Photo Sharing: Canon

[havoc315]

took these photos tonight with my new canon T2i. IMO, they're TERRIBLE. i didn't get a single, decent shot of DD15 on the field.

i WAS using full auto mode, as 2 days just wasn't enough time for me to learn how to set everything myself.


IMG_0049 by iluvamystery89


IMG_0037 by iluvamystery89


IMG_0053 by iluvamystery89


IMG_0022 by iluvamystery89, on Flickr

Your basic zoom lens isn't going to be great in low light. You can still improve these pictures in Lightroom. If you shoot in RAW, then Lightroom can work wonders.

 

[KCmike]

 

[momof1princess]

Your basic zoom lens isn't going to be great in low light. You can still improve these pictures in Lightroom. If you shoot in RAW, then Lightroom can work wonders.

i did notice the pics were dark. i'm not too upset about that, i kind of expected that, but they're so blurry. i guess because i was using the kit lens at first, and most of the pics i took of DD were with the kit lens. i used it for the first few pictures, then switched to the zoom. i wish i'd been using the zoom the entire time.
unfortunately, this was my last chance to get a good shot of her this season. our next (and last) game is a home game, and i'll be working the main concession stand the entire game. it's senior night, and the senior band parents won't be working, so the rest of us have to pick up the slack.

 

[havoc315]

i did notice the pics were dark. i'm not too upset about that, i kind of expected that, but they're so blurry. i guess because i was using the kit lens at first, and most of the pics i took of DD were with the kit lens. i used it for the first few pictures, then switched to the zoom. i wish i'd been using the zoom the entire time.
unfortunately, this was my last chance to get a good shot of her this season. our next (and last) game is a home game, and i'll be working the main concession stand the entire game. it's senior night, and the senior band parents won't be working, so the rest of us have to pick up the slack.

The zoom lens looks a bit more blurry. It all goes hand in hand. I checked 1 of your pics; the shutter speed was 1/60 and focal length was 163. As it is a budget zoom lens, you were already at maximum aperture. So the camera slowed down the shutter speed to counter the darkness. But, at that focal length, 1/60 is too slow to get a sharp picture handheld. I'm surprised the auto mode didn't boost the Iso more to allow for a faster shutter speed.
What would have helped -- raise the iso, zoom less to reduce focal length and increase aperture, and use a tripod if possible.

 

[momof1princess]

The zoom lens looks a bit more blurry. It all goes hand in hand. I checked 1 of your pics; the shutter speed was 1/60 and focal length was 163. As it is a budget zoom lens, you were already at maximum aperture. So the camera slowed down the shutter speed to counter the darkness. But, at that focal length, 1/60 is too slow to get a sharp picture handheld. I'm surprised the auto mode didn't boost the Iso more to allow for a faster shutter speed.
What would have helped -- raise the iso, zoom less to reduce focal length and increase aperture, and use a tripod if possible.

i wish i could make sense of all that, lol. i really think i'm going to need to take a photography class. i've been reading "understanding exposure", but i'm pretty sure there are some steps left out. it said to change the aperture to 5.6, then use the dial to change the shutter speed until the viewfinder told me it was correct...it didn't do that. i stopped when the arrow got mid-range, which resulted in a pretty good photo, so i guess that's what it meant.
i'm thinking "photography for dummies" might be more my speed...lol.

 

[mom2rtk]

i wish i could make sense of all that, lol. i really think i'm going to need to take a photography class. i've been reading "understanding exposure", but i'm pretty sure there are some steps left out. it said to change the aperture to 5.6, then use the dial to change the shutter speed until the viewfinder told me it was correct...it didn't do that. i stopped when the arrow got mid-range, which resulted in a pretty good photo, so i guess that's what it meant.
i'm thinking "photography for dummies" might be more my speed...lol.

Your zoom has a variable aperture. The aperture is the part that opens and closes inside the lens to let in more or less light. More expensive lenses have a bigger apertures, making them better in low light.

In a variable aperture lens, the largest available aperture is smaller and smaller the more you zoom in. So at a wider length (less zoomed in) you get a larger aperture letting in more light. So in these situations, it is better to not zoom in as much, but shoot on the highest quality setting, then just crop down as needed.

The ISO is the light sensitivity setting on your camera. The higher the ISO, the more light sensitive it is, but the more noise (grainy quality) your photos will have.

