Low light / ride pics..what lense?

[DisFam95]

I've enjoyed looking at a lot of ride photos on this site that look amazing w/ what looks like no flash. Some from GDad specifically. Also just general night shots that do not appear to use flash and not just still life.

I have a Dig Rebel XT with the 18-55 lense it came with. My DH bought me a 28-105 for a little more zoom.

Is there a lense that is best for lower light pics? I admit I'm just an auto mode shooter. Any tips for some good low light photos is appreciated.

I bought a tiny little tripod and did a bunch of longer exposure shots at Epcot during late night when it was empy and after a rain and got some great shots but how do you do it w/o a tripod on a ride?

 

[SharonLowe]

I've enjoyed looking at a lot of ride photos on this site that look amazing w/ what looks like no flash. Some from GDad specifically. Also just general night shots that do need appear to use flash and not just still life.

I have a Dig Rebel XT with the 18-55 lense it came with. My DH bought me a 28-105 for a little more zoom.

Is there a lense that is best for lower light pics? I admit I'm just an auto mode shooter. Any tips for some good low light photos is appreciated.

I bought a tiny little tripod and did a bunch of longer exposure shots at Epcot during late night when it was empy and after a rain and got some great shots but how do you do it w/o a tripod on a ride?

You need a lens with a wide aperture (small f/stop) and you will need to increase your ISO to the highest your camera will go. I use a 50mm f/1.4 with my Canon 1DsMkII set at 1600 for most dark rides; sometimes 800 on the less dark rides. The ones you have won't quite cut it on the dark rides. Many here recommend the 50mm f/1.8 because it is pretty inexpensive.

 

[DisFam95]

ok..setting the ISO..I have no idea how to do this. Guess I need to find the manual!

Is there a certain mode I should be shooting in? When I did my exposed night shots I just messed around and took 1 in each mode but I don't recall which ones turned out best.

There is...

A-DEP
M
Av
Tv
P

Then there is the 'night shot' auto mode w/ the picture of the guy w/ the star.

 

[Gdad]

Hey there- thanks for the kind words. What Sharon said is correct- the wider aperature (lower number) enables the most light into the camera in dark situations. I have been very happy lately with the Sigma 30mm f1.4- (About $375 I think) keep in mind that at a shorter focal length you should be able to hand-hold your camera steady for a longer exposure. The old rule of thumb would be the inverse of the focal length- for example 50mm = 1/50th Sec, 30mm = 1/30th, etc.

In the dark I usually shoot in Shutter Priority and set the speed to match the above rule of thumb or one less. Then set the ISO as high as possible. I also shoot in the dark at a -1EV or a little more- otherwise the camera tends to try to expose the image to the middle of the histogram. I prefer the image to look like I remember from the ride. Hope this helps.

 

[Groucho]

What Gdad said.

Also remember that Gdad is using a Nikon D300, which has high ISO quality that beats the majority of DSLRs out there, so he can shoot at 3200 ISO pretty safely, which is not even an option on many DSLRs. The old "unfair advantage".

 

[mike_r]

Think you should go for the 50 1.8, like SharonLowe said its a popular lens and its a cheaper alternitave to to 50 1.4, $90 as opposed to $300. The lens is made all in plastic including the mount, hence the nickname "plastic fantastic" but its still a good lens to get some good low light shots.