I'm New! And I just got my Canon EOS 400D


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nkthen

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Oct 20, 2006
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Yes, I'm new to this forum and I'm happy to buy a Canon EOS 400D as my Christmas gift. :D

Played with it for a day and took some OK pictures.

Now, here's the situation:

Tomorrow my church will be having a concert and I wanted to help out by offering photography for free.

I tried learning as much as I could but I guess my experience may not be good enough.


I have 2 areas to take:
1) Concert in church building
2) People and food in canteen area.
Timing: 6.30pm - 9.00pm

Can I know from the experts, what should I take note of? What setting should I do to the camera (ISO, shutter speed, etc) to get the best pictures?

If there is a quick 'cheatsheet' type of resource on the web, let me know.

After tomorrow's event, I'll sit down and get serious with learning. :D
 

Yes, I'm new to this forum and I'm happy to buy a Canon EOS 400D as my Christmas gift. :D

Played with it for a day and took some OK pictures.

Now, here's the situation:

Tomorrow my church will be having a concert and I wanted to help out by offering photography for free.

I tried learning as much as I could but I guess my experience may not be good enough.


I have 2 areas to take:
1) Concert in church building
2) People and food in canteen area.
Timing: 6.30pm - 9.00pm

Can I know from the experts, what should I take note of? What setting should I do to the camera (ISO, shutter speed, etc) to get the best pictures?

If there is a quick 'cheatsheet' type of resource on the web, let me know.

After tomorrow's event, I'll sit down and get serious with learning. :D
uhuh indoor light... try using ISO800-1600(i assume without flash), widest aperture as possible unless taking group shot or any shot that require more DOF.
 

since indoor, ISO can be set to 800, shutter speed 1/60, aperture think f5.6 generally will do. think white balance can leave it to auto. definitely need flash for the canteen area. I guess u will be using built-in flash.

as for the concert, how near can u go? if too far, flash definitely cannot reach. Try to move as closer as possible.

If you are shooting a lot with built-in flash, need to prepare 1 extra battery. If dun intend to shoot a lot of photos, I think with ISO800, can still last.
 

Borrow an external flash if you can. Otherwise you will tend to lose quite a few pictures thru handshake or be a little disappointed with the outcome of those using the built-in flash.
 

ehhh use a tripod? there should be enough space in the hall right?
 

There should be enough space.

So I'll set to manual mode, and set ISO to 400-800 (I'll test it on the actual day) and shutter at 1/60.


The only thing that I want to try is aperture, I can't seem to get it right.

I want to achieve the effect where the object that I want to take is focused and the rest behind are blurred.

I've tried the Av settings for this camera but it doesn't seem to work well.
 

OK, I'm trying to understand this aperture thingy. Still don't understand.

Higher aperture will make the background as sharp as the object in the foreground is it?
 

OK, I'm trying to understand this aperture thingy. Still don't understand.

Higher aperture will make the background as sharp as the object in the foreground is it?

Higher f-stop. A smaller aperture will make the background as sharp as the foreground, whichever way you put it.

You want less depth of view, use a bigger aperture. :)
 

Got it, goldbird.

What about external flashlight? What purpose does it serve? Save battery? :)
 

external flash, you would be using the flash's own battery power.. anddd you get to adjust settings better then the internal flash.
 

Another Crash Course.. hmmm.

If you really cant pick up all the pieces so fast, use P mode. At least you can change ISO from there.

Ext. flash is more powerful than the built-in flash.

Lastly, dun try to be hero. God knows your heart and He knows you are willing to offer your service to Him.
 

nkthen. its a bit hard to get bokeh with the kit lens unless u get quite close up.. so if you are talking about shooting group ipctures and stuff , its gonna be prety hard.

instead i would suggest just concentrate on getting all ur basics right like exposure etc..

make sure you shoot at sufficient shutter speed. at least equiavlent to focal length. e.g. if u at 50mm, make sure u dont go below 1/50.

for pictures of people in canteen and stuff, make sure you keep shutter speeds high enough, otherwise will get a lot of motion blur.

dont be scared to go to higher ISO like 800 and above if u really need to. this isnt a P&S camera.

more important than the technical stuff though, give thought to your compositions. are you looknig for candid shots? if so, you need to be ready before that moment arises.
 

Another Crash Course.. hmmm.

If you really cant pick up all the pieces so fast, use P mode. At least you can change ISO from there.

Ext. flash is more powerful than the built-in flash.

Lastly, dun try to be hero. God knows your heart and He knows you are willing to offer your service to Him.


Yes, I know it's another crash course and I know someone will post an "OMG, not again!" kind of reply.

I have been reading like crazy in this forum after my thread here and I hope that's enough knowledge for myself to start with. The rest are experience for me.

I've tried a couple of nice try shots yesterday already, while it will not pass by your pro standard, at least it's a try out for me.


And, zYong, no hero involved. My chuch staff said that when I offer to take photos just to practice and 'test out' theories, they were at the same time looking for one urgently.

It may look like coincidence to many, but to Christians, it's providence of God.
 

Try P mode, flash on and ISO 800 to 1600

If you want more fun,
try M mode, flash on, 1/30sec, f5.6 and ISO 800 to 1600


remember to compensate your flash if you have your exposure is too under or over ...
 

Try P mode, flash on and ISO 800 to 1600

If you want more fun,
try M mode, flash on, 1/30sec, f5.6 and ISO 800 to 1600


remember to compensate your flash if you have your exposure is too under or over ...

Flash on, 1/30sec, f5.6 and ISO 800 to 1600

Tried it. Looks good enough with low lighting.


Wanted to find out if the photos turned out to be too bright or too dark, do I adjust the ISO only? Or do I have to adjust the aperture too?
 

Wanted to find out if the photos turned out to be too bright or too dark, do I adjust the ISO only? Or do I have to adjust the aperture too?
adjust the flash exposure and keep your object in close distance like 2m to 5m.
 

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