Help with gettin the right shutter speed & aperture sett

[Grifter730]

Okay, so I got my new Digital Rebel (with the lens kit). I read the manual to get a good feel for it, and read a book that goes into each setting a bit more in-depth. One of the things I've always wanted to do was learn how to take those nifty waterfall picture while setting the shutterspeed. I tested this out in the kitchen sink, using the Tv mode, and everything worked perfectly. I can set the speed to run for about 4 seconds, and everything looks perfect. But then I go outside to test it out, and I can't get it to look right because I can't make it go longer than 1 second without overexposing the image. So I go to the M mode to test it, and again, I can only do it for about 1 second, with the aperture setting maxed out at 32. If I go anything longer than 1 second, it'll overexpose the picture. Keep in mind, it's cloudy outside, and the sky is pretty much just greyish white, no blue at all. I don't know if that matters or not, but I'm surprised that it can't go much longer than 1 second. Do you guys have any tips for me?

EDIT: I'm a complete beginner, so if this seems like a really newbie question, please indulge me. I did a search and couldn't really find anything to help me out.

[robertwgross]

Do you guys have any tips for me?

Basically, when you went outside to try it, the scene was too bright. Right? So your camera would let you slow down the shutter somewhat, but not enough.

Well, you need to force the scene to be darker. The easiest way to do that is to use a solid neutral density filter. It is just a gray filter that knocks out 2 or 3 stops of light.

Put that on, then let your camera meter just like before. You should be able to slow your shutter down by 2 or 3 stops, so the water blurs out more.

---Bob Gross---

[roanjohn]

Use the lowest ISO............and if that is still too fast......then use a ND filter.

Ro1

[steven]

What did you have the film speed (ASA) set to?

This is another place you can adjust the exposure. Set it to the lowest number possible. Don't know what that is on the Rebel, think it is ASA 100. So cameras can go down to ASA 50 by setting custom functions.

Remeber there are three legs invovled in getting exposure correct -
Shutter Speed / Apature / Film Speed (ASA)

[PacAce]

What did you have the film speed (ASA) set to?

This is another place you can adjust the exposure. Set it to the lowest number possible. Don't know what that is on the Rebel, think it is ASA 100. So cameras can go down to ASA 50 by setting custom functions.

Remeber there are three legs invovled in getting exposure correct -
Shutter Speed / Apature / Film Speed (ASA)

ASA? Is somebody showing their true age here? :lol: :wink:

[Grifter730]

I never heard of the ASA, though I do remember at least reading about the ISO, so I'll check those stuff up. Thanks for the help. Obviously I still have a lot to learn :)

Another very quick question: the manual tells me to use the landscape setting in basic zone to take landscape pictures. What exactly is the benefit of doing this? I took 2 pictures, one using the normal mode, and the other using the landscape mode, and the one using the normal setting looked much better. The one taken using landscape mode was too dark. What gives?

[nat869]

ASA? Is somebody showing their true age here?

Hey, I am 34 and tend to use ASA and ISO depending on who I am talking to. :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Persian-Rice]

ASA = ISO...........it's something that was used more commonly back in the day.

I would also suggest using a polarizing filter before the ND filter. The polarizer will make things darker by a stop or two and will also give you the ability to remove reflections from the water. If it's still too fast, stack an ND on it. If you are shooting with the a bright sky visible, you might need a graduated ND.

Get used to using M, TV & AV, it gives you the most control. I don't even think anybody around here uses those auto settings.

Also, what are you metering? You might want to spot/partial meter the green foliage around the water.

Cheers

[Grifter730]

Get used to using M, TV & AV, it gives you the most control. I don't even think anybody around here uses those auto settings.

I'm trying I'm trying! The problem with using those settings is that for some reason, it's really hard for me to tell whether or not an image is really in focus. Do you guys just use those settings (M, TV, and AV) with autofocus most of the time, or do you manually focus things by yourself?

