Hai-Tien Chorus Live at the Flushing Public Library on Main Street

This was shot with my D7000 at 24fps 1/50 and f/3.5.  I suppose I should have or could have shot it at f/4.  I thought people in general like their video bright.  I put the camera on my trusty tripod and ball head.  Not the best for video but hey what's the best anyway?

For stills, I use the D700.  I brought my two Sunpak 120J with two light stands and radio transmitter and receivers--I tend to overdo things.  In the end, I just used one 120J for a handful of shots in the end, powered by the power pack.  It was a minor struggle as I had to juggle with the camera and flash settings.  I guess one always has to struggle when shooting events and there is little time for preparation or prior experience.

The video is just straight out of the camera.  The 20 minutes recording time is not too bad, it's an inconvenience but not a show stopper.  Again, I accept that and work around it.  I don't have one single song that lasts long than that hard limit.  Even I didn't know the program details prior but it wasn't too bad.

The 20-35 is wide so I have no problem taking in the whole stage.  On the other hand, the 70-200 is too long especially on a DX body for this purpose.  The 70-200 was with my D700 for stills.  I did use the 16-35 for the group shot in the end and some super wide shots close the stage shots.  The only drawback of shooting the 20-35 is that there is no way I can zoom close to the performers if I want to.  The 24-70 would help.  Perhaps it's an advantage not to zoom so there is no distraction.  You just put a camera in front of the even and let it unfold, my kind of video taking or story telling.