photography questions

evilbert · #1 31-08-2007

Hello again all, I now have my D70 with the kit 18-70 lense and i have had a bash taking some shots, but i have a few questions about setups.

the place i was taking shots had very bad artificial lighting which the camera had real trouble picking up even with 1600 iso low F and the lowest shutter speed i could get away with.

i ended up having to use a flash for the whole evening for all the pics i took to get a quick enough shutter speed.

1/ the only settings i'm adjusting are the iso, shutter speed and F value, are there any other important settings that i should be adjusting to get non flash photos?

2/ should you be able to get away without a flash in this situation or is the flash the only way to get high speed pics in bad light?

below is one of the pics i took as an example of what i was getting with the flash.

Sorry if these sound like obvious questions and thanks in advance

craigosh · #2 31-08-2007

link dont work...

Sounds like your doing things right but your hitting a wall with the apeture. On a standard lens its pretty small so really thats going to force you to use a slower shutter speed, only way round it is a lens with a fast apeture but you still might have issues even then.

Flash really has to be used to capture motion properly indoors unless the light source is bright enough. But you also have to consider that the in built flash on something like your d70 aint gonna be to powerfull so you'll still get a lot of ambient light. Also it'll be using the TTL mode which will try to balance the light from the flash to the ambient to a certian degree.

If flash is a problem for the drivers and you want to spend the money, some large tungsten movie lights, ie. red heads, would be an option, super bright and can be found 2nd hand for alright prices compared to flash. But they are bulky, heavy and get really damn hot.

evilbert · #3 31-08-2007

sorted the link hopefully,

thanks thats good to hear that i am on the right track. an external flash is on my list of things to buy along with a decent lense so hopefully that will help me out.

as for the drivers i always take pics away from them so the're not too bothered.

mole2k · #4 31-08-2007

Sadly its just a fact of indoor sports photography, you generally will be short on ambient light unless the club will like you install your own lights for the pics or use a flash.

Im never overly keen on using flashes at racing events due to the distraction of the drivers. I generally shoot at about 1/200th, iso1600, f4 (my quickest telephoto

) and at my local club I can usually just about get away with it. If you can get faster lenses it really helps, I use a 50 f1.8 occasionally if the light is really bad and I can get close enough that lets me drop the iso down to 400.

*dreams of the day I can afford the 200mm f1.8*

jimmy · #5 31-08-2007

a 50mm F1.8 is cheap and will at least let you get shots in a dim sports hall. The reach isn't great but it's the cheapest way to get a big aperture. I have one that I use sometimes.

craigosh · #6 31-08-2007

I see nikon make an 85mm 1.8, jessops do it for £280. That'd be a good choice for a new lens. As i'm guessing you can get close to these mini's being a small indoor track that might have enough coverage really, it'd then double as a nice portrait lense.

evilbert · #7 03-09-2007

thanks again fellas, very helpful as always. I've got to wait for some funds and then make a choice whether to go for a zoom lense or a large aperture.

i'm chief photographer for the micro nats this winter so i'll see what i need the most after a few rounds and make do but its good to know what i'll be needing in the future.

Stu · #8 03-09-2007

I've tried taking 1/18th pics - it is really hard. It makes taking 1/10th pics seem as easy as full size stuff. It's like trying to photograph rats on acid.

mole2k · #9 03-09-2007

I can imagine 1/18th being quite hard to photograph, especially indoors when you are fighting focus speed and shutter speed as well as the panning needed to shoot them.

evilbert · #10 03-09-2007

i'm glad you have said that, i thought i was just really bad at it lol.

I love your terminology "rats on acid", very funny.

Its a good place to learn though, like you say once i can take good pics consistantly of these doped up rats i should be able to do anything.

I'll post some pics of the upcoming nats if i manage to get any good ones.