Low light manual settings - A80

[Reflection]

As I'm beginning to understand, experiment and make use of the settings of my camera, I''ve begun to notice something. Mostly in lowlight, if I try to set up the camera using manual and set the aperture to 2.8, it won't always go down that low. Often it doesn't go lower than 4.0. Does this have something to do with the shutter speed being too fast or slow?

If I'm using the camera for concert photos, often it will be low light, but no flash is allowed. By opening the aperture, I can let in more light, but I need a faster shutter speed to catch the action without too much blur.

Thanks for an information or tips you have.

[Jon]

The A80 only has f/2.8 available at its widest zoom setting. At maximum telephoto it's an f/4.9.

[Monarque1972]

For that kind of use (concert in low light conditions), I'd say you've got the wrong camera. Because as you said, if you set your shutter on low speed (to compensate for the weak lighting), everything will be blurred (even if you use a tripod becauce everybody is constantly moving at a concert).

You could set your camera on ISO 400, but the noise in your pictures will make them almost unusable. And even at ISO 400, I'm not sure your A80 would be light sensitive anough for you to use a fast shutter speed.

So basically, you need a camera with very high ISO settings (light sensitivity) in order to use fast shutter speeds (to avoid blurry pictures) .

Unless there's another method I'm not aware of....

regards!

[Reflection]

Thanks for the advice Monarque, but I can't afford a new camera the moment, although I'm trying to save for one.

Jon, what do you mean widest zoom setting?

[Sam]

I am not famliar with your camera, but what Jon is talking about is common to any P&S I have used.

Zoom your camera all the way out so that you have the widest view. That is where you will be able to open it all the way up.

Hope this helped you.

[Reflection]

Oh, I understand, so that means that I can only reach certain aperture points at different zooms? Can someone explain why that is please?

[Jon]

OK - the aperture, or f/ stop is really a ratio between the focal length of the lens and the physical diameter of the "entry pupil", the circular opening allowing light through the lens. As you zoom the lens, the focal length changes, but the entry pupil doesn't, so that ratio changes from f/2.8 at 7.8 mm (wide angle) to f/4.9 at 23.4 mm (telephoto). It's possible to design zoom lenses so that the focal length / entry pupil ratio remains constant throughout the lens' zoom range, but the design is more complicated and the lenses that do this tend to be bigger and heavier than zooms with a variable maximum aperture. So, Canon could have made an A80 with a constant f/2.8 aperture, but it'd be much bigger and more expensive, so you wouldn't buy it.

[Reflection]

Thanks, that helped me a lot, I think I'm beginning to understand more now :)

[MilesW]

I ran into the same problem in Rome trying to get indoor shots using no flash. A lot of the places of interest do not permit flash photography. I also did not have a tripod. Love my A80 but for this type of photogrphy I need a camera with a very fast lens.