| Author | Thread |
|
|
12/17/2009 05:15:33 AM · #1 |
I have a Canon 350D and recently I have been trying to take pictures at gigs. First thing I noticed was how difficult it was to get any decent in focus image without flash, but that destroys the lighting at these small venues. So I have pimped out for some faster glass. Not a lot of money but I went for the 50mm 1.8 and I am hoping for some better results when that turns up.
However, last night I was trying to take pictures in my house under normal lighbulb lighting and noted at F3.5 the shutter speeds for lower ISOs were far too long to be able to capture still images at a gig. ISO 100/200 were sitting around 1/5-1/10s to get a decent exposure. Moving the ISO up allowed my to reach the dizzying speeds of 1/80s at ISO 1600 but the grain in these images is horrifying. ISO 800 was slightly better but I think I am still going to have problems.
So as with all things I looked about on the internet to throw money at the problem, thinking that people take awesome photgraphs with point and shoot cameras, all the gear no idea etc etc. But I noticed the Canon 1D MK IV has an ISO rating of 12,800 expandable to 102,400!!! I have got to ask, what are the noise levels like on this machine and how much extra light (i.e. quicker shutter speeds) can you get at these levels. I noted that other versions of Canon cameras have an ISO rating of 12,800 without the high price tag. Is moving to this kind of camera worth it?
Maybe the problem I have with flash is that I only have the built in flash to use, which everyone seems to think is poor and I agree. But I dont think the black painted ceilings in these venues is going to bounce any light anyway.
So what I am really looking for is some advice. As I seem to be struggling to take a decent photograph in normal house lighting without getting blurry (because of camera shake) or noisy shots because of the high ISO. Using a flash indoors at the moment is a no because it creates those aweful shadows on the walls.
Does any one else have these problems or is just me, and if so how do you combat them without spending thousands of pounds on fast lenses and better cameras?
Message edited by author 2009-12-17 06:15:59. |
|
|
|
12/17/2009 05:24:45 AM · #2 |
Some sample images with different ISO levels from the 1DmIV were put out here but was removed by the request from Canon. I did look at them though and the ISO 102,400 image was very hard to make out at a 100% crop.
See this thread for details.
FWIW - With the 5Dm2 I can take quite acceptable images at 1250 ISO that has less (or at least not much more) noise than my wifes 350D at 400 ISO (at least by memory so pls don't quote me on this!) :) |
|
|
|
12/17/2009 06:06:00 AM · #3 |
Originally posted by Atirez:
However, last night I was trying to take pictures in my house under normal lighbulb lighting and noted at F3.5 the shutter speeds for lower ISOs were far to long to be able to capture still images at a gig. ISO 100/200 were sitting around 1/5-1/10s to get a decent exposure. Moving the ISO up allowed my to reach the dizzing speeds of 1/80s at ISO 1600 but the grain in these images is horrifying. ISO 800 was slightly better but I think I am still going to have problems.
|
If you use your new 50 mm 1.8 at these same settings but with your aperture set to f1.8 instead of f3.5 you can get much faster shuttesrpeeds
1/10th sec@f3.5 is equivalent to 1/40the sec@f1.8. If these were shot at ISO 200 you could bump up to ISO 400 and have a shutterspeed of 1/80th sec@f1.8.
Perhaps I am misreading what you posted so if I am I apologize, but it seems you think that f3.5 will give you faster shutterspeeds on your new lens than your old kit lens did. This is incorrect, to get a faster shutterspeed with your new lens, you need to use it with a wider aperture/lower f stop(f1.8 is as wide as you can get for your lens.) Hope this helps some. Newer camera will have better sensors, but you should be able to get something with your current gear.
I searched flickr for Concert and 350D and many shots came up. This one was shot with the 50 mm 1.8 you purchased. I would reccommend shooting in manual mode and finding the right exposure, then you can just focus on the musicians.
|
|
|
|
12/17/2009 06:30:41 AM · #4 |
what  jdannels said about f1.8
ISO 400 will be fine, ISO 800 shouldn't be too bad.
Make sure you shoot in RAW to get as much detail recorded as possible.
Choose a focus point that will be resonably well lit to achieve a fast auto focus but make sure it is on the plane you want to focus on, eg a band members face as at f1.8 the dof will be fairly shallow.
You can also use something like noise ninja to reduce the noise in post processing |
|
|
|
12/17/2009 10:13:33 AM · #5 |
TrollMan, that was part of what I was trying to understand. I assumed that better equipement would mean better noise levels - however I was wondering to what extent these are reduced and how a camera with a high ISO rating such as the upgrade for my camera 500D which goes to 3200 (expandable to 6400, 12800 - whatever that means?) would handle the noise.
It is good to see that there is some opportuntity to get some decent pictures with my new lense (50mm F1.8).
Thanks for the tips bobonacus. And its good to hear I should be able to get something with this kit.
I have been thinking about natural light photography for a bit now, indoor lighting while not the best is exactly what we see when we take the shot. A flash destroys that. But it seems so much more difficult (and expensive) to get correct exposures without the flash. Does anyone have any general advice regarding this?
Message edited by author 2009-12-17 10:14:19. |
|
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Prints! -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2024 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 04/18/2024 08:07:27 PM EDT.
