some quick b/w shots from my Canon 5d using the 24-105 L lens. The black and white was added from the camera itself. these are clickable images. so click the ones u wanna see bigger.

 

i took this with my d40

 

What lenses do you have? You're going to need a high (low # w/e the hell it is lol) aperture lens, or a lens with some kind of vibration assist (it helps a lot). Any shutter speed slower than 1/20 sec and you're going to have a blurry shot. You could bump up the ISO to compensate for the lack of light, but you're going to get some noise.

 

I tried to tell Tina that she needed a tripod, to set the ISO high (800-1600), set a lower shutter speed, and set a medium aperture (like 4).

 

Oh yeah, also try to avoid having to zoom in. Zooming will automatically reduce the maximum aperture, resulting in less light, resulting in lower shutter speed, increasing the chance of blur.

 

I shot in 1600 but it was still too dark. I tried all kinds of different shutter speeds & F-stops and still failed miserably.

Robert, lesson this weekend, please! haha. Did you get the 50mm f/1.8 lens? If not, come out this weekend and get it, or maybe Thursday or Friday? I should be free around 5:30ish.

 

There's the problem then. I just used my stock lens for the concert shoot since I wasn't in the front row & was zoomed in all the way. I used my 28mm f/2.8 lens for the circus & those came out even worse. =/

 

that 28mm 2.8 should have let a pretty darn decent amount of light in. especially if ur running a 1600 iso. make sure u take off any polarizers if u have one on. they will cause like -2 stops of light coming in.

 

Then there's another problem. My UV filter was on. =/

*sigh*

I guess I should look at the circus pics on an actual computer though. I haven't even uploaded them yet.

I need a GOOD or at least decent zoom lens. Perhaps with my next paycheck.

Any suggestions that won't break the bank?

 

heck i have a 24-105mm f4 L lens and i can get dark/night shots. The UV filter should be ok. i was talking bout a polarizer filter. (looks like tinted glass) Show us some of the pics that u say aren't that good. prolly just need a tripod.

 

The $1000+ lens!? I SAID ONE THAT DOESN'T BREAK THE BANK! Haha!

Okay, I'll upload some tonight. For the first time I don't have my camera with me.

 

For night shots, without a tripod, keep the aperture # as low as possible, that way you can let in as much light as possible. I never fully understood f-stop until I got my 50mm f1.8 lens. By actually seeing the difference in size, I got a much better grasp on how it worked.

This is with the manual aperture setting at f22.


This is with the manual aperture setting at f1.8.


The opening is dramatically larger, allowing more light to be pulled in. With this extra amount of light, the shutter doesn't need to be closed (open? dunno how it technically works) as long. Think of aperture as 'how MUCH light' and shutter speed is obviously 'how LONG'.

 

^ That's cool. And informative!

 

SOmething to remember with aperture settings. A high aperture, in the 1.4-3.0 range will make it so you can take pictures on a darker setting but there is a huge disadvantage as well. DOF (depth of field)
Taking pictures at 1.8 gives an awesome effect for a portrait, but taking a picture of anything that isnt flat will cause part of the object to OOF (out of focus). This can happen with portraits as well. If the face is even slightly turned, one eye will be slightly OOF due to the DOF.

Here is a very good way of explaining it:



As you can see there is a difference in focuse in the span of mere inches.
Due to this you do not want to just lower your raise your aperture, just to allow for a brighter picture. Imagine this effect on a car which is FEET long!!! (I see this this in alot of pictures posted in here, headlight in focus, taillight not)

You can try the battery test out, most people use three batteries, put them at a slight angel so they are different lengths apart and see just how far you need to adjust your aperture to get the DOF you want!!

 

^ I honestly didn't know that. I thought the insane OOF blur I got with my f1.8 was because it was a manual focus lens.

This thread is getting better and better :D.

 

also with depth of field, the farther ur back ground is from ur subject the more out of focus ur back ground is gonna be. but if the background is close enough it will be in focus too. so if u want the background to be out of focus more, just put some space between ur background and the subject.

 

Get the house bro!!! Get the house!!!!! From now till next year is the right time to buy. And believe me, saving every little bit helps.


I really do Joe. Thanks for the props. However, I think they can be better with more knowledge shooting in manual and learning some PSing. I have no artistic imagination in my head and I'm learning a lot just by following this thread.

You don't really need to know much for event coverage which is pretty much what I've done the past 3 years within the Scion scene. hahahaha

And I don't???? If they are going to go through all that time and trouble to hoe themselves out....errrrrrrr.......I mean look the way they do...I will honor them by sharing their hard work and effort with the world. Those kind of shots are just recognition for a job well done. haha

This is how you learn T!

Nice Alex....but you have a Nikon. Please leave and thanks for stopping by. j/k. haha

Your bank will never break or be broken. haha

 

My bank is broken right now . I have like $90 in it

 

hahahaha but you have a "wealth" of knowledge. Good tip on understanding aperture.

 

$90?! Even I have more than that & I think I'm broke, but I'm not too far off from $90. =/