at least at ISO 800

[iltriumph]

Guys,

how come the onboard metering shows that i'm under exposed but the picture still turn out ok huh (except very noisy)?

 

[kelccm]

If you don't like the noise of high ISO and don't like to use flash, use a tripod! I'm surprise nobody mention tripod as an alternative.

 

[nottipiglet]

Guys,

how come the onboard metering shows that i'm under exposed but the picture still turn out ok huh (except very noisy)?

Depends on:

1. What mode of metering you use.
2. Which part of room you meter.
3. What camera you use.

Not all meters are made the same. Assuming that your meter is good, then it depends on which part of the picture/room you meter. If you choose one of those averagine meters, the meter will read the whole picture and average. Imagine if you have backlight... then obviously it won't work.

If you choose spot metering, then it depends on which part you meter. If you meter the hair (black), your picture will turn out over-exposed if you don't do any compensation. If you meter the face, and the person is pale, then it will be under-exposed.

There's usually also a metering mode that is centre-weighted (but not spot).

If the picture is obviously under/over exposed, switch to 'Manual' and override based on your eye.

My camera does not even have spot-metering. I wish it did.

 

[nottipiglet]

If you don't like the noise of high ISO and don't like to use flash, use a tripod! I'm surprise nobody mention tripod as an alternative.

I find tripods good for sceneries, but useless for taking people on the move. Unless you can set up the tripod in 2 secs, the action would have passed. Anyway, the tripod is big and conspicuous. It distracts people and raises their guard... so the people will look a bit tensed and posed.

 

[Henessy]

I find tripods good for sceneries, but useless for taking people on the move. Unless you can set up the tripod in 2 secs, the action would have passed. Anyway, the tripod is big and conspicuous. It distracts people and raises their guard... so the people will look a bit tensed and posed.

I also think so

 

[canongrapherL]

50mm f1.8 is a cheap solution but certainly not practical in all situations. Image stabilser help in still subjects but at a cost.

Sometimes you wan shallow DOF with big apertures but often it can also work against you when you have mutiple subjects at various distance from the camera.

Many ppl get too excited by this lens and shoot only at f1.8 thinking its cool, then they realized that only portions or some of their subjects are in focus. A totally blur background is not always the desired result for a great picture. Often your background may still need to be partially visible to bring out the depth in your pictures. I see some folks permanently leaving their aperture at f1.8 all the time just because it is a f1.8 lens - not always appropriate.

Do not be afraid to bump up to ISO800 or even more. I am not sure how your D70 deal with noise but as a Canon owner, I have learnt that using high ISO is better than blur pictures. When I started out, I was always conservative and uses only a max of ISO400. However, my sifu made me realized that I am holding back shooting potentials and opportunities by limited my camera capabilities.

Most people print at 4R size. At this size you are not going to be disturbed by the grains or noise compared to the images you see full size on your computer screen. Do you view your pictures full size on the screen? I do not as viewing is more enjoyable at a reduced size rather than a full image on my 19" LCD. Neither do I pixel peep viewing at 100 % actual size as it is unecessary.

Good luck!

 

[kelccm]

I find tripods good for sceneries, but useless for taking people on the move. Unless you can set up the tripod in 2 secs, the action would have passed. Anyway, the tripod is big and conspicuous. It distracts people and raises their guard... so the people will look a bit tensed and posed.

If you are going for those candid kind of shot, then a tripod would be a hinderance, but if your intention is for posed portraits, then a tripod would be useful in getting those natural light indoor portraits. It'll help to slow down the process and allows you to take notice of more details in the shoot.

 

[knpan]

50mm f1.8 is a cheap solution but certainly not practical in all situations. Image stabilser help in still subjects but at a cost.

Sometimes you wan shallow DOF with big apertures but often it can also work against you when you have mutiple subjects at various distance from the camera.

