Help! being upstaged by a D100

[Stoneh]

I had been asked to take pics of a party for a friend, the wedding is this sat. He also has another mate he's asked to take pics too, this guy happens to have a Nikon D100 (Boo) with a Sigma 28-70 F2.8 lens and a flash unit (I cant afford a flash unit yet).

My pics have turned out mostly blurry or some have a few people out of focus, they were slightly infront of where I was focusing (problem with people hanging in a group!). I realise the mistake, I should have taken the pictures with the max DOF. I saw him a few times, and it looked like he was focusing manually. The light levels were not that good and I could take pics hand held (1/60, F3.5 iso 800). Where ive used the flash the pictures are good (some still out of focus on some subjects).

I know I should have asked you guys/gals 1st as ive just upgraded from a G2 to a 10D, I was crying out for the infinity mode I used to select on the G2. The lens I have is 28-135 UIS.

1) What is the best setting to use in these conditions?
2) What about the ADEP mode on the dial?
3) Is there an infinity mode? Then lens has infinity on its scale
4) Was the Nikon guy using hyperfocal technique hense the manual focusing?

Some of the pics I will be taking will be people gathering around, shooting from about 2-3Metres. These and the wedding pics will be reportage type

Thanks in Advance

[nucki]

Hi!

If you are not sure, try the automatic mode. under normal conditions you really get good picutures. but you should by a good flash. i.e. 420 EX or 550EX or something similar. I think on weddings there is a really need of a good flash!

If you have a little time left, just try it. try ADEP, Av, Tv, auto, and take a look where you get the best results.


regards
Peter

[Longwatcher]

I have that lens,
under the conditions you are talking about I usually manually focus because that lens just will just not let me get the right person in a group as the focus point, however, if I am only aiming at one person at a time and autofocus is locking on then I will stick with that.

I highly recommend a flash, I have the 550EX. It makes a huge difference.

For people, my experience is 1/125 as minimum shutter speed. Between them and me one of us will always move too much. Aperture at F8 or F11, which means you will probably have to have a flash. Also for shooting people indoors I recommend turning off the IS on this lens. Can't explain as I have not figured it out yet, but my speculation is that since they are close and moving the IS does not work as good. For outdoors at a larger distance it seems to help a lot though.

In my case I discovered that I tended to aim slightly high in group shots so tend to focus behind where I should. I have learned this lesson and do a much better job now (although still could use some work). It sounds like you may aim slightly low. Just a thought.

The 28-135 IS is a good lens, but indoors it has some issues. These can be overcome with experience, but it takes practice and a flash. The D100 has you beat only because of the external flash.

Just my experience.

[Stoneh]

Thanks Peter & Tim

Has anyone used the ADEP mode? I have tried this with mixed results. These types of pics seem like hard work on an SLR. Ive blown so much money already I cant afford a speedlight at the moment. Been looking at used 380EX's tho :)

[rdenney]

stoneh wrote:
My pics have turned out mostly blurry or some have a few people out of focus, they were slightly infront of where I was focusing (problem with people hanging in a group!). I realise the mistake, I should have taken the pictures with the max DOF. I saw him a few times, and it looked like he was focusing manually. The light levels were not that good and I could take pics hand held (1/60, F3.5 iso 800). Where ive used the flash the pictures are good (some still out of focus on some subjects).



A-DEP can't work miracles. The depth of field is still controlled by the aperture of the lens, and the smaller the aperture, the longer the resulting shutter speed. If you are at 1/60 and f/3.5 at ISO 800, your are just plain out of light.

If you're taking pictures of one or two people at a time, just use the nose flash. Make sure your lens shade doesn't cast a shadow within the image. The camera will still try to balance the light of the room with the flash, and you can actually get away with a bit slower shutter speed, because even if there is a bit of blur because of the camera movement the flash will put a good, sharp image of your subject on top of it.

The effect of the pop-up flash isn't very pleasing, of course, but at least the image won't be ruined by blurriness.

If you want enough depth of field to get groups all in focus, then you'll need f/8 or f/11. That will require either flash or shutter speeds in the range of 1/15 or 1/8. At 28mm, you can possibly hand-hold 1/15 using IS.

Another thing I'd do is go get a monopod. Then you can shoot at 1/15 even without IS. A monopod is much less expensive than a 550EX flash, and it is portable enough not to restrict your movements too much. In fact, for the sorts of images you're describing, I'd use both a monopod and the nose flash, with the dial on Av and f/8 or f/11 set for the aperture.

Hyperfocal and scale focusing requires lots of depth of field to be of any use. If your camera can't focus, and if it's too dark for you to be able to see to focus manually, then you need the focus assist beam that comes with the 550EX flash. It sounds as though you'll need to put that off until a later purchase, so hopefully it's just a matter of finding a way to use a big smaller aperture.

Rick "who thinks you are being upstaged by a better-equipped photographer, not by his camera" Denney

[Kenal0]

If you are not going with a good externa flash then you might want to consider the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens. It can be had for around $70 and I have found it almost impossible to take bad pics with this lense. For the price it is a no brainer if you can live without the zoom or having to change lenses.
With you other lens you might try turning up the iso if your pics are coming out too dark.
Kenal0

[Stoneh]

Cheers Rick,

Looks like a flash will sort the probs out, cant really go less than 1/60 unless people stay still... and that aint easy when ur taking candid shots.

BTW I like ur signatures!!

[rdenney]

stoneh wrote:
Cheers Rick,

Looks like a flash will sort the probs out, cant really go less than 1/60 unless people stay still... and that aint easy when ur taking candid shots.

BTW I like ur signatures!!

It's a good thing that your 10D already has a flash built into it. The built-in nose flash will freeze your moving people, and the monopod will take care of the ambient-lighted background. Try it; you may be surprised. You may get a few shots that don't work because of too much movement, but without bounce flash you don't have many options.

Rick "who owns a 550 but still uses the nose flash from time to time" Denney

[Stoneh]

thanks for the advice chaps.... me feels better equipped already for round two!!

Kenal0: I ordered the 50mm F1.8, supposed to have arrived this week, looks like im not gona have it for this sat. :(

[Stoneh]

Wedding Day pics...... Kicked Butt!!

Not only the pics were sharper, they were perfectly exposed. I still had a few blurry but thats expected as I had no external Flash.

I managed to get all of the Nikon D100 pics (sneaky) via my mate. There not very good at all, looking at exif data looks like the guy shot most of them using spot metering. 85% of his pics were soft. Maybe its his lens/camera setting combo. Also I note that at iso200 on the Nikon, I'd say the Canon equiv is 400.

The 10D isnt as bad as a few people make out to be when compared to the competition.

Cheers for the advice.

[J.A.F. Doorhof]

The 10D isnt as bad as a few people make out to be when compared to the competition.

????

The 10D rocks, and kicks the competition :D.
Just be VERY VERY careful with the lenses you use.

You can buy cheap lenses and have perfect picture, I use a Sigma 28-105 f2.8-4 and it's amazing (better than a Canon 35-105 EF old type).
But I have also tested some more expensive ones which were terrible (soft, no color).

The 10D really stands or falls with the glass you use, it must not be Canon L but the better it is, the more the 10D will please you.

I switched from my Canon 75-300III to a Sigma 70-210 APO f2.8 and it's like I have a new camera (price difference is in the 5x figures by the way).

I'm sure the 10D will please you for years to come.

Greetings,
Frank