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Newbie, D80 settings for School concert
On Sun, 21 Dec 2008 19:57:53 -0800 (PST), cen wrote
in : Hey I'm new with a D80 and somewhat limited experience, but have taken some great photos with it. Tomorrow night is concert night in the school auditorium and I'm think about setting it on program mode to shoot. Flash is allowed. Wondering what other settings you'd use. Given limited experience: * Use a tripod or monopod if possible * Keep flash off -- not strong enough to help, and will only be disruptive * Put camera in Shutter (speed) Priority mode * To avoid shake and motion blur, set shutter speed roughly equal to equivalent 35 mm focal length[1]; e.g., if you zoom your lens to 100 mm (35 mm equivalent), then set a shutter speed at or near 1/100 sec * Set ISO to Auto Your camera should now adjust aperture and ISO to suit the lighting, and give you pretty good shots. Caveat: This assumes reasonably even stage lighting. When there are tight spotlights on actors with the rest of the stage in darkness: * Usually the best method is to spot meter on the actors. Read the manual on how to put the camera into Spot Meter mode. * A workable alternative is to use the first procedure above, check exposure after a shot, adjust Exposure Compensation as needed, and re-shoot. Re-check anytime lighting changes. 1. For equivalent 35 mm focal length, multiply actual lens focal length by crop factor. Your D80 has a crop factor of 1.5, so actual lens focal length of (say) 60 mm is equivalent to 35 mm focal length of 90 mm, with a preferred minimum shutter speed of 1/90 sec. -- Best regards, John [Please Note: Ads belong (only) in rec.photo.marketplace.digital] |
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Newbie, D80 settings for School concert
John Navas wrote:
On Sun, 21 Dec 2008 19:57:53 -0800 (PST), cen wrote in : Hey I'm new with a D80 and somewhat limited experience, but have taken some great photos with it. Tomorrow night is concert night in the school auditorium and I'm think about setting it on program mode to shoot. Flash is allowed. Wondering what other settings you'd use. Given limited experience: * Use a tripod or monopod if possible * Keep flash off -- not strong enough to help, and will only be disruptive * Put camera in Shutter (speed) Priority mode I'd go AP instead - but I always was a contrary type. See below for reason. * To avoid shake and motion blur, set shutter speed roughly equal to equivalent 35 mm focal length[1]; e.g., if you zoom your lens to 100 mm (35 mm equivalent), then set a shutter speed at or near 1/100 sec If you are on a monopod/tripod, you could drop that down by a couple of steps, although I wouldn't go below 1/30. Depends on the scene - if the performer is relatively static... * Set ISO to Auto Depends on the camera - some cameras limit their auto range. I don't know what the D80 does, but I do know it's 800 and 1600 settings are pretty good. So if Auto ISO doesn't use 1600, I wouldn't use it. 400 for very brightly lit shots, 800 for less well-lit shots, 1600 if the lighting sucks. Your camera should now adjust aperture and ISO to suit the lighting, and give you pretty good shots. Problem with shutter priority is that if the light is good, the camera may end up stopping down when the better choice would be to raise the shutter speed. If you use AP instead, you can watch the shutter speed and adjust your shooting style accordingly. It depends on what you are used to. If you haven't used AP or SP before, I wouldn't bother learning now. Caveat: This assumes reasonably even stage lighting. When there are tight spotlights on actors with the rest of the stage in darkness: * Usually the best method is to spot meter on the actors. Maybe, *as long as* you don't forget you are in Spot mode... Because if you compose with the subjects off centre, a duo with a gap between them or a performer with a dark/light/reflective costume the image will suffer. Again, if you haven't used Spot before, I wouldn't. * A workable alternative is to use the first procedure above, check exposure after a shot, adjust Exposure Compensation as needed, and re-shoot. Re-check anytime lighting changes. That would be my approach. Matrix metering, maybe with a slight negative EV adjustment if the subjects look overcooked due to a dark background. 1. For equivalent 35 mm focal length, multiply actual lens focal length by crop factor. Your D80 has a crop factor of 1.5, so actual lens focal length of (say) 60 mm is equivalent to 35 mm focal length of 90 mm, with a preferred minimum shutter speed of 1/90 sec. Again, that guide applies to handheld, so if on a tri/monopod you can pretty safely go below that. |
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Newbie, D80 settings for School concert
In article , Mark Thomas
wrote: Hey I'm new with a D80 and somewhat limited experience, but have taken some great photos with it. Tomorrow night is concert night in the school auditorium and I'm think about setting it on program mode to shoot. Flash is allowed. Wondering what other settings you'd use. Given limited experience: * Use a tripod or monopod if possible * Keep flash off -- not strong enough to help, and will only be disruptive * Put camera in Shutter (speed) Priority mode I'd go AP instead - but I always was a contrary type. See below for reason. aperture priority is a much better choice. * To avoid shake and motion blur, set shutter speed roughly equal to equivalent 35 mm focal length[1]; e.g., if you zoom your lens to 100 mm (35 mm equivalent), then set a shutter speed at or near 1/100 sec If you are on a monopod/tripod, you could drop that down by a couple of steps, although I wouldn't go below 1/30. Depends on the scene - if the performer is relatively static... agreed, 1/30 or 1/60 is a good start, depending on stage movement. he said it's a concert so there probably won't be a whole lot of moving around on stage, but a little motion blur, depending on the instrument, might add to the mood. if handholding, go with a faster shutter speed, depending on lens and how well he can hand hold. * Set ISO to Auto Depends on the camera - some cameras limit their auto range. I don't know what the D80 does, but I do know it's 800 and 1600 settings are pretty good. So if Auto ISO doesn't use 1600, I wouldn't use it. 400 for very brightly lit shots, 800 for less well-lit shots, 1600 if the lighting sucks. set the camera at iso 100 and cap the maximum iso at whatever is considered 'too noisy.' set the shutter speed where iso starts ramping up, as noted above. Your camera should now adjust aperture and ISO to suit the lighting, and give you pretty good shots. Problem with shutter priority is that if the light is good, the camera may end up stopping down when the better choice would be to raise the shutter speed. If you use AP instead, you can watch the shutter speed and adjust your shooting style accordingly. It depends on what you are used to. If you haven't used AP or SP before, I wouldn't bother learning now. exactly. leave the lens wide open and the shutter will be as fast as it can be (and in good stage light, it will be much higher than 1/30th). 1. For equivalent 35 mm focal length, multiply actual lens focal length by crop factor. Your D80 has a crop factor of 1.5, so actual lens focal length of (say) 60 mm is equivalent to 35 mm focal length of 90 mm, with a preferred minimum shutter speed of 1/90 sec. Again, that guide applies to handheld, so if on a tri/monopod you can pretty safely go below that. true, but you risk motion blur, depending on what's on stage, but then again, that might be desirable. |
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