Photos in Rides w/o Flash

[ron_ron_ron11]

Any suggestions regarding taking pictures in dark rides (Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, etc.) without flash? My pictures always turn out blurry or too dark... Sometimes my camera won't even take the picture because the light is so low. I don't want (/can't) use the flash...

Thanks!

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

What kind of equipment are you using?

 

[ssanders79]

Unless you are lucky enough to have the ride stop then you will need to have a combination of fast glass, a slower shutter speed and higher a ISO.

There is really not a recipe for dark ride photos as the lighting changes so much even within scenes.

You can also increase your chances by shooting in a burst mode.

 

[mom2rtk]

In addition to knowing what equipment you are using, it would be helpful to know what approach you are using. Do you shoot in auto, program, shutter priority, manual, etc.

It's very hard to get shots in a dark ride with a kit lens. Most of the successful shots are done with a faster lens. You need to be able to get a fast enough shutter speed to avoid any blur. That's hard to do without a little bit better lens.

Also keep in mind some dark rides are darker than others. Peter Pan is the hardest, Haunted Mansion is probably not too far behind. Rides like Pirates have more scenes with some brighter lighting making your odds better.

The focusing issue is just part of the dark ride challenge. Many here use manual focus in that setting. I haven't mastered that, so I tend to look for a part of the scene with a little bit of light contrast and try to lock focus there, then recompose to get my shot.

 

[dbaker375]

Don't mean to hijack this from the OP, but, I have the same question.

I have a Canon EOS 40D, I was going to try my new 50mm / f1.8 on the rides.

Any thoughts from any one on if this is the right lens choice? TIA!

 

[Spectro is #1]

These were shot manual with a Nikon D90 and a 50mm 1.8 lens.
ISO 1600
1/125-1/90
Tips
shoot raw. This will aid in post processing.
Shoot as high an ISO that you can noise correct. You will get a lot of noise
and will need to correct in Lightroom, Camera Raw or a good third party plug-in for Photoshop. Remove your noise and then go back and sharper using a high pass filter.
Most of the rides are slow moving but I checked the metadata and most of the clearest ones were shot at 1/125. I set my camera up to not use a shutter speed bellow 1/80. Exposure can be bumped up but blurry photos can not be saved.

Pirates of the Caribbean Auctioneer by wdwphotoclub, on Flickr


Pirates of the Caribbean - Buning Down the Town by wdwphotoclub, on Flickr


The Great Movie Ride - Casablanca by wdwphotoclub, on Flickr


Disney's Hollywood Studios - The Great Movie Ride by wdwphotoclub, on Flickr

 

[ron_ron_ron11]

I'm using a Nikon D5100 with a Sigma 18-250mm lens.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm using a Nikon D5100 with a Sigma 18-250mm lens.

Shooting dark rides with one of the "all-in-one" zoom lenses is really challenging. While very convenient, these lenses are not very fast (do not have a very large aperture available to you). That lens would have a variable aperture, which gets smaller as you zoom in. For that particualr zoom, you will get your widest aperture at the 18mm end of the zoom. So if you want to use that lens, zoom in less and crank up your ISO.

Most of what you will see posted here is going to be done with an aperture of 1.4, 1.8 or maybe 2.8. Your zoom probably starts at 3.5 at 18 mm.

 

[zackiedawg]

Agreed with Mom - the lens you are using isn't the best for that type of shooting - as it's pretty slow on the maximum aperture. Sticking with the widest 18mm end of the lens would be your best shot - that should give you F3.5 - you might consider using Aperture Priority mode to make sure it stays there. You'll probably have to crank your ISO to 6400 - it'll get a little noisy, but might give you enough light to get something usable out of Pirates, Spaceship Earth, Small World, etc. Peter Pan and Haunted Mansion might be just too out of reach for that lens. If you shoot in RAW mode, and set your shutter speed manually to 1/50, aperture to F3.5, lens at 18mm, and ISO at 6400, you could remove much of the noise, correct the white balance, and lighten the underexposed photos to something usable...but it will take a little work. If you use something like a cheap 50mm F1.8 prime lens, you'll have a MUCH easier time of it - that could mean the difference between underexposing and a good exposure, or ISO3200 instead of ISO6400, and a faster shutter speed to avoid blur.

 

[boufa]

On a zoom like that shoot wide at your highest resolution setting (or raw) and then crop them down when you get home. The picture may look a little rough in the viewfinder or on the camera, but you can correct you composure later.

The reason is (as pointed out) the aperture changes along the zoom range. It starts @ 3.5 when it is at 18mm but end up at 6.3 when zoomed all the way in at 250mm. You will get significantly better shutter speeds and thus sharper pictures @ 3.5/18 mm. If you zoom in on the scene, 1) you will now be shooting with a slower shutter speed, and 2) your movement will be magnified adding to the motion blur that can occur if you and/or your subject are moving.

