22mm f/2 pancake lens: enough for dark rides?

[cobright]

I absolutely love my eos-m but the kit lens is crap for dark rides where a flash is not possible.

I bought the 22mm pancake for our last trip but I guess i just never got the settings right. Or am I expecting too much?

Next trip is coming up and I don't know if I should rent a very fast prime (1.4 or faster) or make the f/2 work and rent a super telephoto for AK.

 

[havoc315]

F2 is generally fast enough for dark rides. It is a 1 stop difference between 1.4 and f2. So if you went from 2 to 1.4, you could reduce your ISO by 1 stop (such as use 3200 instead of 6400), or double your shutter speed (1/100 instead of 1/50), or go a little of each. But really, f2 should be fast enough for dark rides if you don't mind pushing the ISO up a little.

From Universal, this was with the Sony A6300 at 24mm, f1.8, ISO 2500 and 1/125:

DSC04155.jpg by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

[jamez2014]

a F2 lens is plenty tbh, and being a pancake lens on a small body is perfect for convenience, i recommend just pushing the ISO a bit further, understand the limits of what ISO you find acceptable and work with that, remember to keep images sharp on a crop body with that lens you need a shutter speed of at least 1/50(ish) to keep things sharpish, i would try and aim for 1/125 to be safer. on occasion like this is often better to shoot manual, dial in what you think is right see what the image comes out and go from there, and if in doubt use P mode etc.

i always would rather have grainy than blurry image.

HTH

 

[bob100]

I absolutely love my eos-m but the kit lens is crap for dark rides where a flash is not possible.
I bought the 22mm pancake for our last trip but I guess i just never got the settings right. Or am I expecting too much?
Next trip is coming up and I don't know if I should rent a very fast prime (1.4 or faster) or make the f/2 work and rent a super telephoto for AK.

post one of your photos with the "wrong" settings. I use the 22/2 pancake on the original M for some indoor events. It should work for dark rides if you bump up the ISO and have an acceptable shutter speed

ISO 6400

iso 6400 by c w, on Flickr

www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless

 

[mom2rtk]

Not all dark rides are as dark as others. I think it's going to depend on the ride, and even the scene within the ride. I struggle with 1.4 sometimes, other times a 2.8 will work.

I have to say that I struggle a lot less now that I shoot full frame with a usable ISO of 25,600.

 

[havoc315]

Not all dark rides are as dark as others. I think it's going to depend on the ride, and even the scene within the ride. I struggle with 1.4 sometimes, other times a 2.8 will work.

I have to say that I struggle a lot less now that I shoot full frame with a usable ISO of 25,600.

I'm jealous.... Yes, I have full frame.. but....
I haven't been to Disney in 4 years. Going back in 2 weeks... Now have a full frame D750, a really good 45mm/1.8 lens. Of course, it's a pretty heavy combo... but it should be great for dark rides..

Anyway... I did something to my shoulder. Seeing a doctor this Friday, but my arm and shoulder are really f@$#%#'ed up. Unless I miraculously improve (already severe pain for almost 3 weeks), there is no way I'm even trying to carry my full frame kit. Guess I'm thankful I also have the Sony A6300 kit... hopefully it's light enough to carry for hours without further aggravating my shoulder. But I'm peeved that I'm going to have to make that trade off. At least with advancements in sensor performance and a fast lens (as with the ET shot above), I should be able to get good dark ride shots even with APS-C.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm jealous.... Yes, I have full frame.. but....
I haven't been to Disney in 4 years. Going back in 2 weeks... Now have a full frame D750, a really good 45mm/1.8 lens. Of course, it's a pretty heavy combo... but it should be great for dark rides..

Anyway... I did something to my shoulder. Seeing a doctor this Friday, but my arm and shoulder are really f@$#%#'ed up. Unless I miraculously improve (already severe pain for almost 3 weeks), there is no way I'm even trying to carry my full frame kit. Guess I'm thankful I also have the Sony A6300 kit... hopefully it's light enough to carry for hours without further aggravating my shoulder. But I'm peeved that I'm going to have to make that trade off. At least with advancements in sensor performance and a fast lens (as with the ET shot above), I should be able to get good dark ride shots even with APS-C.

I sure hope your arm and shoulder are on the mend so you can decide which camera to take based on the shooting you want to do, and not based on your health!

I actually got a little lazy on our last couple trips and shot some dark rides with my f/4 kit lens. I was amazed at what I was still able to accomplish.

Kit Lens Yeti by mom2rtk, on Flickr

Hat Box Ghost by mom2rtk, on Flickr

The Old Hag by mom2rtk, on Flickr

 

[havoc315]

I was debating whether to lug the full frame anyway... Before hurting myself, I was leaning towards bringing both cameras, using them at different times for different things. (D750 for dark rides, for portraits on the cruise ship, maybe for some landscapes from the cruise ship... A6300 for cruise excursions, and to have at the ready at Disney with 10-18 for ultrawide shots).
Now this has given me the excuse to complete my A6300 kit a bit... used purchases of 1 more lens and of a small speedlight.