Your goal here is to get your shutter speed up. Your camera tried to compensate for the low light by leaving the shutter open longer. That is how you got a blurry photo. With a higher ISO and a larger aperture, your camera will have better light available, so can have a faster shutter speed.

Keep reading "Understanding Exposure". It should pull it all together for you.

 

[momof1princess]

Your zoom has a variable aperture. The aperture is the part that opens and closes inside the lens to let in more or less light. More expensive lenses have a bigger apertures, making them better in low light.

In a variable aperture lens, the largest available aperture is smaller and smaller the more you zoom in. So at a wider length (less zoomed in) you get a larger aperture letting in more light. So in these situations, it is better to not zoom in as much, but shoot on the highest quality setting, then just crop down as needed.

The ISO is the light sensitivity setting on your camera. The higher the ISO, the more light sensitive it is, but the more noise (grainy quality) your photos will have.

Your goal here is to get your shutter speed up. Your camera tried to compensate for the low light by leaving the shutter open longer. That is how you got a blurry photo. With a higher ISO and a larger aperture, your camera will have better light available, so can have a faster shutter speed.

Keep reading "Understanding Exposure". It should pull it all together for you.

i wish the DIS had a "like" button. thank you!

 

[havoc315]

Your zoom has a variable aperture. The aperture is the part that opens and closes inside the lens to let in more or less light. More expensive lenses have a bigger apertures, making them better in low light.

In a variable aperture lens, the largest available aperture is smaller and smaller the more you zoom in. So at a wider length (less zoomed in) you get a larger aperture letting in more light. So in these situations, it is better to not zoom in as much, but shoot on the highest quality setting, then just crop down as needed.
.

All true. But I've also been told, to avoid camera shake, your maximum shutter speed should be about the inverse of you focal length. So at 50mm, you can use a shutter speed of 1/50, while at 200mm, your camera is more sensitive to movement so you need 1/200. Maybe it's all bogus, but it does seem to work for me.

 

[jenseib]

 

[mom2rtk]

All true. But I've also been told, to avoid camera shake, your maximum shutter speed should be about the inverse of you focal length. So at 50mm, you can use a shutter speed of 1/50, while at 200mm, your camera is more sensitive to movement so you need 1/200. Maybe it's all bogus, but it does seem to work for me.

Yes, that's roughly true. But everyone will need to experiment themselves with what they can sharply handhold. With IS, even my shaky hands can do a tad better than the inverse. But it's a great rule of thumb to start with.

OP, a great place to start here would be to put your camera in aperture priority mode. Set it to the widest aperture your lens will do (the smallest number). Move your ISO up. I'd start with 1600 for the low light you had, but I've been happy with my T2i up to 3200. Then take some practice shots and see what shutter speed your camera comes up with. You found out last week it needs to be faster than you had. If it's not fast enough, raise your ISO. Bottom line is I'd rather have a noisy photo than a blurry one.

I shot a track meet last year under the lights with my T2i:


track325b by mom2rtk, on Flickr

You can see his foot is a little blurry, but overall, I was happy with the compromise. I shot this at 3200 ISO, but I shot in RAW and used Lightroom 3 to reduce the noise. If you don't have LR3, I highly recommend it. Doing this gives you the latitude to use a higher ISO and get a faster shutter speed. You can download a trial version free online. Then if you have a student in your home (which it appears you do) find an educational software site and you can get a great price on it.

The shot above was at 1/200. That's what it took to stop the action (sort of) in track. And to overcome my shaky hands. This lens was faster though, so you'll have to balance that with what you have. The aperture was 3.5 on this shot.

 

[dcg0317]

 

[Tink1987]

Beautiful Budapest - Mathias Church



IMG_9857 by MarkCollettePhotos, on Flickr

 

[dcg0317]

 

[South Carolina]

Another one from NASCAR

 

[dcg0317]

Waves from Hurricane Sandy at Rye Beach, NH, yesterday at high tide

 

[Tink1987]

Fisherman's Bastion by MarkCollettePhotos, on Flickr

 

[KCmike]

 

[Hibino]

IMG_4202 by 7D 1986, on Flickr

 

[Tink1987]

Berlin Cathedral by MarkCollettePhotos, on Flickr

 

[mom2rtk]

LOL, Where did you find that Mike?