Going Night Safari on Friday, need some advice.

[Joispig]

Hi,
I will be bring my A500 to the Night Safari for the first time, need some advice on how to shoot at night. Will be taking animal pics and nephew and niece.

I got 2 lens, 18-70 and 55-200, which is better?

I dont have any external flash, is the pop up good enough? Do I need a use a diffuser?

What setting is best to use at night?

Thanks.

 

[spree86]

Hi,
I will be bring my A500 to the Night Safari for the first time, need some advice on how to shoot at night. Will be taking animal pics and nephew and niece.

I got 2 lens, 18-70 and 55-200, which is better?

I dont have any external flash, is the pop up good enough? Do I need a use a diffuser?

What setting is best to use at night?

Thanks.

Nephew and niece is ok but no flash is allowed to be used on the animals and since you will be on the tram anyway, i think chances of you getting a decent shot of any animal is low. so using the 18-70 for photographing your family will make more sense.

 

[Joispig]

Ok, no flash for the animals, then can I use higher ISO for a decent shot? How about shutter speed and the aperture?

Thanks.

 

[weegk]

i tried a month ago with all ways . . . i can't get a decent good shot at the animals . . . :cry:

you may wish to pump up your ISO, open your aperture . . . change your exposure . . .

hope you get it . . .

Strictly no flash on the animals . . .

 

[ortega]

if i remember correctly, it is very dark
so a high iso speed would be needed

as for the shutter speed and aperture, it would depends on the amount of light available to give you a correct exposure
if you want to try

i suggest using the highest iso that you can tahan
with the biggest aperture you can and let the camera decide on the shutter speed

good luck

 

[denniskee]

becareful the af assist, not sure what ur camera use, mine uses the camera pop up flash firing a pulses. that will hurt the animals' eyes.

 

[Rashkae]

Trying to take pictures at the night safari is basically pointless, really.

The very best you can hope for:
1. Rent a 70-200 f/2.8 G lens.
2. Make sure that in your menu, you TURN OFF the AF assist.
3. Boost your ISO to 800-1600.

 

[Joispig]

Noted.. I will try my luck on friday.. Thanks all for the advices..

 

[denniskee]

bring tripod / monopod

u can try shooting the hdb open air carpak to confirm the setting more or less now.

 

[ismokeweed79]

I don't think you can actually get nice shots.. unless you're using something like a D3s pumped ISO to 6400 + f1.2 lens..

 

[ortega]

bring tripod / monopod

u can try shooting the hdb open air carpak to confirm the setting more or less now.

night safari is darker than that

 

[denniskee]

night safari is darker than that

i know, but atleast TS can test test here 1st to see if he likes what he sees.:sweat::sweat:

went there long ago with canon d60 with consumer lens:sweatsm::sweatsm::sweatsm:

 

[catchlights]

no flash photography is allow in animal exhibits, or the show.
beside it will harm the nocturnal animals, it is also irritate other visitors,
the supervisors will send any visitors who refused to follow instruction out of the park.

some animals only can see on tram ride, and some animals only can see on foot. so if you on the tram, you can forget about taking photos of animal, you need to use tripod plus high ISO to take animals which able to see on trails.

now is school holiday, night safari will be jam packed every night, the less crowded night will be this Sunday night.

hope this help.

 

[NormanTan]

Base on my working exprience @ Night Safari, u can use the above set-up the other cs-ser has provided, and beside that, u can try to catch the very 1st tram which will leave @ 7:15.. thats when the dark is not dark yet.. thus ur ISO/shutter speed can go lower/higher.. but ur niece and nephew might not get the best experience @ night safari(IMO) as its still not as dark compare to about 8pm. What i usually recommand(W/o thinking of getting any good shot) Catch the 7:30 show Outside 1st..Thats where u can catch the dimbuwaka performance than move into the show @ 8:30.. Thats when the animal is @ their prime. Than followed by taking the tram. and alight half way @ the 2nd station.. and walk back. thats where u
Communate" with the animals.. and not jus sit on tram look. Hmm..Hope u can enjoy ur trip to the night safari tomorrow
Oh! And one more thing. Do take the map=D U might get lost while walking Night safari is really big! HAHA! there be asher along the way thou

 

[AlvinOMG]

Went there two weeks ago.
ISO 6400 on my D90 and f/1.4~f/2 on the 50mm rendered me some usable shots.

Most of the time, the AF motor had a hard time focusing so in my case it's more of a camera body's problem :sweat:

I was on the tram anyway

 

[woeilee]

You are not allowed to use flash, so high ISO (e.g. >3200) and large aperature (e.g f/2 or f/1.4) needed. Try not to take photos from the tram, you would get much usable photos. Tripod can be useful sometimes, as some animals are not actively moving around.

 

[deltatango]

No flash and even AF assist lamp the staff do make noise about using it. Tripod is a must. Stationary animals you can put your ISO down to 200 or 400 and give a longer exposure. Moving animals are difficult to get, get the ISO up as high as possible. Forget about getting animals from the tram I think only hope is with D3s+F2.8 lens.

 

[zac08]

I don't think you can actually get nice shots.. unless you're using something like a D3s pumped ISO to 6400 + f1.2 lens..

I shot with a D200, ISO 1600, f1.8 1/20 for this shot


Golden-cat by zac08, on Flickr

 

[Sivakis]

Like it or not, you're gonna have to bump up your ISO. Just a question of your comfort level. Also, most animals you won't need a fast shutter speed since nocturnal creatures tend to move less, they still do though, so.. find your comfort zone, try a few shots.

It's not impossible to shoot at Night Safari, as some has said - you may need to spend some time though - so if you're with your nephew/niece, you may not be able to spend a lot of time at a particular exhibit to get the shot you want.

Also, no flash please... my pic taken last year

 

[deltatango]

Also, most animals you won't need a fast shutter speed since nocturnal creatures tend to move less, they still do though, so.. find your comfort zone, try a few shots.

Not the tiger when I went. It paced up and down rather quickly and refused to stop.

It's not impossible to shoot at Night Safari, as some has said - you may need to spend some time though - so if you're with your nephew/niece, you may not be able to spend a lot of time at a particular exhibit to get the shot you want.

Very true. Night shots are time-consuming and your nephew/niece will probably want to move on before you get your shooting done. Maybe even leave your cam behind, enjoy yourself with your nephew/niece, and come back again another day for shooting. (Abit costly though)