination of constantly moving performers and unpredictable lighting can really test a camera, so you need to be able to rely on your gear 100%. For this reason, well respected music photographer Richard Johnson swears by his Sony RX100.

"The size and weight of the RX100 make it ideal for taking photographs at gigs, while the unfussy interface and logical layout help you react quickly when you need to essential when shooting bands! The quick shutter release is also great for capturing energetic moments instantly."

Sony RX100 - Music to your ears!

Another big challenge when shooting live bands is coping with low light, so the RXIOO's versatile light sensitivity (ISO) is a real help to Richard. "The fact that you can shoot at ISO 6400 with the RX100, and open the aperture as wide as f/1.8, makes shooting gigs so much easier."

Of course, a camera is only as good as its resolution and optics, and Richard again reckons the RX100 scores highly here. "I really believe that the RX100 is a genuine contender against many SLRs for my kind of work. Indeed, its large sensor, compact size and quality lens means I can happily use this in addition to my heavy pro SLRs."

How to shoot bands

Richard has some great tips to get better shots of live performances. "First, select a high ISO (800-3200) and use a wide aperture to cope with low-light situations. I set the lens ring to aperture mode so I can anticipate lighting changes quickly. If the venue allows it, you can also use the RXIOO's pop-up fill flash to freeze movement when people go wild to the music. Then, be sure to choose your focus area with the Flexible Spot mode, especially when shooting with a wide aperture. This will help to get your pictures pin sharp with a low depth of field - nicely blurring the focus, in other words. Finally, use the RXIOO's Function button to customise the modes you change the most. This enables you to quickly access the settings you use most often, such as ISO, focus setting, image quality and so on."

As mentioned, shooting live bands is difficult because you're often relying on unpredictable stage lighting in dark conditions. Here's Richard's advice: "To get band members sharp, I select my exposure manually and choose my focus points so I can fire away. This gives nice sharp, atmospheric shots that portray the gig as everybody sees it. Flexible Spot focus mode is great for selecting exactly which area of the image I want to be sharp."

Another great tip is to use flash with a bit of blur. As Richard explains, you do this by using the RXIOO's Slow Sync flash mode. "It means I can light the subject with flash and expose for the background. This comes in very useful when the guitarist or singer is jumping all over the place!"

Another must for quality photos of live performances is shooting in raw, rather than the JPEG format, something that's easy with the RX100. "The raw file format will give you the highest quality image and will contain the most data, giving you more leeway to edit the image in editing software like Photoshop or Lightroom."

Joshua Radin performs at KOKO London.

The RX100’s powerful Exmor^TM CMOS sensor picks up loads of detail and colour, even when I’m using a high ISO.

Scars on 45 at KOKO London, also shot on the RX100.

I took this shot at f/1.8, using the Flexible Spot focus to get the singer absolutely pin sharp - even with a really low depth of field.

The wide-angle lens and flexible focus point allowed me to capture all the atmosphere at the gig, just as the light was right.

Here's a more detailed guide to Richard's weapon of choice ·         Sensor: 20.2-megapixel CMOS ·         Max resolution: 5472 x 3648 ·         ISO range: Auto, 100,200,400, 800,1600,3200,6400, 12800, 25600       ·         Focal length: 28-100mm ·         Optical zoom: 3.6x ·         Autofocus option: Contrast Detect (sensor), Multi-area, Center, Selective single-point, Tracking, Single, Continuous, Face Detection ·         Manual focus: Yes ·         Max aperture: f/1.8-f/4.9 ·         Shutter speed: 1/2000-30 sec ·         Built-in flash: Yes ·         Flash modes: Auto, On, Off, Slow Sync ·         Continuous drive: Up to 10fps ·         Metering modes: Multi, Center-weighted, Spot ·         Exposure compensation: +/- 3EV (at 1/3EV steps) ·         HD video: Yes (1080p) ·         Weight: 240g ·         Dimensions: 102x59x36mm