taking pics in churches.........old churches..........

[g3-4me]

Hello all....

I will be in Sicily for 3 weeks next month and as you can imagine, I'm going to try to take hundreds and hundreds of pics of pretty much everything.

Can someone recommend some settings for taking pics inside of churches? I know a vague question, but are there certain settings that you've had success with when taking pics inside churches with regluar lighting, sun light, sun light from the stained glass, etc? Leaving the camera to Auto with the 420EX on, gives me good pictures, but I haven't had a chance to mess around with it more with some manual settings. Also, some churches don't want you to use flashes, so I'd need to compensate some how. I've read that running the ISO at say, 200 instead of 50 can give you more lighting too.

I have a Canon G3 and the 420EX SpeedLite. I take most of my pics in custom (C1) settings when outdoors (RAW, ISO 50) and adjust the exposure as necessary. Inside has always been tough for me in general, but again, Auto with the 420EX Flash gives me nice pics.

Thanks for the help.

[Canuck]

Hello all....

I will be in Sicily for 3 weeks next month and as you can imagine, I'm going to try to take hundreds and hundreds of pics of pretty much everything.

Can someone recommend some settings for taking pics inside of churches? I know a vague question, but are there certain settings that you've had success with when taking pics inside churches with regluar lighting, sun light, sun light from the stained glass, etc? Leaving the camera to Auto with the 420EX on, gives me good pictures, but I haven't had a chance to mess around with it more with some manual settings. Also, some churches don't want you to use flashes, so I'd need to compensate some how. I've read that running the ISO at say, 200 instead of 50 can give you more lighting too.

I have a Canon G3 and the 420EX SpeedLite. I take most of my pics in custom (C1) settings when outdoors (RAW, ISO 50) and adjust the exposure as necessary. Inside has always been tough for me in general, but again, Auto with the 420EX Flash gives me nice pics.

Thanks for the help.

Have a look at this thread:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=37009

Failing that, I am not really familiar with the G3, but from experience taking pics of stained glass, underexpose and tweek later. I have a Canon EOS 10D and shoot manual all the time and RAW 95% of the time. Shooting RAW has bailed me out more times than I can count! I just like the feel better. I have had success and failure both, but end of the day, just keep shooting till you get it right. This is the cool part about digital, no wasted film!

[g3-4me]

thanks for that link :D

guess I will underexpose and not use a flash so I can keep the natural lighting in the church...

question, wouldn't increasing the ISO do that? currently have it to 50 all the time....

[4walls]

You will find that ISO 200 on the G3 will allow you to take more pictures
without using a tripod, but be prepared for more digital noise. I would try
to get away with ISO 100 if you could and if that isn't enough, then bump
up to 200.

Try some ISO 50-400 shots at home and see what you think.

[Big_B]

I was in Sicily last year. Its really beautiful.

[g3-4me]

I go every year. This year I'll be there for 3 weeks all over Sicily. Except this time I've got my G3 and a 4GB Compact Flash card... :lol:

Thanks for the ISO info....guess I have to just test the different settings on several pics....

[Biko]

I have photographed churches inside and my first impression is how dark they are inside. The pic below is a complete 360 with G3 and exposure was 5.6 and 2sec at iso 50. You might get better results with mediterranean light but you also have contrast to contend with as strong light streams in. I prefer going on a dull day for this reason.

I feel if you really want to do inside you have got to take a tripod but understand it is a pain on a trip. You might want to consider a mini tripod which might help.

On some shots when allowed I use off shoe flash with bounce cards and always respect signs that say no to flash.

http://www.boomspeed.com/biko/360ch.jpg

[4walls]

Get yourself a good Raynox Wide angle like the DCR-5000 or the 720. Then you can shoot the inside of the churches a lot easier.

[g3-4me]

I guess I will just take LOTS of pics at different settings and try to see what works...

Thanks for the info :D

[mwinog2777]

Biko, I'm totally impressed. Absolutely spectacular picture.

[nosquare2003]

Great photo, Biko.

I think that a table top tripod is a very good accessory for dark churches when you use a G3.

[PhotosGuy]

table top tripod...

A small bean-rice-sand-etc bag works well & is easy to carry, plus you can wait to fill it up when you get there. Cut the leg off an old pair of jeans. Sew up one end & put a zipper on the other end. Put the filler in a plastic bag inside it.

[nosquare2003]

table top tripod...

A small bean-rice-sand-etc bag works well & is easy to carry, plus you can wait to fill it up when you get there. Cut the leg off an old pair of jeans. Sew up one end & put a zipper on the other end. Put the filler in a plastic bag inside it.

Yes, a bean bag will certainly do the job...