I was playing around with the AV settings earlier, and I was having a problem blurring out the background. They were blurred, but just not as much as I was wanting to blur them out.

As far as using these settings go, I'm curious, how do you guys figure out when you have the right amount of lighting? I keep going back and forth between manual and auto, and I can't seem to tell when I need to use a flash and when I don't need to use it. I suppose experience will help. Anyway, just rambling now, thanks for everything.

[Persian-Rice]

Get used to using M, TV & AV, it gives you the most control. I don't even think anybody around here uses those auto settings.

I'm trying I'm trying! The problem with using those settings is that for some reason, it's really hard for me to tell whether or not an image is really in focus. Do you guys just use those settings (M, TV, and AV) with autofocus most of the time, or do you manually focus things by yourself?

I was playing around with the AV settings earlier, and I was having a problem blurring out the background. They were blurred, but just not as much as I was wanting to blur them out.

As far as using these settings go, I'm curious, how do you guys figure out when you have the right amount of lighting? I keep going back and forth between manual and auto, and I can't seem to tell when I need to use a flash and when I don't need to use it. I suppose experience will help. Anyway, just rambling now, thanks for everything.

Use the meter.............you know

-2.1.\/.1.2+
^

A properly exposed image will have the indicator right in the middle. You might also want to have the custom function set up so you can focus with the *. The metering is done with half depressed shutter button while focus is controlled by the thumb. Most guys use AV, I go between AV and M depending on the situation.

M - you set all exposure variables, thus you need to make sure to check you meter reading

AV - you set aperture and ISO, the camera automatically sets the shutter speed for proper exposure.

TV - you set the shutter speed and ISO and camera automatically sets aperture for proper exposure.

For landscape use M, for most of the other times try to use AV.

[Grifter730]

Ah, well, most of the testings I've been able to do have been indoors, and whenever I'm in the AV mode, the shutterspeed is so slow. Do you guys generally find it that you have to use a tripod when shooting indoor due to the slow shutterspeed? Most of my pictures are blurry because of it.

I also notice that in the AV mode, the shutterspeed becomes slower or faster in correlation to the apeture setting. I'm still not really sure why this is, I really need to understand this. Basically what I'm doing is pressing the button halfway, then I play around with the main dial before finally clicking it.

[kfong]

ASA? Is somebody showing their true age here? :lol: :wink:
Awww.. How come I can't set my DSLR to display DIN 21?

Ken

[wolf]

Ah, well, most of the testings I've been able to do have been indoors, and whenever I'm in the AV mode, the shutterspeed is so slow. Do you guys generally find it that you have to use a tripod when shooting indoor due to the slow shutterspeed? Most of my pictures are blurry because of it.

I also notice that in the AV mode, the shutterspeed becomes slower or faster in correlation to the apeture setting. I'm still not really sure why this is, I really need to understand this. Basically what I'm doing is pressing the button halfway, then I play around with the main dial before finally clicking it.

Here (http://www.shortcourses.com/using/) is a good read that should help you out with some of the things you don't understand.

Hope this helps.

[Grifter730]

Here (http://www.shortcourses.com/using/) is a good read that should help you out with some of the things you don't understand.

Hope this helps.

Ironically, that's the book I'm reading, and I seem to be confused over the differentiations of aperture, shutterspeed, etc. Since I'm going off-topic from the EOS talk, I posted a more general question in the photography forum so that I'm not posting in the wrong place. I posted a more detailed question there, and if you have anything to add, I'd be glad to hear what you have to say. Here's the link to the thread:

More questions link (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=49028)

[Steven M. Anthony]

I've found that at ISO 100, on a bright day, a shutter speed of 1/30 or 1/15 works great for waterfalls--adjust f-stop to proper exposure. Of course, the contex impacts the exposure--is the waterfall in a dark canyon, etc...

