Sharp Pictures

Hi there everyone,

Anyone know how to take sharp pics in the night without even using a flash. There was a dance competition some few weeks ago at Suntec and i was trying in vain to take sharp non blury pics but in vain.

I cant use flash as i was far behind in the crowd and the only thing i can do is spot metering, but that does not help either.

I tried increasing the ISO and thus its only creating the blur more and too bright of a pics.

Anyone face this experience where u see a nice performance in the night but could not get a good pic because of the movement and the slow aparture? e.g Chingay.. etc.

I am using 602 Zoom.... I know i can achieve good results with SLR Camera for some particular reason it can work, donno how.

Can someone gives advise on that?

Danny

[Pokka]

Hmm, maybe u can use shutter-priority mode?

i can choose a higher shutter but then it would be dark instead. Not capturing the moment of the sharpness of the movement.

[Zerstorer]

Originally Posted by Danny i can choose a higher shutter but then it would be dark instead. Not capturing the moment of the sharpness of the movement.

Unless you are shooting in manual mode, a higher shutter speed doesn't result in darker images since you are limited to the valid shutter speeds for a proper exposure at the given settings.

In any case, shooting moving performers at night requires either >ISO800, or the use of flash, or a combination of both for good results. This applies to SLRs as well as there is no substitute for shutter speed.

If you have an powerful external flash, you should be able to capture some decent shots coupled with ISO400. At distances of up to 10m or so.

Iso 800 doesnt the pic be grainy? hmm.. a good flash? any recommendation..?

Hey thanks for all your help...

[Jay]

Try and take some shots at ISO800 and look at them via your PC. The pictures should tell you whether its grainy or not. Incidentally different cameras behave differently with the same ISO level.

You may want to borrow a flash extender, the one that being sold in CS, and attached it to your external flash if you are really way back from the stage. An SB25 or equivalent should be enough.

[yowch]

I believe that shooting at higher ISO on a digital cam is the same as under-exposing and using Photoshop to 'correct' the brigthness later. So I shoot at 1/30 (the lowest shutter that my hands can handle), F3.6 or F4.0 (to keep sufficient DOF) and fire-off. Then I post-process in Photoshop. Generally, the loss is quite acceptable, especially with some cleaning using smart blur or Neat Image.

But the ISO400, 800 of the 602 is considerably better than most prosumer cameras.

[Kira]

Originally Posted by Zerstorer Unless you are shooting in manual mode, a higher shutter speed doesn't result in darker images since you are limited to the valid shutter speeds for a proper exposure at the given settings. In any case, shooting moving performers at night requires either >ISO800, or the use of flash, or a combination of both for good results. This applies to SLRs as well as there is no substitute for shutter speed. If you have an powerful external flash, you should be able to capture some decent shots coupled with ISO400. At distances of up to 10m or so.

Agreed.. No matter how hard you try, without a high ISO or a flash, you'll never capture motion in low lighting condition. Even if you increase your shuttle speed to 1/2s, you'll never get a clear shoot of the motion.

General shuttle speed for freezing motion is at least 1/(focus length), well at least that's what I use.....

[Zerstorer]

Originally Posted by Danny Iso 800 doesnt the pic be grainy? hmm.. a good flash? any recommendation..? Hey thanks for all your help...

If you want good looking images fit for print, try sticking to ISO400 as the ISO800/1600 shots will be limited to 1MP resolution.

Here are some samples of ISO400 flash shots taken at full tele(210mm) and inclusive of 1.5X teleconvertor for some:
http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=25495

Generally, a good setting would be to shoot at aperture priority with -1EV and then use an Autoflash set for a correct exposure. This will ensure good balance between flash and ambient light.

Some samples of shots taken at ISO400-1600 without flash in indoor lighting.
http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=31751
All images were processed with Neat Image.

Basically you need 1/focal length for a sharp shot of a stationary object without flash. With flash, you can probably go 2 stops lower.

For a moving object without flash, you may need 1/2xfocal length or even more depending on the speed of the subject.

[thoa_rs]

Originally Posted by Danny Hi there everyone, Anyone know how to take sharp pics in the night without even using a flash. There was a dance competition some few weeks ago at Suntec and i was trying in vain to take sharp non blury pics but in vain. I cant use flash as i was far behind in the crowd and the only thing i can do is spot metering, but that does not help either. I tried increasing the ISO and thus its only creating the blur more and too bright of a pics. Anyone face this experience where u see a nice performance in the night but could not get a good pic because of the movement and the slow aparture? e.g Chingay.. etc. I am using 602 Zoom.... I know i can achieve good results with SLR Camera for some particular reason it can work, donno how. Can someone gives advise on that? Danny

Basically I would avoid anything higher than ISO200 using the 602z. The noise is rather noticeable at ISO400 and may require some serious post processing. What you need is an external flash with adjustable power like the SB24 or 285HV. To capture motion at night (such as dancing), you may want to try a technique called slow-sync flash, where you combine a slower shutter speed (around 1/15) with flash.