QUESTION: Small vs wide aperture shots in low light

Hi, all.

I'm headed to Carlsbad, New Mexico next weekend, to wander through the
Caverns for a couple of days. I have been there once before. The light
in there was pretty low, overall. I'd compare the lighting with a
sporadically lit street in the middle of the night: there are
spotlights illuminating the attractions, and a lot of darker areas
between.

When I went last year, I had a Nikon Coolpix 4500 with the stock
speedlight. Results were pretty marginal overall. That camera did not
write in RAW either, which in hindsight cost me quite a bit in the
ability to post-process.

Now I'm going with a 6MP Canon Rebel, a 17-85IS, a 75-300IS, a 50mm
f/1.4, and a Sigma 150mm f/2.8 Macro, which I will be getting my hands
on when I get into the State. I also have a Canon EX550 flash. I feel
fairly well-armed for the trip. No L lenses, but what can I say.

I'm expecting that with the better low-light behavior of the Rebel, and
with the maximum aperture of the 50mm and 150mm lenses, I should be
able to capture some excellent low-light shots.

I intend to try some shots at the maximum aperture of my two prime
lenses, and also some tighter aperture settings, with a flash if
required. I really don't want to go past ISO100, because I want the
richest possible results.

Aside from the depth-of-field differences, what other kinds of
differences should I expect between wide-open shots and shots of, say,
f/16 or higher? Is the clarity necessarily better?

BTW - I will be armed with a tripod and a remote.

Any general technique-related suggestions for a shot in a lower-light
environment? All suggestions I can glean before I go would be greatly
appreciated. - Oh - I will be shooting everything in RAW.

I guess I should figure out how to use the mirror delay in my camera,
for one thing. ;-)

Thanks!!

BD

Why digital?

Digital sensors don't accummulate light like film....


BD wrote:
Hi, all.

I'm headed to Carlsbad, New Mexico next weekend, to wander through the
Caverns for a couple of days. I have been there once before. The light
in there was pretty low, overall. I'd compare the lighting with a
sporadically lit street in the middle of the night: there are
spotlights illuminating the attractions, and a lot of darker areas
between.

When I went last year, I had a Nikon Coolpix 4500 with the stock
speedlight. Results were pretty marginal overall. That camera did not
write in RAW either, which in hindsight cost me quite a bit in the
ability to post-process.

Now I'm going with a 6MP Canon Rebel, a 17-85IS, a 75-300IS, a 50mm
f/1.4, and a Sigma 150mm f/2.8 Macro, which I will be getting my hands
on when I get into the State. I also have a Canon EX550 flash. I feel
fairly well-armed for the trip. No L lenses, but what can I say.

I'm expecting that with the better low-light behavior of the Rebel, and
with the maximum aperture of the 50mm and 150mm lenses, I should be
able to capture some excellent low-light shots.

I intend to try some shots at the maximum aperture of my two prime
lenses, and also some tighter aperture settings, with a flash if
required. I really don't want to go past ISO100, because I want the
richest possible results.

Aside from the depth-of-field differences, what other kinds of
differences should I expect between wide-open shots and shots of, say,
f/16 or higher? Is the clarity necessarily better?

BTW - I will be armed with a tripod and a remote.

Any general technique-related suggestions for a shot in a lower-light
environment? All suggestions I can glean before I go would be greatly
appreciated. - Oh - I will be shooting everything in RAW.

I guess I should figure out how to use the mirror delay in my camera,
for one thing. ;-)

Thanks!!

BD

BD wrote:
Hi, all.

I'm headed to Carlsbad, New Mexico next weekend, to wander through the
Caverns for a couple of days. I have been there once before. The light
in there was pretty low, overall. I'd compare the lighting with a
sporadically lit street in the middle of the night: there are
spotlights illuminating the attractions, and a lot of darker areas
between.

When I went last year, I had a Nikon Coolpix 4500 with the stock
speedlight. Results were pretty marginal overall. That camera did not
write in RAW either, which in hindsight cost me quite a bit in the
ability to post-process.

Now I'm going with a 6MP Canon Rebel, a 17-85IS, a 75-300IS, a 50mm
f/1.4, and a Sigma 150mm f/2.8 Macro, which I will be getting my hands
on when I get into the State. I also have a Canon EX550 flash. I feel
fairly well-armed for the trip. No L lenses, but what can I say.

I'm expecting that with the better low-light behavior of the Rebel, and
with the maximum aperture of the 50mm and 150mm lenses, I should be
able to capture some excellent low-light shots.

I intend to try some shots at the maximum aperture of my two prime
lenses, and also some tighter aperture settings, with a flash if
required. I really don't want to go past ISO100, because I want the
richest possible results.

Aside from the depth-of-field differences, what other kinds of
differences should I expect between wide-open shots and shots of, say,
f/16 or higher? Is the clarity necessarily better?
f/16 will likely not be the sharpest setting, more likely around f/8,
this depends on the lens.
I have not used the 50mm 1.4 lens but I know the 50mm 1.8 gets way
sharper if you can shoot at f 2.8.

