Fans wave glow sticks on the balcony of the Blue Note at the start of the Bassnectar concert, fashioned to be like a rave party, on Friday, Nov. 20, 2009 in Columbia, Mo. / Canon 7D and 24-70mm f/2.8 L lens @ 24mm; exposed 1/8 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 4000.

Last Friday I was assigned by Vox Magazine to go to a pseudo rave at a Bassnectar concert held at the Blue Note, a theater-like venue here in Columbia, Mo.  I decided to pack the 1D Mark III and the new 7D, leaving my 5D II on the shelf at home.  While it is a great camera in low light, I was more interested to see how the other two would perform as they are both relative “unknowns” to me.  Risky?  Sure.  But I figured it made sense to have one pro body with me, and my own 1D IIN is terrible in poor lighting conditions.  The only rule imposed on me was “no flash.”  This was going to be ISO 3200+ territory.

More photographs after the jump!

Luba Korshunova, a student from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, twirls glow sticks before the start of the Bassnectar concert. / Canon 1D Mark III and 50mm f/1.4 lens; exposed 1/40 sec. @ f/1.4, ISO 3200.

Jamie Echols waits for her friends to arrive before the start of the Bassnectar concert. / Canon 1D Mark III and 50mm f/1.4 lens; exposed 1/250 sec. @ f/1.4, ISO 2500.

People in the crowd wave to Bassnectar up on the stage. / Canon 7D and 16-35mm f/2.8 lens @ 16mm; exposed 1/160 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 4000.

While the 7D certainly outperforms the 1D III in noise performance, I was impressed that the autofocus abilities were very similar in the dark theater.   This certainly speaks well of the new 7D’s autofocus abilities.

Content © 2009 David Kennedy | View Original Post | 2 comments | Filed under Columbia Missourian, Reviews, Updates | Tags: Bassnectar, Canon, concerts, EOS 1D Mark III, EOS 7D, raves, Reviews