What lens for pictures in a cave

[rebel61021]

was wondering if anybody has taken pictures at Cave in the mounds WI. Was wondering what lens would be the best for shooting inside cause I don't want to use the Flash. Any help would be great.

Thanks,

[Tom W]

Without naming any specific lens, I would say wide-angle, and a fast aperture. You might consider a tripod as well. As far as I know, caves aren't very well lit.

[Persian-Rice]

Yes,
You need a tripod, fast & wide lens, lock-up and a shutter cable.

[rebel61021]

Will this one be fast enough and wide enough Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II or should I look into something faster? and I will have a remote shutter release and a tri-pod.

[Marvinspu36]

It will depend a lot on what type of lighting is in the cave. You may have to push the ISO to get the exposure you need. Use the historgram to check your exposure.

Maybe some of the more experienced photographers can comment a little on this. I haven't tried it yet, but if you have to push the ISO to 1600 or 3200, I hear Neat Image does a nice job of removing noise from the image.

Can't really say if the lens is fast enough. If these shots are important enough, you might consider renting a faster lens.

[FlipsidE]

I would *think* that f/1.8 would be fast enough. 1.anything is really fast. But, the 50mm lens is not exactly wide angle when on a 1.6 body. That would put you at about 80mm which, if I'm not mistaken, is reaching into telephoto (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Problem is that I'm not having any luck finding any other lenses that are super wide angle, fast, and still reasonably inexpensive.

FlipsidE

[pierrot]

As far as there is no earthquake going on, and since you have a tripod and a remote, you don't need a fast lens.
But - depending on the cave dimensions - maybe 50mm is much too long (don't forget it's equal to a 80mm because of IT ;) ) and you'll need a real wide-angle.

[merrrrjig]

ya I would say the 50mm w/ tripod

[Persian-Rice]

50mm is probably too long, go wider.
If you are using a support system, speed is not that big of a factor, besides, I would assume you want to use a small aperture so you can get good depth. So actually, unless you are doing it handheld, speed is not a factor.

[Jim_T]

If it's a large cave, you might want a lens that has a focal length of around 15 to 32mm... (approximately). With longer focal lengths, you'll probably find you can't step back far enough to get all of what you want to shoot in the viewfinder.. (Caves tend to have walls that will confine you :) )

I see you're using a Rebel which means you can grab a 18-55mm kit lens. That will give you 18mm for cheap..

As others have mentioned, with a tripod you don't really have to worry about having a wide aperture. You can make that up with longer exposures and you'll probably want a wide DOF anyway to keep large areas all in focus.

[DocFrankenstein]

:confused:

Fast lens? What for?

Take something like 18-55... or 17-40 L and a tripod...

I wouldn't care personally, it may be f/8 for all I care. :confused:

Might want to get some colored gels and those "large battery" construction flashlights, to pump come creative lighting into it.

[Tom W]

I doubt if the tour guide is going to hold things up while someone takes a time exposure.

[robertwgross]

Geez, I started shooting caves more than 40 years ago. I must have been a mere infant.

First of all, you have to define "cave".

There are wild caves (no guides, no electric lights), and then there are tourist caves (guides and electric lights). Wild caves involve mud and crawling, and that can be very harsh on a good camera. Back in the old days, I had to pack my old Argus C3 into an army-issue 50 calibre ammo can that was foam lined and water sealed. Tourist caves, however, tend to have walkways. Electric cave lighting falls into two categories. In some caves, they use ordinary tungsten lights and depend on the natural cave colors to show. In other caves, they use ordinary tungsten lights with horrendous color filters over them, so the cave formations show up in harsh weird colors.

So, what are you trying to do?

If you are trying to capture tourist brochure photos, then the colored lights will need to stay in. The purist will hate that, but the photo will need to show that. Telephoto lenses are almost worthless in a cave. Wide works. Virtually any flash shot you use will wipe out the color of the colored lights, so long-duration shutter without flash would be the way to go.

---Bob Gross---

[rebel61021]

Thanks bob, this a cave with a tour guide and they say the tour is only about 1 hour long. I am hoping to get some good shots. I have never been on a cave tour so I don't know what to expect or what kinda lighting will be available. We are also going to Darlington WI and renting a couple Quad runners and riding the trails should be able to get some pretty landscape. And also going to the Zoo in Madison WI. should be a fun week for the girlfriend and I.

[KenE]

We have a number of wild caves, made up from a variety of sizes of lava tubes. There are quite a few lesser visited ice caves that involve flat, sandy floors (over ice) and usually stooping/crawling, like Bob mentions. All freely accessed if you're good with a map, some way off the beaten track.

Here's a shot I took with the G1 at a skylight and using the timer for shutter release (not that it mattered much heh). After experimenting with a flash, I decided to focus on caves with skylights for lighting. I'll be back with the new gear to experiment further.

http://130.94.161.162/Images/OBCDR%20Cascades/skylight%20cave.jpg

Not that this matches what rebel is doing, but shooting in caves is another fun challenge. Lava dust, on the other hand, is not so fun.

[DocFrankenstein]

Thoughts of cave photography gives me shudders...

I grew up in eastern europe, and there was a huge network of old catacombs under the city. During WW2 they were used by russian partisans to hide out from the occupation. Exploring them has left a deep impact on the way I think about mountains and caves.