Is it possible to take quality low light pictures with a Nikon D3000?
I have tried taking pictures of musicals, plays, and concerts with moving subjects in low light with my Nikon d3000 and 18-55 mm lens to no real success. What do I need to change this? Different settings? (Tried most of them--sport, night, M with high ISO/exposure settings, etc) Would getting a 55-200 lens help, or do nothing? Also, should I consider getting an external flash to help combat the problem?
You just do not have the skills yet to be successful at shooting in low light
Just buying a great fully adjustable camera, will NOT provide you with excellent images, especially shooting in low light.
* use the highest ISO your camera supports
* shoot with the lens aperture wide open
* use the light meter
* set the with balance to incandescent.
* practice, practice, practice.
Most concert locations do NOT allow flash.
The 55-200 mm will give you a little faster aperture at 55 mm than the one you have, but in the end, you really need a faster lens. That costs money. My 105 mm f/2.8 lens cost over $990, the 105 mm f/2, over $1, 200. The faster the lens the more they cost. The longer the lens, the more they cost.
What you really need is to take a class in photography and learn at least the fundamentals of photography before taking on such advanced projects
Sucessfully taking the pictures you're trying to take depends a lot on where you are in relation to the stage. If you're up close then you might consider buying a 50mm f1.4 lens but if you're in the cheap seats then a 70-200mm f2.8 lens would be a better choice. Your 18-55mm lens is an f3.5-5.6 variable aperture lens and the 55-200mm lens has the same limitations - f3.5-5.6 variable aperture. An aperture of f5.6 is way too slow for low-light photography with moving subjects and f3.5 isn't much better. Unless you're fairly close to the stage a flash won't help much and may get you tossed out of the venue.
Here are things to try:
1) Set your metering to Spot. This meters approximately a 3mm diameter circle centered on a selected focus point. By metering only on your subject your camera's meter isn't trying to make a correct exposure of the entire scene which ranges from dark to light.
2) Use your camera's highest ISO setting and make sure the Noise Reduction is "ON". This article will also help you deal with excessive digital noise caused by a high ISO:
http://www.shutterbug.net/equipmentreviews/software_computers/0309noise/index.html
3) Realize that you really don't have the right lens for the job and consider buying a lens better suited for what you want to do.
Yes, if you know exactly what you are doing.