Bought the lens. Now, any fast advice for dark ride captures?

[zackiedawg]

While everyone may have their own opinions...for me, 85mm would be way too long except for the occasional specialty shot on rides. 50mm is acceptable, but for me still a little long. I love the 30mm focal for rides, so I'd pick your 35mm myself.

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

Would I be better off with my 35 1.8 or my 85 1.4 on these rides?

D7000 (DX)

The 85 1.4 would be pretty good for some of the shows - like Festival of the Lion King. But I agree, on the rides it would be too long.

 

[Deus]

The 85 1.4 would be pretty good for some of the shows - like Festival of the Lion King. But I agree, on the rides it would be too long.

My first pro lens so of course I want to use it for everything 35 it is

 

[boufa]

My first pro lens so of course I want to use it for everything 35 it is

Also movement is magnified as the lens gets longer. So you have the photographic effect of a ride moving faster at 85mm vs 35 mm. You can always crop into the effect of the 85mm without having the more than double the motion blur that actually using the 85 would generate. Even IS does not offset motion blur.

 

[Todd_H]

Already good advice here. I'll chime in to say that I've found that 30 or 35mm on a crop sensor camera, or 50mm on a full frame works best for dark ride shooting.

All of these were shot at 50mm

 

[mom2rtk]

^^^ Showoff....

Seriously..... stunning shots!

 

[DoleWhipDVC]

Sigh...... If only, if only!! Great shots Todd. I've downloaded your tutorial on dark ride captures from the web. Do you think I have ANY chance of getting photos close to these with a 50mm f/1.8 on a Canon 40D, if I follow the advice of you and the others up here on the boards? I don't expect to be as good, obviously, but do I have a chance of perhaps starting to work toward your level of quality?

 

[zackiedawg]

Eh...they're OK Todd...nothing special.



Joking aside...nice! You absolutely killed it on the hitchhikers...it looks like your ride came to a stop and you had time to set up a tripod and remote cable for that one!

 

[Todd_H]

^^^ Showoff....

Seriously..... stunning shots!

Hahaha - thanks!

Sigh...... If only, if only!! Great shots Todd. I've downloaded your tutorial on dark ride captures from the web. Do you think I have ANY chance of getting photos close to these with a 50mm f/1.8 on a Canon 40D, if I follow the advice of you and the others up here on the boards? I don't expect to be as good, obviously, but do I have a chance of perhaps starting to work toward your level of quality?

Thank you! With that 40D + 50mm f/1.8 combo, you'll have the chance to get some photos in the brighter sections of the dark rides (like Madame Leota and the Bride in the HM and you'll get some good stuff on Pirates as well), but don't get frustrated with what you're camera is not able to capture as dark ride shooting can be equipment prohibitive. By following the advise of those on this board, you'll be able to come away with some keepers. I learned to shoot dark rides from others on this board as well. Keep in mind that I have three big advantages when shooting dark rides 1) my camera has a very usable ISO 12,800 sensor setting, 2) I have an ultra-fast 50mm f/1.2 lens, and 3) I've taken many solo trips over the past couple of years that have afforded me multiple trips through these rides for the sole purpose of getting some of these shots. I didn't have my family in tow, so it didn't bother me to ride the HM 2 or 3 times in a row to hone in on one specific shot. One more thing I'll emphasize: be sure to use that custom function tip from my tutorial... it could really come in handy if your doombuggy stops in front of a good scene in the HM. Good luck and have fun!

Eh...they're OK Todd...nothing special.



Joking aside...nice! You absolutely killed it on the hitchhikers...it looks like your ride came to a stop and you had time to set up a tripod and remote cable for that one!

Hahaha - thanks, Justin. I've gotten an E-stop so many times in the HM, but it's always, and I mean ALWAYS between scenes so I'm just staring at a black wall. In all honesty, I must have ridden the HM 5-6 times that particular day trying to get that shot of the HHG. I found them harder to shoot than the last HHG, even though they appear brighter. I ended up guessing how far away they were and manually setting the focus distance of my lens to get it close enough that I could fine tune it as I rode by. I used a little red flashlight that I keep in my camera bag while on the ride so I could see to manually set the focus distance. Tricky stuff.

