tx all for the responses to my question on lighting fog... i hope to have time to try some of that out on Sunday... the next couple of days are really busy for me, and one of the things on the schedule is (assuming the weather holds out and my 14 year old stays in my good graces) to take my kid and his friends to Canada's Wonderland for the Hallowe'en Haunt...
my assumption is that it will be mostly dark... and that what lighting there is will be extremely uneven...
my options:
1 - the sony nex7 which has 24 megapixels and higher iso capacity than my canon... i have zoom lens 18-200mm... it has f/3.5 at 18, but switches to f/6.5 pretty quickly...
2 - the canon T2i... 18 megapixels and not as high iso capacity... but it is a great workhorse and i think a bit more water resistant than the sony (it may rain tomorrow night)... i have two potential lenses...
(a) 17-85mm f/4.5... which has decent reach and is ligh-ish or
(b) 18-55mm f/2.8... which is HEAVY but of course is a faster lens
i figure i need to travel light (it will be crowded and of course i will also have some responsibility for 4 or 5 14-year olds)
thoughts about settings? would i use a flash (i have a speedlight for the canon, but prolly would just cheat and use the on camera flash as lugging the speedlight around seems excessive) at all? and am i better off using high iso and the slower lens or lower iso and a faster lens?
yeah, i know i can experiment once i'm there, but i figure i need a "place" to start, and of course i need to choose a camera and a lens...
shit dude you want a challenge then? I'd put the big heavy flash on the Canon with the f2.8 lens, ramp up the ISO and then think about some colour light, off camera flash, spotlight options, for spooky effects, like if one of the fourteen year olds wants to carry anther flash unit synched in for some from-below portraits. Also consider a massive heavy tripod for some long exposures, someone in a scream mask standing still in a busy crowd, and I mean still. Basically you're gonna need a sherpa and some classroom assistants.
I don't have Dave's experience, but, I'd go with the same Canon setup also, with the 18-55 f/2.8. Try partial metering and can you set the ISO to an upward limit of say 1600? Set it to f/2.8 and Aperture Priority. Do you get to set a minimum shutter speed on your Canon body? That could be something to look at also. Regarding flash, the onboard can be pretty harsh, a mini softbox on the speedlite can make all the difference, but that's more weight again. Are your guns up to it, Northy?
@quixoticneophyte I'm pretty sure I can manage the heavy lens, but the speedlight may push me over the edge... Will have to chk on those settings... Tx!
I saw somewhere, sometime, somebody using a plastic take away cup as a diffusor on the onboard flash (the thin plastic type that's usually used for cold drinks). Cut the bottom out of it and sit it straight over the flash. It's cheap, renewable and light weight if you don't want to carry an extra flash.
@quixoticneophyte tx Alexander... i knew exactly what you meant about the ISO... altho' i've pulled off some decent-ish shots at iso 3200... not sure about a min shutterspeed, but i know what you mean about that too - i will check... otherwise i would likely shoot with manual settings of auto iso, f/2.8-ish and 60 shutterspeed... i've done that before with some success... plus of course i will check exposure in case there's a chance of upping the speed a bit and still getting the shot...
the flash at night is a bit of an unknown quanitity to me... i have experimented with it, but only a teeny tiny bit...
may have to check out @swilde suggestion on the flash so i'm not lugging the speedlight around... i really am a bit worried about being laden down like that in a large crowd... :(
The f/2.8 is probably just too heavy if you have to do duty as watcher for the kids! Let alone a flash on top of it that would extend out far enough. I'd just do with the nex7 and ramp up the ISO - Alexander must be describing what in Nikon land we call ISO Sensitivity Settings and I know the nex7 has similar stuff. It also does handle high ISO nicely as do a number of recent cameras. Don't be afraid of 6400, or more. Even 2 years ago the technology just wasn't there for this, and I think your Canon would not be as suitable. Shoot raw and rely on your trusty Lightroom to do something with the noise and tonal adjustments, all of which will probably be extreme, but you can do it. :) Grain might indeed suit the subject. Good luck and good shooting.