People often forget that a 250mm lens is approx 5x magnification. Zoomed all the way in, you would appear to be moving 5 times faster and thus creating 5 times the motion blur (potentially). OS or optical stabilization found in many cameras/lenses corrects for vibration and hand shake, it does not do anything for motion blur.

 

[traylorc]

I'm looking forward to trying to take my first ever dark ride pics during our impending trip. One constant that I have read in all articles / posts on this topic is that fast glass is a must. I'm bringing both my 50 mm & 85mm f/1.4 Sigma primes.

 

[pgowder]

Here is a great article on how to shoot dark rides:
http://www.wdwphotography.com/shooting-the-disney-dark-rides-part-one/

I'm using the D700 and I feel like I'm cheating on dark rides now! I can go up to 6400ISO and above and still get a great image. With that I can increase my aperture and get more DOF.

Here's two examples. Both of these I was able to use a higher aperture than having the lens wide open.


"We were visionaries..." by Paul Gowder, on Flickr


First World Wide Web by Paul Gowder, on Flickr

 

[GrillMouster]

Up the ISO and open up the aperture. Focus manually and track subjects (start panning before pressing shutter release and continue panning, even though the viewfinder will be dark, throughout and following the exposure).

 

[Reddy]

the best hint I was given - if you aren't going with the really expense camera - take a video then use a program to save a picture in the middle of the scene (pause, play, rewind until you find the best "frame")

that is the best if you can't do what these others are doing - which I may come back and save a few of those for my scrapbook, those are wonderful.

but my way gets very good of people around you in "car" which these guys won't have

 

[Groucho]

Spot metering can help - on rides like HM and PotC, you'll often have lots of darkness around one or two bright objects. If your camera is trying to meter for the whole scene, it'll try to bright up the dark areas, which means the brighter areas will get blown out. Spot metering will ensure that it meters on the object that you're actually focusing on.

I tend to forget to do this, but it makes sense IMHO to shoot in shutter priority. The trick is figuring out what speed you can get away with - 1/50th or 1/60th would probably be the slowest I'd want. Anything slower than that and you'll probably going to get a blurry mess (unless the ride has stopped, in which case all bets are off!) You can always use noise reduction software later to clean up high-ISO noise but there's nothing you can do about a blurry photo.

Don't forget to shoot in Raw mode, which will help later with post-processing; even if you don't do it now, you'll have the option in the future. This is also good for adjusting white balance after the fact; some areas (especially Pirates) have very challenging white balance. I actually used a "white balance cap" last trip to get more exact WB readings inside a few dark rides!

 

[traylorc]

Here is a great article on how to shoot dark rides:
http://www.wdwphotography.com/shooting-the-disney-dark-rides-part-one/

I'm using the D700 and I feel like I'm cheating on dark rides now! I can go up to 6400ISO and above and still get a great image. With that I can increase my aperture and get more DOF.

Here's two examples. Both of these I was able to use a higher aperture than having the lens wide open.


"We were visionaries..." by Paul Gowder, on Flickr


First World Wide Web by Paul Gowder, on Flickr

Paul,

I have a d700 as well as and had a couple of questions. What aperture and shutter speed did you use for these shots. Were you able to use auto focus or did you use manual.

One of the reasons I picked up a d700 is because I wanted a camera I could increase the ISO and still obtain usable pics.

 

[krb2g]

Great thread! I have a 35mm f/1.8 lens, but a Nikon D40 body, so not very high ISO (I think it goes up to 1600)...we'll see how things turn out on my next visit (I've never tried to shoot dark rides before).

 

[pgowder]

Paul,

I have a d700 as well as and had a couple of questions. What aperture and shutter speed did you use for these shots. Were you able to use auto focus or did you use manual.

One of the reasons I picked up a d700 is because I wanted a camera I could increase the ISO and still obtain usable pics.

Both were shot with Nikon 50mm 1.4.

American Adventure
f2.0
1/80th
5000 ISO

Spaceship Earth
f1.6
1/80th
5000 ISO

I use auto focus with just one point. I use the single point when doing portraits. With that practice I'm pretty quick at moving the focus point around and getting the focus I want.

 

[traylorc]

Both were shot with Nikon 50mm 1.4.

American Adventure
f2.0
1/80th
5000 ISO

Spaceship Earth
f1.6
1/80th
5000 ISO

I use auto focus with just one point. I use the single point when doing portraits. With that practice I'm pretty quick at moving the focus point around and getting the focus I want.

Thanks...can't wait to get to World next week and see if I can score some nice shots.

 

[pgowder]

Thanks...can't wait to get to World next week and see if I can score some nice shots.

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