 

[DoleWhipDVC]

Thank you! With that 40D + 50mm f/1.8 combo, you'll have the chance to get some photos in the brighter sections of the dark rides (like Madame Leota and the Bride in the HM and you'll get some good stuff on Pirates as well), but don't get frustrated with what you're camera is not able to capture as dark ride shooting can be equipment prohibitive. By following the advise of those on this board, you'll be able to come away with some keepers. I learned to shoot dark rides from others on this board as well. Keep in mind that I have three big advantages when shooting dark rides 1) my camera has a very usable ISO 12,800 sensor setting, 2) I have an ultra-fast 50mm f/1.2 lens, and 3) I've taken many solo trips over the past couple of years that have afforded me multiple trips through these rides for the sole purpose of getting some of these shots. I didn't have my family in tow, so it didn't bother me to ride the HM 2 or 3 times in a row to hone in on one specific shot. One more thing I'll emphasize: be sure to use that custom function tip from my tutorial... it could really come in handy if your doombuggy stops in front of a good scene in the HM. Good luck and have fun![/QUOTE]

Thanks for the motivating thoughts. I sometimes (o.k., frequently) purchase equipment based on the discussions here on the dis and what I know I enjoy, or would enjoy, shooting. My fireworks shots came out well last year thanks to all the advice. I bought the 50mm hoping it would allow dark ride success, but then thought I should have purchased a 30 or 35mm. based on comments here. However, the other Disney lovers in my home are pretty much done with my glass purchases, so the 50mm will be the lens for dark ride attempts. You have 12,800 ISO? SWEET!!

And oh yes, having the family along during shooting......seems they are always supportive of the idea that I can take any pictures I want until I take more than 2 minutes to set up and shoot a specific capture, then the "real" feelings come out. I bet a thread could be started just for stories about what family members do while we are off taking pictures. Funny though, they don't seem to mind looking at the ones that come out well Luckily, we're going for 3 weeks in August so I'll get plenty of ride throughs for practice

If I may, one more quick question. I understand to use the custom settings position on my mode dial but I've also read to use burst mode, which is the "sport" selection on my mode dial. If I move the mode dial to "sport" in order to shoot bursts, won't that cancel out the custom settings? If I stay on the custom setting selection, I don't think I can shoot burst. Yes, I'll check my manual, but I was just wondering what you (or others) reading this post would suggest.

Thanks as always for all the help, and your great tutorial

 

[disneyboy2003]

If I may, one more quick question. I understand to use the custom settings position on my mode dial but I've also read to use burst mode, which is the "sport" selection on my mode dial. If I move the mode dial to "sport" in order to shoot bursts, won't that cancel out the custom settings? If I stay on the custom setting selection, I don't think I can shoot burst. Yes, I'll check my manual, but I was just wondering what you (or others) reading this post would suggest.

You actually don't have to be on "Sports" mode to have continuous high speed "burst" shooting. Continuous high speed shooting is available to you in all the different modes: Program (P), Aperture Priority (Av), Shutter Priority (Tv), and Manual (M).

The instructions for how to do this on your Canon 40D are on page 81 of your manual (link).

 

[DoleWhipDVC]

You actually don't have to be on "Sports" mode to have continuous high speed "burst" shooting. Continuous high speed shooting is available to you in all the different modes: Program (P), Aperture Priority (Av), Shutter Priority (Tv), and Manual (M).

The instructions for how to do this on your Canon 40D are on page 81 of your manual (link).

Yep. About an hour after posting the question I realized that using the "drive" button and simply setting it to the little icon in the LCD screen with the repetitious square, I could shoot burst. Thanks for the reply though, since I'm obviously suffering from ocassional bouts of "idiot" I might not have realized the answer for years!

 

[Marty Joe]

WOW! Todd_H struck a nerve... I can't tell you how many times I have heard "what are you doing?" while trying to compose a shot or "we're waiting!"... Traveling with/married to a park commando is hazardous to my sanity. My goal (in two weeks) is getting a few acceptable dark ride shots. So far my best D/R ride shot is the Wicked Witch in TGMR (and its not very good). But I have a new 60D and I intend to pick up a nifty 50 1.7 as soon as the Commando turns her back. Its easier get forgivness than get permission.

 

[DoleWhipDVC]

WOW! Todd_H struck a nerve... I can't tell you how many times I have heard "what are you doing?" while trying to compose a shot or "we're waiting!"... Traveling with/married to a park commando is hazardous to my sanity. My goal (in two weeks) is getting a few acceptable dark ride shots. So far my best D/R ride shot is the Wicked Witch in TGMR (and its not very good). But I have a new 60D and I intend to pick up a nifty 50 1.7 as soon as the Commando turns her back. Its easier get forgivness than get permission.

I feel your pain. My whole family is of the commando variety, including me. But I also like to take time when shooting. This makes for a bit of "friction" on occassion. At least the rides force me to move at a pre-determined pace which the family can't complain about. Hopefully, the custom settings and advice from others will help me to get some dark ride captures. By the way, if you want to shoot the witch, try this: Sit on the right side of the first vehicle in the front two rows. You'll then be in position to shoot back over your right shoulder as she comes up or goes down in the scene. By being in the first car, you'll have time to shoot a few shots and adjust settings if needed while the second ride vehicle is moving into the scene. Shoot her as the fog effect is just enveloping her, and is illuminated by the lights at her feet. I got a great shot this way. If you're a few more rows back in the first vehicle, the shot will be looking up at her, making her appear really tall in the perspective. It's a neat angle. Good luck