Official BeyondUnreal Photography Thread

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J

Jackal

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Nov 13, 2003
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I'm going to a concert at the Fort Worth convention center next wednesday and would like some tips on camera settings for my 40D to shoot with.

I have no clue what settings I should be using because I'm not a pro at all, and I haven't picked up my camera in a few months to take photos.

Obviously I want a high ISO, but what else should I be adjusting to get some good pictures? I have standing room tickets so I'll beable to get some close up shots I think.

Also, I've only got the stock 28-135mm lense that came with it (not a super fancy lense at all)
 
JohnDoe641

JohnDoe641

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That really depends on the speed of your lens, how fast or slow vs how bad the lighting at the show will be will let you know what ISO/f stop/shutter speed you'll need to set at. If it's a zoom, you'll have to vary those settings with the faster speeds and lower ISO setting being at the wider angles since you'll be letting in more light. Usually decent zooms that I've seen in that range are f3.2-3.8 at wide angle and 4.5-5.6 at full zoom. Not really optimal for low light shooting, but if the concert has good lighting, you should be fine.

*Edit BTW If your camera has noise reduction settings and you use a really high ISO, make sure the NR isn't set too high or you'll lose all of your details. I have my NR settings completely off. I'd rather see noise than be unable to recover details that I've lost due to stupid software.
 
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shadow_dragon

shadow_dragon

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JohnDoe641 said:
That really depends on the speed of your lens, how fast or slow vs how bad the lighting at the show will be will let you know what ISO/f stop/shutter speed you'll need to set at. If it's a zoom, you'll have to vary those settings with the faster speeds and lower ISO setting being at the wider angles since you'll be letting in more light. Usually decent zooms that I've seen in that range are f3.2-3.8 at wide angle and 4.5-5.6 at full zoom. Not really optimal for low light shooting, but if the concert has good lighting, you should be fine.

*Edit BTW If your camera has noise reduction settings and you use a really high ISO, make sure the NR isn't set too high or you'll lose all of your details. I have my NR settings completely off. I'd rather see noise than be unable to recover details that I've lost due to stupid software.
Click to expand...

I get confused by high ISO's. generally they just make my pictures a lot more messy I might go a little way up but I nearly always keep it as low as possible?

Am i right in thinking that high ISO's are best used only when you can't get a low enough F/stop aperture? I can see how in a dark setting like a stage could use it inc onjunction with a nice aperture so as to get a shorter shutter speed but still. I hear about people cranking ISo's up a lot and the noise terrifies me.

Is it just that different cameras are much better with high ISO's and mine is a bit lacking?
 
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OO7MIKE

OO7MIKE

Mr. Sexy
May 2, 2000
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The D3s almost has me jumping ship. Its that good. Too bad Nikon lenses are so expensive. The Nikon model refresh rate is pretty long so it takes longer before you see a new model. I've got too much invested in Canon to jump.

I've seen ISO 102400 shots before and they are not usable. Huge loss of dynamic range, color and detail. Just plain ugly. ISO 25600 or below is usable.

Another review here shows the difference between the D3s, 7d, 1dmk3, 1dmk4.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos1dmarkIV/page17.asp

I have to admit that I do love the color and noise level of the d3s more.. but I prefer the sharpness and extra detail of the 1dmk4.

Just so damn expensive. I need a new car first :p
 
Crotale

Crotale

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I really have not used my camera much in months, as I have been too busy. I still need to learn so much about photography and my camera's onboard tools/settings. This morning, though, I had my son's rats out playing on my bed and thought I might snap a few shots of the little critters. These are the best two of the bunch.

The white one is named Geist because she is an albino. Yes, those pink eyes can be quite scary in low light. I went with B&W for Geist, since the sunlight in my room washed out her eye colors and I could not get it right in Photoshop. The grayish-brown girl's name is Pepper, since she rather looks like a blend of colors you see in your typical ground pepper shaker. I made only a few very minor tweaks to Pepper's pic.

Geist
geistsmall.jpg


Pepper
peppersmall.jpg
 
JohnDoe641

JohnDoe641

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shadow_dragon said:
I get confused by high ISO's. generally they just make my pictures a lot more messy I might go a little way up but I nearly always keep it as low as possible?

Am i right in thinking that high ISO's are best used only when you can't get a low enough F/stop aperture? I can see how in a dark setting like a stage could use it inc onjunction with a nice aperture so as to get a shorter shutter speed but still. I hear about people cranking ISo's up a lot and the noise terrifies me.

Is it just that different cameras are much better with high ISO's and mine is a bit lacking?
Click to expand...
It's dependent on what camera you have and what it's internals are. Anything less than a full frame for digital will given you worse high ISO performance than a comparable full frame DSLR.

My D300 takes perfectly fine pictures at ISO 1000, anything after than and I start to get annoyed at the noise that appears but it's still very usable up until ISO 2000, but with prints, the noise becomes less of an issue since printers add their own anomalies and smoothing. Don't be afraid to bump up the ISO a bit, even if there's a bit of noise, most of the time you won't be showing the pics at 100% and reductions will mask a lot of the noise, if there is any.

People that use high ISO even with good light usually do it for super high shutter speeds paired with f stops of f8 or greater. I know a few people who do that and I've started upping my ISO a bit in the sun to get shutter speeds of 1/2000th and above for birds in mid flight. It works great. Don't be afraid to bump up the ISO, even if you do get a bit of noise, most of the time you're not showing people the picture at 100%. A reduction will take care a lot of the finer noise and post processing can take a limited bit of the rest out.
 
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OO7MIKE

OO7MIKE

Mr. Sexy
May 2, 2000
5,022
107
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Nalicity, NC
JohnDoe641 said:
My D300 takes perfectly fine pictures at ISO 1000, anything after than and I start to get annoyed at the noise that appears but it's still very usable up until ISO 2000, but with prints, the noise becomes less of an issue since printers add their own anomalies and smoothing. Don't be afraid to bump up the ISO a bit, even if there's a bit of noise, most of the time you won't be showing the pics at 100% and reductions will mask a lot of the noise, if there is any.
Click to expand...

I've used the D300 in a few of my dance gigs. I feel that it takes great shots up until ISO 1600. After that it gets soft. ISO 3200 is usable but you have to use F4 to match the sharpness of ISO 1600 at F2.8 on the 80-200. This is odd to me because I am a canon user where sharpness doesn't waver. By the time you get to ISO 6400 not even F4 can save you. By then you are negating the benefits of having a high ISO capable camera with a f2.8 lens in low light.

Don't get me wrong. The D300 has excellent noise control. A fine camera indeed.

D300 + 80-200 f/2.8
ISO 4000 1/250 f3.2
March_2009_004.jpg
 
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