[donP]

Hi Grifter730, you need a ND filter 2or 3 stop, I prefer a 3 stop, and a Polorizer filter for 2 stops... this gives you 2, 3, 5 stop range. Here in Arizona were the sun is very bright it takes 5 stops to get the speed down to 1/4-1/5 etc... I use a 300D with the 17-40L and that work fine. Use AV and set it on F16 prefered, or F22 (top end is not as sharp as when you stop it down a little)... If you have to long of exposure all you will have is milky water but in the range above it will be much better....avoid the 4 sec. exposures.
of course it depends on how fast the water is moving also.. a fast running stream will take less time
good Luck
DonP

[Jon]

ASA? Is somebody showing their true age here? :lol: :wink:
Awww.. How come I can't set my DSLR to display DIN 21?

Ken

Didn't you get the hack for that? Only catch is you have to be set to use German menus (makes sense, Deutsche Industrie Normen/Das Ist Normall).

;{)#

[kfong]

ASA? Is somebody showing their true age here? :lol: :wink:
Awww.. How come I can't set my DSLR to display DIN 21?

Ken

Didn't you get the hack for that? Only catch is you have to be set to use German menus (makes sense, Deutsche Industrie Normen/Das Ist Normall).

;{)#

Does this mean I'll have to use B (Blendenautomatik), Z (Zeitenautomatik) instead of Tv, Av, or was it the other way around? :lol:

Ken

[JCK]

I've found that at ISO 100, on a bright day, a shutter speed of 1/30 or 1/15 works great for waterfalls--adjust f-stop to proper exposure. Of course, the contex impacts the exposure--is the waterfall in a dark canyon, etc...

This is the perfect answer to your question... 1 second is not necessary, let alone 4 sec., but I'm not saying you shouldn't try it.

[ron chappel]

Hi Grifter

The camera will allways meter so that the average brightness off the scene is middle grey (unless you force it to under/over expose in manual mode)

So-
In a dark area the camera will try to use slow shutter speeds and lage apertures (larger apertures are the SMALLER numbers)

In bright areas the camera will try to use fast shutter speeds and small apertures

Now here's the magic of photography-ALL THE MAIN SETTINGS ARE INTERCHANGABLE !! :D :D

i.e making the aperture one step smaller in Av mode will force the shutter to go one step slower to compensate

or
making the shutter go slower in Tv mode will force the aperture to open up one step

or
changing the iso one step will force either the shutter or aperture to change one step (depends which mode you're in as to which is forced to change)

The neutral density or polarizing filters mentioned above are very usefull when the scene is just too bright and all the settings on the camera are allready maxed out
The opposite would be using a flash where the scene is just too dark and the camera settings are too low
(and that is indeed the problem you are having with blur when taking pics inside.The shutter speed is too slow but the other settings are allready maxed out - presume they are,you better check )

So why on earth are all the settings measured in stops?? (to use the proper term)Because of the *HUGE* brightness ranges encountered in photography.

One stop is either double or half
i.e one stop more is double,one stop less is half

shutter speeds and ISO settings are easy to understand -they are written in numbers that are double or half the one next to it (yes there are fractions but let's not talk about them just yet-they are not too important anyway)

ND and POL filters are also listed by their light blocking capability in stops
i.e one stop or 2 stops etc

Apertures are much more confusing at first!! There is a very good reason they have tose numbers but that's another totally different story
The only way to do it is to remember the series of numbers to know what is one stop less or one stop more

To start you off,here are the main ones you'll ever need to know about (they DO go higher and lower but that's another story also)

f1.4 f2 f2.8 f4 f5.6 f8 f11 f16 f22 f32

Aperture also come in fractions but that is something to avoid thinking about for the moment,
**The only thing you should know for now is that you camera will give adjustments of both aperture and shutter in one-third steps **

so all those numbers the camera is giving you might be confusing at first!








Most scenes are less than five stops wide

[JasonMX]

What does a "stop" mean?

[JasonMX]

Check this out:

http://www.photoworkshop.com/canon/lessons/index.html

I found it super helpfull and it's specifically directed at the Rebel with pictures