If I use my full frame camera bag (Crumpler 7 million), in just that bag I can fit: Sony A6300 + 10-18 + 24/1.8 + 35/1.8 +50/1.8 +70-200/4 + gorillapod + charger + extra battery + speedlight. And it's still a very good aps-c sensor.
And it's still not ridiculously heavy -- leave the 70-200 in a hotel when not in use, and it's really not a heavy bag at all.

Untitled by Adam Brown, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Brown, on Flickr

It's very tempting to go solely with the small kit, regardless. I'm torn because I am a bit of an IQ snob. These aps-c lenses are ok, but don't match my good full frame glass. The APS-C sensor... I know a lot of people say "it's just a 1 stop difference" -- but I observe more significant IQ differences that can be hard to put into words (even when they are both 24mp, the full frame seems to resolve more detail, it certainly has more dynamic range).

So it's a question of whether I want to break my back to get the absolute best images I can, or save a bit of weight, and get some very good images -- good enough that most people wouldn't even notice the difference in quality.

I think if my shoulder improves, I will bring the D750, but just with 2 or 3 lenses at most. Really just to use on dark rides on select days, and potentially portraits.

 

[HPS3]

Adam, I hope you feel better soon. I've been in a slump lately myself with a broken wrist. I crushed the radius and broke a chunk off of the ulna in my right hand. I get the K-wires out tomorrow and the fixator in two weeks. I can't even squeeze the shutter button yet.

I think the A6300 photos look great at high ISO. I'm not a pixel peeper. Adam, that size difference is significant! There's no way I'd go back to lugging something like that beast for pleasure. As a matter of fact, I've been playing with a Nikon Coolpix A.

 

[bob100]

Adam, I hope you feel better soon. I've been in a slump lately myself with a broken wrist. I crushed the radius and broke a chunk off of the ulna in my right hand. I get the K-wires out tomorrow and the fixator in two weeks. I can't even squeeze the shutter button yet.

I think the A6300 photos look great at high ISO. I'm not a pixel peeper. Adam, that size difference is significant! There's no way I'd go back to lugging something like that beast for pleasure. As a matter of fact, I've been playing with a Nikon Coolpix A.

smaller is better (for lightweight travel)

Untitled by c w, on Flickr

www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless

 

[havoc315]

Adam, I hope you feel better soon. I've been in a slump lately myself with a broken wrist. I crushed the radius and broke a chunk off of the ulna in my right hand. I get the K-wires out tomorrow and the fixator in two weeks. I can't even squeeze the shutter button yet.

I think the A6300 photos look great at high ISO. I'm not a pixel peeper. Adam, that size difference is significant! There's no way I'd go back to lugging something like that beast for pleasure. As a matter of fact, I've been playing with a Nikon Coolpix A.

Wishing you a speedy recovery. I'm seeing an orthopedist tomorrow... been in pain for almost 3 weeks. Today isn't quite as bad, so maybe it's less serious than I fear.

I admit I pixel peep, it's a bad habit. But it also gives me far more cropping latitude. And additionally, though the DXO testing suggests the dynamic range on the A6300 is quite good and close to the D750, there is something almost magical about the D750 files in post.. I believe dpreview has called it "ISO invariant" or something like that. Basically, almost no matter how unexposed an image may be, I can lift the exposure and shadows in post processing on the D750, with very little noise and IQ penalty. On the A6300, if I push shadows over +75 or so, I get punished with ugly noise. Same if I try to push up the exposure by more than about a half EV. Regardless of what ISO I shot with. On the other hand, with D750 files, I can lift shadows by +90 - +100, I can lift exposure by 1-2 EVs, and the images still look fantastic. Gives me a ton of latitude in my landscapes -- I find I mostly stopped doing bracketed HDR on the D750, because the files had so much room built in. On the a6300, I'm back to bracketing my exposures for HDR for my landscapes.
And portraits.... between the shallower DOF on full frame, between my higher quality glass, and even the ability to lift shadows, I greatly prefer my D750 for portraits.

But yeah.... knowing I can still get good images with the much smaller set up.... and knowing I'm not getting younger... and Disney is often 5-10 miles of walking per day... the A6300 with a couple of small lenses is sounding pretty nice.

The coolpix A is fixed focal length APS-C? How do you like it?
My interest in photography is too eclectic for a fixed focal length camera. But, I teach a photography class, I'm thinking of adding an assignment of telling students to only use one focal length for a week. I do think you become a better photographer when you can't just stand still and rely on zoom.