Many ppl get too excited by this lens and shoot only at f1.8 thinking its cool, then they realized that only portions or some of their subjects are in focus. A totally blur background is not always the desired result for a great picture. Often your background may still need to be partially visible to bring out the depth in your pictures. I see some folks permanently leaving their aperture at f1.8 all the time just because it is a f1.8 lens - not always appropriate.

Do not be afraid to bump up to ISO800 or even more. I am not sure how your D70 deal with noise but as a Canon owner, I have learnt that using high ISO is better than blur pictures. When I started out, I was always conservative and uses only a max of ISO400. However, my sifu made me realized that I am holding back shooting potentials and opportunities by limited my camera capabilities.

Most people print at 4R size. At this size you are not going to be disturbed by the grains or noise compared to the images you see full size on your computer screen. Do you view your pictures full size on the screen? I do not as viewing is more enjoyable at a reduced size rather than a full image on my 19" LCD. Neither do I pixel peep viewing at 100 % actual size as it is unecessary.

Good luck!

oh and i wanna know, if there is lots of noise in the picture( about ISO 1250 and above )
what print size that the noise would be obvious?

 

[Maltese]

as a digital user, u should always remember this formula first - 300dpi. i.e if u want a sharp enough printing, say 4" x 6", u should have a MP of (4x300) x (6x300). i.e 1200 x 1800 i.e 2.2 MP will do.

Then if u have a higher MP photo, u can always do your PS touching while reducing your file size according to your print size.

For ISO sensitivities, there is no way to see how many MP to how many ISO, ISO 800 can be very sharp at good lighting and colours. I can take 800 daylight portriats and 400 portriats but at 4R I cannot see much difference. U need to experiement by printing out on different sizes using papers and ink to know.

 

[Cap_Dingo]

I'd also like to comment and share what I've learned.

Firstly, I never use the "auto", "P", "S" or "A" settings anymore. They were easy to use when I was new with my Minolta A1, but I CONSTANTLY got either blurry or underexposed pics. Talked to a friend who gave me some "settings" to use on manual mode. Tried it and never looked back.

I also have kids and I like taking shots of them doing things at home. Lighting at home is very "HDB" and so I also face similar problems with you. My Minolta doesn't handle ISO400+ well at all. (But like one post earlier mentioned, depends whether you like to view at 19" full screen).

The settings I've used on mine are typically zoomed at about approx 180mm, ISO 200, f/3.5, and shutter 1/125 with flash on. My shots of the kiddies at shutter speed less than this turn out a blur photo - kids can't keep still (and candids are my favourite of the boys).

Hence, yes, as much as I hate using a flash, I don't have a choice. So I use the external flash, point it up to the ceiling, bang - light up the room (so it doesn't seem like only 1 subject is lit with the background dark) and voila! The snaps turn out pretty alright.

I hope this helps to bring up your confidence. My lesson learned is don't trust those "auto" settings. Trial and error with manual mode and find out what works on your cam. From one newbie to another newbie - keep trying!

 

[iltriumph]

ok, thanks u all for taking time to reply

 

[JimmyH]

It will depend on what camera you use. Even at the same aperture, shutter and iso different camera will produce very different exposure. Reason is the actual sensitivity or gain of these cameras are very different. Nikons earlier DSLRs like the the D70 have almost accurate iso rating producing equivalent exposure to film of the same iso. Canon's earlier EOS digitals (up to 30D) are at least 1/3 stop more sensitive which corresponds to the faster shutter speeds for the same exposure. Most digicams are 2/3 - almost 4/3 stop more sensitive than the DSLRs. Iso 100 on a powershot G3 being almost equal to iso 250 on film. Later digicams with increasing mp and decreasing pixel pitch will have reduced sensitivities coming closer to the DSLRs. The latest DSLRs like the D80 and Eos400D also have reduced iso sensitivity compared to their previous models.

If you must shoot without flash or tripod and want your pictures as clean as possible, invest in a faster lens such as one with f2.8. Shoot in AV and open up the aperture. If you must shoot in low light with a narrow aperture to retain DOF invest in an VR or IS lens.