Settings Recommendation

[Premgenius]

My group are doing a small charity play lasting only a few minutes. My low light photography sucks (still learning). I've attached a shot below:

1/30 at f2.8 @ ISO800 on Shutter Priority. What settings would you recommend to prevent the blurring? Thank you.

[DDCSD]

ISO 1600 and a fast prime (f/1.4). That or more light.

[tkbslc]

You need higher shutter speeds. Since you used 1/30 at ISO 800, you could have been using 1/60 at ISO 1600. That still might be pushing it. I'd probably want 1/250 to prevent blur.

Can you just bounce your flash? It seems like you are fairly close. If you can bounce your flash, try f4, ISO 400 and 1/80 in M mode.

[René Damkot]

ISO 3200, 1/250s, f/2 or ISO 1600, 1/250s, f/1.4 gives the same exposure...

[tfd888]

ISO 1600-3200, 2.8, shutter speed of 1/80 in Manual shooting RAW.

If you shoot in AV, I usually have -1 EC dialed in.

[Nouks]

It's a 450D guys. No ISO 3200.

I'd say ISO 1600 and a fast prime. No actual *need* for 1/250 but 1/100 or shorter would be nice.



If you shoot in AV, I usually have -1 EC dialed in.

Worst advice in this thread this far. EC in AV depends on a lot of things including for instance metering mode and the lighting. For instance, with tons of backlighting and Evaluative metering you definitely shouldn't underexpose...

[SOK]

This probably isn't the answer you're looking for, but if you're asking for specific settings, you're probably missing the point.

A great insight from Dan Heller's site (http://www.danheller.com/techfaq.html);

I often get questions about how I took one picture or another. Perhaps the most common is this one:
"I'm a beginner, and it would really help me learn if you could tell me what camera settings you had when you took that picture." This is, perhaps, the worst possible question a student can ask, and conversely, it's the most irresponsible one a teacher can answer. This dispels the old saying that "there is no such thing as a stupid question." There definitely is such a thing, but it's not because the student should know the answer to it; it's because the student is looking for the quick solution to an otherwise trickier problem. Don't look for the easy way out: learn the craft. And in so doing, you'll end up taking far better pictures over different situations.


High ISO and wide apertures are obvious, but we can't possibly know how steady you are when it comes to shutter speed, if the play involves fast paced action that will foil the IS on your 17-55, or what the lighting will be like.


IMHO you'd be better off practicing the fundamentals so that you can judge what the best settings will be for any situation.

[Premgenius]

Thanks for all the advice so I went with ISO1600 @ f2.8 and 1/250 in this case was perfect I went higher and lower to test.

[tfd888]

It's a 450D guys. No ISO 3200.

I'd say ISO 1600 and a fast prime. No actual *need* for 1/250 but 1/100 or shorter would be nice.




Worst advice in this thread this far. EC in AV depends on a lot of things including for instance metering mode and the lighting. For instance, with tons of backlighting and Evaluative metering you definitely shouldn't underexpose...

I should have explained this further :oops:.

A lot of times I am shooting subjects that are highlighted with a spot light and everything around them is dark. If you are shooting that in AV mode using center weighted average metering, a lot of times the camera will overexpose the subject (thus the -1 or more EC).

For instance, with tons of backlighting and Evaluative metering you definitely shouldn't underexpose...Agreed. When I am shooting from the wings this happens a lot because you get the side lights glaring in your face from the opposite side of the stage so I am typically in manual, not AV or any of the other auto modes ;).