Inside a cave photography

July 21st, 2018
Hi guys,
I need some advice on staking photos inside a cave.... I will have a rare opportunity to go inside a cave. Of course there are many restrictions. They told me I can use my camera with built in flesh, and we will all have head lights... Space is not huge and it is very pretty inside. So i dont have a lot of equipment I can choose from. I can t i have cannon 650 and i can use prime lens 50 mm 1.8, wide lens 10-18, and standard 17-55, f 2.8. ( i would like to avoid the last one for its size and weight since getting inside cave involves some hiking, crawling etc. I have one chance to make this excursion and I wanna be ready. I woul like to take my prime lens 50 mm couse its practical. I would like to hear what you think! How to set my camera if I use built in flesh (i am not aloud to take big flash). I am looking forward to your answers!!!!
July 21st, 2018
I had a 35 mm 2.0 (50mm equivalent) in the cave we went to and found it tooo tight. Had to switch back to the 18-135 I have. I wished I had a wide angle lens that could open very wide.

July 21st, 2018
@vera365, Thank you Vera! Your experience is very helpful. I thought wide lens would be a good choice. Did you use flash?
July 22nd, 2018
No, I didn‘t. The cave we went to was lit. Dimly, most of the time, but lit. What I also did was following the light of the guide, who was pointing with it at different features of the cave. This way, focusing was easier, but I had to be quicker on my feet because I could not pick the speed of the tour. I was also without a tripod - you could not bring anything bulky inside. But I wish I had the possibility to bring it. So, my ideal setup for that cave would be a wide angle lens, a light torch to „lightpaint“ certain features of my choice, a tripod and more time, not constantly being followed by inpatient people. :)
July 22nd, 2018
Those things you write about are reasons for my question... unfortunately my wide angle lens is not top quality, it will have to do. Lets just make some memories. Guide said I can use built in flesh, but I am not sure how helpfull would that be. He also said it is a small tour and we are not in a hurry. But it is also impossible to take big lens, tripod flesh or other stuff. Maybe it will force me to enjoy the cave...
July 22nd, 2018
@cherrymartina Hello there! Sounds a wonderful experience! I have only had one similar, it was a cave full of carvings. The light wasn't brilliant but the flash wiped out lots of detail so I found I got a better shot with a slightly longer exposure and of course keeping it still! Luckily there was a barrier I could rest on but you might not be so lucky... do you have one of those telescopic tripods or unipod? Might be worth having a few different settings / ideas ready to go with so that you don't lose time experimenting while you're there. Enjoy!
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