Street shooting @ nite

ndroo · 27th January 2004

Saw some wonderful pics posted on CNY Chinatown crowd etc. Just wanna know, if you guys took them handheld? Please give some advise on what is the recommended (preferred) settings when shooting at night without a tripod. Especially those like pictures of stalls and the stuff they sell etc. Will using night mode, hand held, cause much blur (yeah I don't have steady hands)? Do you use flash? Please help.

coke21 · 27th January 2004

Originally Posted by renegade

Saw some wonderful pics posted on CNY Chinatown crowd etc. Just wanna know, if you guys took them handheld? Please give some advise on what is the recommended (preferred) settings when shooting at night without a tripod. Especially those like pictures of stalls and the stuff they sell etc. Will using night mode, hand held, cause much blur (yeah I don't have steady hands)? Do you use flash? Please help.

Shoot wide open if you are not using a flash. Of cos if you can afford one, go get a lens with vibration reduction. If not, then just practice your camera holding technique. If you have a flash, that would be a plus esp if you are taking the stalls up close.

ndroo · 27th January 2004

Originally Posted by coke21

Shoot wide open if you are not using a flash. Of cos if you can afford one, go get a lens with vibration reduction. If not, then just practice your camera holding technique. If you have a flash, that would be a plus esp if you are taking the stalls up close.

Thanks coke for the tips. Btw, I am using a C5050, therefore there's no way I can get a lens with vibration reduction

... Probably need some practice. Yeah I'll try using flash. Sorry but err ... when u mean 'shoot wide open', that means shooting w/o zoom right?

Again, thanks ... any other tips appreciated.

Cheers

coke21 · 27th January 2004

Originally Posted by renegade

Thanks coke for the tips. Btw, I am using a C5050, therefore there's no way I can get a lens with vibration reduction ... Probably need some practice. Yeah I'll try using flash. Sorry but err ... when u mean 'shoot wide open', that means shooting w/o zoom right?

Again, thanks ... any other tips appreciated.

Cheers

Wide open means to use your largest aperature. That will allow the most amount of light in.

ndroo · 27th January 2004

Originally Posted by coke21

Wide open means to use your largest aperature. That will allow the most amount of light in.

Ok thanks. That means I'll probably not zoom, so I can use f1.8.

Cheers

coke21 · 27th January 2004

Originally Posted by renegade

Ok thanks. That means I'll probably not zoom, so I can use f1.8.

Cheers

Yup. f1.8 would be great, but a word of caution, the DOF will be very shallow so you should focus on your subject and objects that are not in the same plane as your subject would probably be out of focus.

ndroo · 27th January 2004

Originally Posted by coke21

Yup. f1.8 would be great, but a word of caution, the DOF will be very shallow so you should focus on your subject and objects that are not in the same plane as your subject would probably be out of focus.

Wow, I didn't know that! Thanks again coke

showtime · 27th January 2004

Originally Posted by coke21

Yup. f1.8 would be great, but a word of caution, the DOF will be very shallow so you should focus on your subject and objects that are not in the same plane as your subject would probably be out of focus.

actually, due to the smaller ccd on digicams, the dof is not as bad as full frame slrs. so no need to worry so much...

the dof ceated by a f2.8 lens on an digicam is equivalent to f8 on a full frame slr. thats how they compare so since yours is 1.8, do the math...

showtime · 27th January 2004

also for shooting at night like in china town, shoot at high iso. i set at 800 and shooting at china town handheld without all the image stabiliser lenses or vibration reductions was not a problem... just hold steady, and if there is a wall, railing, or pilar etc, use it to support your camera. actually the light in china town was rather bright. so dont be afraid and think that you cant do it... if those people can do it, you can do it too...

keep on shooting.

clive · 27th January 2004

Originally Posted by coke21

Yup. f1.8 would be great, but a word of caution, the DOF will be very shallow so you should focus on your subject and objects that are not in the same plane as your subject would probably be out of focus.

the effect wont be that much significant @ night coz most of us cant even discern the objects in the scene properly @nite, let alone judge if its in acceptable focus

recommended setting:

1. Evening when street lamp still not on: ISO 400, aperture priority mode, f5.6 or f4, use the recommended shutter speed. if u have to cheat on the shutter speed, use exposure compensation and try not to go no more than -1.5. i use this method coz i prefer slightly underexposed pics to more realistically depict the actual "darkness" of the scenery that your eye actually sees

2. after night has properly settled down: ISO 800, aperture priority mode, f4 < selected aperture < f2, use the recommended shutter speed. to cheat on shutetr speed, go no more than -1 stop on exposure compensation

ndroo · 27th January 2004

Originally Posted by clive

the effect wont be that much significant @ night coz most of us cant even discern the objects in the scene properly @nite, let alone judge if its in acceptable focus recommended setting:

1. Evening when street lamp still not on: ISO 400, aperture priority mode, f5.6 or f4, use the recommended shutter speed. if u have to cheat on the shutter speed, use exposure compensation and try not to go no more than -1.5. i use this method coz i prefer slightly underexposed pics to more realistically depict the actual "darkness" of the scenery that your eye actually sees