BTW - I will be armed with a tripod and a remote.

Any general technique-related suggestions for a shot in a lower-light
environment? All suggestions I can glean before I go would be greatly
appreciated. - Oh - I will be shooting everything in RAW.

I guess I should figure out how to use the mirror delay in my camera,
for one thing. ;-)

Don't know about the Rebal but the mirror delay on the 20D is a snap to
use and for long exposures can make a big differance.

So go in a dark room in your house and try all this out now while it
does not matter, you will find out what works and what does not.

Scott

UC wrote:
Why digital?

Digital sensors don't accummulate light like film....


Which is why most of us no longer use film.

Scott

So go in a dark room in your house and try all this out now while it
does not matter, you will find out what works and what does not.

Makes sense. Emulate the conditions and experiment.

If I only had a room in my house the size of 2 football fields, I'd be
able to approximate even better!

On 9 Dec 2005 17:35:51 -0800, Scott W wrote:

Which is why most of us no longer use film.

It's been a long time since I've seen any reminders of that
useless troll. Better to starve the beast than feed him with your
attention, his favorite meal.

"BD" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi, all.

I'm headed to Carlsbad, New Mexico next weekend, to wander through the
Caverns for a couple of days. I have been there once before. The light

I was just there with my 350d back in September. I was armed with my 50mm
1.4, the 18-55 kit lens, and my 28-300mm tamron. I really wanted to use the
50, but after a few shots it was very obvious that I needed a wider angle.
I ended up using the kit lens for most of my shots. Most of them were in
the 2-3sec range. I only had a monopod with me so I would hold it braced
against the railing. I was suprised that any of them turned out. I have a
few posted on my web page if you want to get some ideas of the conditions.
I definatley made good use of the wired remote. It was hard enough not
moving the camera. Occasionally someone down the path would bump the
railing and I would have to start over. You should be better off with the
tripod, but the wife and I were on our motorcycle and I was cramped for
space. I think someone else mentioned to stay in the middle of your f range
and I'll tell you now that the caverns will simple laugh at your flash. I
have the sigma ef500 flash and it was pretty useless. You best bet is to go
with the longer exposures on the tripod.

Good luck and enjoy the trip. We did!

http://www.hamptonfamily.us/NMTrip/index.html

PS: if you get a chance, go on over west to white sands. That was the
photo-highlight of our trip!

Michael Hampton

What stunning photos!

--
Joan
http://joan.colley.name:85


"Michael Hampton" wrote in message
news:x0umf.9831$7r6.1000@trnddc07...

http://www.hamptonfamily.us/NMTrip/index.html

Michael Hampton wrote:
"BD" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi, all.

I'm headed to Carlsbad, New Mexico next weekend, to wander through the
Caverns for a couple of days. I have been there once before. The light

I was just there with my 350d back in September. I was armed with my 50mm
1.4, the 18-55 kit lens, and my 28-300mm tamron. I really wanted to use the
50, but after a few shots it was very obvious that I needed a wider angle.
I ended up using the kit lens for most of my shots. Most of them were in
the 2-3sec range. I only had a monopod with me so I would hold it braced
against the railing. I was suprised that any of them turned out. I have a
few posted on my web page if you want to get some ideas of the conditions.
I definatley made good use of the wired remote. It was hard enough not
moving the camera. Occasionally someone down the path would bump the
railing and I would have to start over. You should be better off with the
tripod, but the wife and I were on our motorcycle and I was cramped for
space. I think someone else mentioned to stay in the middle of your f range
and I'll tell you now that the caverns will simple laugh at your flash. I
have the sigma ef500 flash and it was pretty useless. You best bet is to go
with the longer exposures on the tripod.

Good luck and enjoy the trip. We did!

http://www.hamptonfamily.us/NMTrip/index.html

PS: if you get a chance, go on over west to white sands. That was the
photo-highlight of our trip!

Michael Hampton

Hey neat photos. We were there in 1998, at that time I had 0.3 MP
camera. One of your photos is just about the same as mine, but yours
has a LOT more detail

http://www.pbase.com/konascott/image/53364943/original
http://www.hamptonfamily.us/NMTrip/slides/IMG_0014.html

It is clear this thing is not growing very fast at all.

Scott

BD wrote:
Hi, all.

I'm headed to Carlsbad, New Mexico next weekend, to wander through the
Caverns for a couple of days. I have been there once before. The light
in there was pretty low, overall. I'd compare the lighting with a
sporadically lit street in the middle of the night: there are
spotlights illuminating the attractions, and a lot of darker areas
between.

Foget the flash in the caves. It will only flatten the scene and wash out
the details.
You're better off using available light.
Tripod, ISO 100, and 30 seconds to a minute, depending on aperture.
Shoot RAW, and you'll be MUCH more able to effectively deal with the weird
mixture of lighting types they have in there.

Here's a shot I took there last year:

http://www.pbase.com/markuson/image/37442910/original

-Mark