If I was in your situation...I would the use Sony NEX with 18-200 lens. ISO 6400 should produce some good results allowing hanhold shots at fast enough shutter speed. No flash use. Most of the good post-processing software has good noise reduction capabilities (if needed, I doubt it will need much).
Good camera and OK lens vs. OK camera and good lens... tricky.
Personally I'd take the T2i and 17-55mm f/2.8 IS, for the following reasons:
* The phase-detect autofocus and wide aperture lens are likely to focus more quickly and accurately, and track motion better, on the T2i vs. the contrast-detect autofocus on the NEX-7, which will struggle more when the light levels get low.
* The T2i + 17-55mm combination is only 30% heavier than the NEX-7 + 18-200mm combination -- it's heavier, but not that much heavier.
* The Sony lens is going to be at least a full stop slower (f/4.0 or narrower) at the likely focal lengths you will use. While the NEX-7 is better in low light, it's not in my opinion a full stop better -- that's a lot. DXOMark reckon it's just over 1/3rd of a stop better. (In other words, although the Sony sensor is better at low light, the narrower aperture lens will likely slightly more than cancel out that advantage -- provided you can shoot with the Canon at f/2.8).
But there's really not much in it either way, so if you'd feel happier with the Sony, go for that.
Don't bother with flash -- pop-up flash will look ugly, and an external flash is going to be too cumbersome to make the camera easy to carry.
Settings-wise, the others have covered it -- I'd use manual mode, f/2.8, 1/50th - 1/80th and auto ISO, slowing the shutter speed to around 1/15th if both you and your subject are still (with IS/OSS enabled, of course!)
and this is why i love you guys... well, except for Dave - 'cos he wouldn't be my sherpa... as it turns out, it was waaaaay too crowded for a tripod and flash completely destroyed the atmosphere... but i was pretty happy with the how my camera handled the higher ISO :)
f2.8 baby, works every time
you gotta pay for me if I'm your sherpa, flights to canada, food, lodging, cameras, film - confirm that and I'll be there within the week.
Write a Reply
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
I'd start with:
- Auto ISO (1600 max.)
- Partial metering
- Aperture priority (f/2.8)
- Minimum shutter speed (1/60)
The one thing I wouldn't do is to try new stuff that I'm not familiar with, so you get a maximum amount of keepers. Been there done that! :-(
the flash at night is a bit of an unknown quanitity to me... i have experimented with it, but only a teeny tiny bit...
may have to check out @swilde suggestion on the flash so i'm not lugging the speedlight around... i really am a bit worried about being laden down like that in a large crowd... :(
The link you gave us sure looks scary!
Personally I'd take the T2i and 17-55mm f/2.8 IS, for the following reasons:
* The phase-detect autofocus and wide aperture lens are likely to focus more quickly and accurately, and track motion better, on the T2i vs. the contrast-detect autofocus on the NEX-7, which will struggle more when the light levels get low.
* The T2i + 17-55mm combination is only 30% heavier than the NEX-7 + 18-200mm combination -- it's heavier, but not that much heavier.
* The Sony lens is going to be at least a full stop slower (f/4.0 or narrower) at the likely focal lengths you will use. While the NEX-7 is better in low light, it's not in my opinion a full stop better -- that's a lot. DXOMark reckon it's just over 1/3rd of a stop better. (In other words, although the Sony sensor is better at low light, the narrower aperture lens will likely slightly more than cancel out that advantage -- provided you can shoot with the Canon at f/2.8).
But there's really not much in it either way, so if you'd feel happier with the Sony, go for that.
Don't bother with flash -- pop-up flash will look ugly, and an external flash is going to be too cumbersome to make the camera easy to carry.
Settings-wise, the others have covered it -- I'd use manual mode, f/2.8, 1/50th - 1/80th and auto ISO, slowing the shutter speed to around 1/15th if both you and your subject are still (with IS/OSS enabled, of course!)
and this is why i love you guys... well, except for Dave - 'cos he wouldn't be my sherpa... as it turns out, it was waaaaay too crowded for a tripod and flash completely destroyed the atmosphere... but i was pretty happy with the how my camera handled the higher ISO :)
tx lots for all the help!
you gotta pay for me if I'm your sherpa, flights to canada, food, lodging, cameras, film - confirm that and I'll be there within the week.