Gerard M Foley (dpreview, Panasonic forum, 5 March 2004)...
Depending on how steady a hand you have, I would probably use shutter speed priority set to the lowest speed you think you could tolerate with any other camera. I was pleased and amazed to find a sharp picture I took with my FZ10 was 1/5 second!
Set the Image Stabilizer to MODE 2.
If you have a chance, look at early shots and decide if you should set ISO higher. Default is ISO 50. ISO 100 is quite good, but 400 is available if needed.John_Reed (dpreview, Panasonic forum, 5 March 2004)...(dpreview posting, and photographs!)
Susan, I ``only'' have an FZ1, but I've shot some concert pictures (and play photos) with it successfully. A couple of points:
1. You'll be very lucky if they'll let you shoot photos at a concert. You may need to seek permission beforehand.
2. It almost goes without saying, but obviously don't use flash for any photos. It distracts performers, and angers audiences. Also, turn off any beeping sounds your camera may make while focusing or shot making. Go stealth!
3. Your main issues would be with white balance. I assume that the FZ10, like my upgraded FZ1, lets one tune the white balance while observing the scene. So pick the type of lighting (incandescent?) as a starting point, then tune the WB to suit.
4. As for camera settings, I seemed to be getting pretty good results at 1/30 of a second shutter speed, with full (f2.8) aperture. (And I wasn't using any filters) Leave your IS on for shots, but unless you catch your subjects in a pose, you may get some motion blur anyway. Just remember to take extra shots (they're cheap) and wait for your subjects to kind of freeze before you snap. This is a general rule, but sometimes a little motion blur can actually enhance your images, depending.
{John Reed's smugmug -- John Reed's photo-gallery site. Lots of egrets!}Concert photographs -- hand-held photographs from row 17 by Susan `FluziSuzi' (dpreview, Panasonic forum, 13 March 2004).