2. after night has properly settled down: ISO 800, aperture priority mode, f4 < selected aperture < f2, use the recommended shutter speed. to cheat on shutetr speed, go no more than -1 stop on exposure compensation

clive, u mention in item 1 that 'Evening when street lamp still not on' ... and 'after night has properly settled down' ... does the latter mean when the street lamps are on? sorry but this part ... i am confused

thanks for a wonderful info guys. great help. btw i can only try ISO400

my C5050 doesn't go 800

btw, flash ... do i need flash?

zaren · 27th January 2004

Originally Posted by renegade

clive, u mention in item 1 that 'Evening when street lamp still not on' ... and 'after night has properly settled down' ... does the latter mean when the streep lamps are on? sorry but this part ... i am confused

thanks for a wonderful info guys. great help. btw i can only try ISO400 my C5050 doesn't go 800

btw, flash ... do i need flash?

'evening when street lamp not on' means ' still quite bright, can use iso 400'
'after night has properly settled down' means 'quite dark liao, use 800 iso'. no iso800 never mind... shoot at f1.8 lor.

dun use flash.... then u can shoot more inconspicuously!

ndroo · 27th January 2004

Originally Posted by zaren

'evening when street lamp not on' means ' still quite bright, can use iso 400'
'after night has properly settled down' means 'quite dark liao, use 800 iso'. no iso800 never mind... shoot at f1.8 lor.

dun use flash.... then u can shoot more inconspicuously!

thanks man

clive · 27th January 2004

thnx zaren 4 verifying, u can read my mind

just to emphasise: the apertures i mentioned refer to slr lenses

the flash part..dont dismiss it totally. if u feel like using flash then use it as fill-in flash mode (this is familiar on slr but i dunno the equivalent setting on yur digicam..). if fill-in flash is used, then the "shutter-speed cheating" part should then be adjusted: go no more than -0.5 stop. otherwise the flash, even if its only "fill-in", will give u those "deer-in-headlights with black black background" pictures i.e. a mismatch between fill-in flash exposure for foreground subject and ambient exposure for background

these suggested values are just guides. your eyes may not see thigns as same as mine :-)

ndroo · 27th January 2004

Originally Posted by clive

thnx zaren 4 verifying, u can read my mind

just to emphasise: the apertures i mentioned refer to slr lenses

the flash part..dont dismiss it totally. if u feel like using flash then use it as fill-in flash mode (this is familiar on slr but i dunno the equivalent setting on yur digicam..). if fill-in flash is used, then the "shutter-speed cheating" part should then be adjusted: go no more than -0.5 stop. otherwise the flash, even if its only "fill-in", will give u those "deer-in-headlights with black black background" pictures i.e. a mismatch between fill-in flash exposure for foreground subject and ambient exposure for background

these suggested values are just guides. your eyes may not see thigns as same as mine :-)

thanks clive, u've been a great help. i'll try out these stuff u mentioned.

sequitur · 28th January 2004

Originally Posted by zaren

'evening when street lamp not on' means ' still quite bright, can use iso 400'
'after night has properly settled down' means 'quite dark liao, use 800 iso'. no iso800 never mind... shoot at f1.8 lor.

dun use flash.... then u can shoot more inconspicuously!

not necessarily true for all equipment.

get used to your equipment and you'll know what iso and what shutter speed to use in what lighting condition...

like i'm used to my f/4 already so i more or less know what to do when i reach a different place.

27th January 2004	#1
ndroo Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: www.fuzzyeyeballs.com Posts: 6,718	Street shooting @ nite Saw some wonderful pics posted on CNY Chinatown crowd etc. Just wanna know, if you guys took them handheld? Please give some advise on what is the recommended (preferred) settings when shooting at night without a tripod. Especially those like pictures of stalls and the stuff they sell etc. Will using night mode, hand held, cause much blur (yeah I don't have steady hands)? Do you use flash? Please help.

27th January 2004	#9
showtime Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Singapore Posts: 996	also for shooting at night like in china town, shoot at high iso. i set at 800 and shooting at china town handheld without all the image stabiliser lenses or vibration reductions was not a problem... just hold steady, and if there is a wall, railing, or pilar etc, use it to support your camera. actually the light in china town was rather bright. so dont be afraid and think that you cant do it... if those people can do it, you can do it too... keep on shooting.

27th January 2004	#14
clive Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 2,573	thnx zaren 4 verifying, u can read my mind just to emphasise: the apertures i mentioned refer to slr lenses the flash part..dont dismiss it totally. if u feel like using flash then use it as fill-in flash mode (this is familiar on slr but i dunno the equivalent setting on yur digicam..). if fill-in flash is used, then the "shutter-speed cheating" part should then be adjusted: go no more than -0.5 stop. otherwise the flash, even if its only "fill-in", will give u those "deer-in-headlights with black black background" pictures i.e. a mismatch between fill-in flash exposure for foreground subject and ambient exposure for background these suggested values are just guides. your eyes may not see thigns as same as mine :-)