Nikon D5 shooting Theater

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 4000, ƒ/5.6, 1/100

There are certain types of lighting situations where the latest and greatest camera will not make all that much difference.

Whenever the ISO is around 3200 I believe the differences are not as noticeable at first glance as when your ISO is say at ISO 16000 for example.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 16000, ƒ/5.6, 1/100

Now there are some moments like this where the stage during the theater performance was dark and the ISO 16000 does give me a very clean file.

If you shoot a lot of stage performances then you know sometimes the lighting isn't all that great. A lighting tech forgets a lighting cue and the light isn't correct, but you still need a photo. Hey the Nikon D5 will now let you get those moments.

Now if you are shooting studio strobes like these headshots then there is minimal difference.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 100, ƒ/5, 1/200

The headshot here is really a great file, but so was the Nikon D4 file earlier I shot.

Nikon D4, Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G, ISO 100, ƒ/5, 1/200

By the way the Nikon D5 was shot after the actor went to the beach last week.

If you are in situations where you have good light then if you will not necessarily see a big difference in the camera upgrade.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 1100, ƒ/5.6, 1/100

I shot this photo on the Flat Picture Control setting. I think the dynamic range is much better over earlier Nikon models. Shooting a dress rehearsal let me have some pretty extreme situations because the lighting wasn't set for the witch to make her as visible from the audience as Rapunzel in the tower. So you can see that is quite a range.

Now I can say that the results using the Highlight-weighted metering mode as compared to the Nikon D750 isn't giving me the same results.

Nikon D5, AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 2800, ƒ/4, 1/400

In this situation where there was a lot of black the Nikon D5 Highlight-weighted metering mode worked great. But in unless the frame is mainly black with a spotlight the exposures were way underexposed.

I think I trust the Nikon D750 Highlight-weighted metering mode more than the Nikon D5 at this moment. However, let me say that this is just preliminary comment. I do believe every new camera takes a little while to really run it through all the situations many times before I can rule out my own errors using the new tool.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 9000, ƒ/5.6, 1/400

Conclusion

Unless you need those higher ISOs then in general you will not benefit from the Nikon D5 say over the Nikon D4. As you can see for theater, you will see a noticeable difference.

If you are primarily a studio shooter, then I personally haven't seen any major differences except when it came to resolution. Higher resolution will let you make bigger prints and as we know you can sell a bigger print for a lot more money.

Nikon D5, AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 9000, ƒ/5.3, 1/400

Now I included this last photo to really point out how much backgrounds can impact a photo. The first night I shot the dress rehearsal they didn't have the woods background. I think the background really made a HUGE difference and helped to take the level of production of the musical to a different level visually.

Just like in real estate LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION makes a big difference. For photography it is often the same thing, but we say it this way: BACKGROUND, BACKGROUND, BACKGROUND.