SD870is settings for a bar/club

[DrockNJ]

i just bought the canon sd870is and im pretty new to photography...i need some help with my settings for a night out on the town with a bunch of friends. what would be good for a bar/club ...some of the places are going to be dim lit and some are going to pretty bright...thanks in advance

[Jon]

You don't have an awful lot of settings on that. Camera M, high ISO, force flash and be within 4-11 ft. of whoever you're trying to photograph.

[mlav]

You have one of the least adjustable cameras for that purpose.

Use Portrait mode to keep the aperture open.

Use high ISO and slow-syc flash and keep an eye on the shutterspeed, which it should display on the LCD when it is under 1/60s or so. If it displays 1/15s or less, you better be holding it very still.


I have an SD550 and after 10k or so shots, I know it has lots of shortcomings.

[BBoi]

Can I be cheeky ?

Same question .... but Canon A640 ... mainly because i've been asked to cover a prizegiving ceremony and my indoor results, even in a moderately lit pub-room have been very poor.

[Jon]

You? Asking the question? The mountain just came to Mohammed! :{)#

Well, unfortunately "moderately-lit" isn't good news. Get in fairly close, rely on flash, and lose the background. Get in a couple of sessions before the event trying out the exposure and flash settings if you can, but let the flash do the work. Maybe it's time to pick up a slave flash unit . . . After all, if it's an awards ceremony, it's the awards, not the setting, that matter.

[BBoi]

LMAO - despite the good stuff I have managed with help and advice here, there's still a few area's I consider 'niggley' and I won't be happy till i've got it licked :D - anyway, you say..

You? Asking the question? The mountain just came to Mohammed! :{)#

.. like i'm actually good at this stuff :D hur hur hur ...

Thanks for the advice though Jon ... going DSLR later in the year too, considering the 400D - seems a pretty good mid-range jobber till I can save for a 1D. Just waiting for Jason Cole's DVD to arrive now, and I can take the next step into the world of boobie :) *cough* - I mean, err, hiring professional models... In the meantime, will see if I can get a small slave flash to help with the prizegiving doobrie. I assume ISO200, 1/100 and ƒ3.2 ? - will the curtain settings make a difference in this environemt ya recon ?

Will try n' get access mid afternoon and whip some test shots off.

[JerryV]

The 870 has a pretty wimpy flash. I would invest in a Canon HF-DC1 slave flash unit (for under $100) and try to use bounce lighting (unless the ceilings are colored).