I decided to test out the Canon 5DmkII at a recent heavy metal concert that I was shooting. The show gave permission to shoot video during the first minute of the first two songs. Of course, I was being paid to shoot still photos of the show, so I didn’t want to burn up that much time testing video.
So, I decided to shoot the audience cheering as the band took the stage and maybe 30 seconds of the first song, to get a feel of how a stock Canon 5DmkII would handle such a loud and colorful subject. I think it will give you just enough video to see what the Canon can do.
I bet the camera could capture much better images during a show that didn’t have such pummeling, extreme lighting. However, the mic probably won’t hold up to anything but a stripped, folk, acoustic-style show. Of course, a separate mic setup with adjustable attenuation and meters would be easy to add. Other options are to record sound from the soundboard (if you have access/permission to do so).
Overall, I think it’s safe to say that something like this Slayer concert would be the extreme. Most concert video from the Canon 5DmkII should fair much better. Now, the next big challenge is to find a way to easily keep focus held while shooting in a busy photo pit, without having to add a complex follow-focus system to the kit.