Photos in Rides w/o Flash

[ssanders79]

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).

I have the same setup and it can be done.

f/1.8 1/25 sec iso 1600

Give Us the Key!!! by Scott Sanders [ssanders79], on Flickr

For a not so dark ride.
f/1.8 1/25 sec iso 800

The Great Movie Ride | Mary Poppins & Bert by Scott Sanders [ssanders79], on Flickr

 

[pgowder]

I have the same setup and it can be done.

f/1.8 1/25 sec iso 1600

Give Us the Key!!! by Scott Sanders [ssanders79], on Flickr

For a not so dark ride.
f/1.8 1/25 sec iso 800

The Great Movie Ride | Mary Poppins & Bert by Scott Sanders [ssanders79], on Flickr

1/25! I'm impressed at your steady hand!

 

[ssanders79]

1/25! I'm impressed at your steady hand!

I forgot to mention the other key factor, LUCK.

 

[pgowder]

I forgot to mention the other key factor, LUCK.

Oh yea!

I love it when I get lucky and the ride stops right at a critical scene!

 

[Goofypop]

First off, let me say to the OP that I am very happy that you are one of the people that do not use a flash in dark rides. Thank you.


Second, I know next to nothing about photography and I just set my camera (a Point and Shoot Canon PowerShot SX20IS) to ISO3200 and my dark ride photos came out pretty good.


And again, thanks for not using a flash. We tend to sit here on these boards and bash flash users but we never say thank you for not using it.

 

[pgowder]

and again, thanks for not using a flash. We tend to sit here on these boards and bash flash users but we never say thank you for not using it.

amen!

 

[krb2g]

ssanders79: I'm so pleased to see it can be done! Great pictures!

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

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.

Your comment bolded caused a question to pop up in my mind...but if anyone knows that would be great!

Concerning DOF: I have a 50mm f/1.8 and I am getting very nice shots with it...but I am close to the subject and going for a bokeh in the background, which I enjoy.

But the lens is sharp and the DOF is razor thin, so for example in one shot my dog's nose tip was in focus but her eyes were blurry.

What happens when I focus on something 10 feet away? Does the DOF increase in size even though my aperture is the same? 50 feet?

 

[pgowder]

Your comment bolded caused a question to pop up in my mind...but if anyone knows that would be great!

Concerning DOF: I have a 50mm f/1.8 and I am getting very nice shots with it...but I am close to the subject and going for a bokeh in the background, which I enjoy.

But the lens is sharp and the DOF is razor thin, so for example in one shot my dog's nose tip was in focus but her eyes were blurry.

What happens when I focus on something 10 feet away? Does the DOF increase in size even though my aperture is the same? 50 feet?

Use something like this:
http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

to calculate that.

 

[zackiedawg]

Simple answer - yes - your depth of field will increase as the distance increases. It will still be pretty narrow in something like dark rides, but on the order usually of a foot or so, so anything you're spot focusing on should be pretty solid in focus, such as the width of an animatronic figure's head! Figure you're shooting from 10-25 feet typically on dark rides, and maybe as much as 30-50 feet at stage shows.