General recommended settings

I know there are all kinds of variables and this obviously wouldn't cover all situations but does anyone know of a chart or list of recommended settings (ISO, aperture, shutter speed) for different situations such as, for example, shooting the moon, star shots (milky way especially), flying birds, aircraft (to get that "proper" prop blur), night landscapes with minimal light (like moonlight), and so on. I know some of this stuff can be handled with auto settings (and some really can't) but I want to see if I can do better then what auto setting will give me. A good example was the recent moon eclipse which I really didn't get any even half way decent shots out of and later learned that I was probably using too long of an exposure. Anyway, what I'm looking for is some general starting point for exposures in different situations so that I'm not completely out of the ballpark and into the neighborhood surrounding the stadium. I figure if there's a general recommendation for some of these situations then I can adjust from there but at least I'd be somewhere close.

Thanks in advance!

fish dog wrote in post #17013809
I know there are all kinds of variables and this obviously wouldn't cover all situations but does anyone know of a chart or list of recommended settings (ISO, aperture, shutter speed) for different situations such as, for example, shooting the moon

You have to remember that shooting the moon is not a "night" shot, the moon is in sunlight so needs a fairly typical daytime exposure. If you shoot around f/8, 1/400th second, ISO 200 you should be in the ballpark. The shutter speed is important, even on a tripod, as the moon is moving across the sky quicker than you think.

flying birds

A fast shutter speed is needed for flying birds, ideally 1/1000th plus although you can get away with dropping below 1/500th sometimes if the bird is flying straight and level, but expect blurred wings. A bit of DOF is good too, to minimise slight focusing errors, so you might want to stop down a bit too, then raise ISO to suit.

, aircraft (to get that "proper" prop blur),

1/160th second will get reasonable prop blur on most aircraft, but slower is better if you can keep the camera steady enough whilst panning. Helicopters need 1/80th or slower as the rotors are moving slower. Even at 1/80th there isn't a lot of blur. ISO and aperture as required.

night landscapes with minimal light (like moonlight)

Hard to give a good rule with this, as a lot depends on how you want the image to look. I would take a meter reading and calculate an exposure from that with suitable shutter speed (quite possibly bulb) and aperture / ISO. Remember that if you give the full exposure recommended by the meter, the shot will be as bright as day, but with a night sky and stars. reduce exposure if you want it to look a bit darker.

I know some of this stuff can be handled with auto settings (and some really can't) but I want to see if I can do better then what auto setting will give me. A good example was the recent moon eclipse which I really didn't get any even half way decent shots out of and later learned that I was probably using too long of an exposure. Anyway, what I'm looking for is some general starting point for exposures in different situations so that I'm not completely out of the ballpark and into the neighborhood surrounding the stadium. I figure if there's a general recommendation for some of these situations then I can adjust from there but at least I'd be somewhere close.

Thanks in advance!

I have tried to give some ballpark settings to help out but, as with everything in this hobby, you may need to apply a fudge factor for how you want the result to look, your ability at handholding with slow shutter speeds etc.

I would take things a step at a time!

If you are really drawn to one "thing", then concentrate on it to "get it down". Each of these areas you mention have groups of people who are focusing on capturing good images, check out those groups, not all at once, but one at a time!

Thanks for the starting points sandpiper! Appreciate it!

Tony, I'm drawn to some things more then others but if the opportunity comes up for something I'd hate to completely blow it because it wasn't a "favorite". Which is why a ballpark starting point is nice to have for things like I have mentioned, plus more that I probably haven't even though about yet.

BTW -if anyone wants to suggest starting point settings for whatever subject / situation they might want to share I'm not limited to just the above subjects. I'd rather have the info and not need it then need it and not have it and blow a unique opportunity big time. I'm creating a "cheat sheet" with some of the basic instructions for my camera plus basic settings for different situations that I'm going to laminate and keep in my camera bag.

Remember that for jet aircraft you want that shutter as fast as possible. Also as well as the suggestion for stopping down a bit for birds for better DoF I would also do the same for aircraft. I would suggest that f/8 to f/11 would be ideal, and with the fact that you are likely using a lens with a max aperture of f/5.6 or maybe even f/6.3 (if it's a non Canon lens) that is only one to two stops down from max anyway.One other thing that you may need to consider for some of the prop driven aircraft, particularly the types used for modern competitive aerobatics so types like the Sbach 300 or Extra 300 is that they can achieve roll rates of 540 degrees/second. Thats 90 rpm! If you are running shutter speeds down around 1/100 then you will get significant blurring of the wings/airframe. One other thing to consider is that you will need a really long lens to do both birds and aircraft. Here's an example:

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/eaXK​D5

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/ncMQ​uB

If you want to master something (like law, medicine, sport, photography) you have to dedicate years to it.

I've been doing it since 08 and I'm very much still a beginner.

That said, if I'm holding very still or using a tripod, I focus more on aperture. The larger the number, the more stuff is in focus (that's an easy way to think about it). Using AV I can choose my aperture and let the camera do the rest.

If I'm moving a bit or shooting things moving a bit I concentrate on shutter speed (TV) and make my shutter speeds really high, letting the camera choose aperture and such.

I usually shoot auto ISO (which is pretty easy to deal with on a full frame camera. Up to 6400 ISO is about what I was used to with 1600 on my crops).

Read Understanding Exposure (the book). It's a winner.