What's your indoor snapshot solution?

[mom2rtk]

re: blur...

I know you have the 17-55mm 2.8....

what speeds to you try and get up to to avoid blur? I know it's subjective somewhat and depends on focal length and hand steadiness but just generally.

I have trouble staying sharp at 1/60 and slower....which is really my whole problem actually because that's the speeds I get in these situations in my particular house around dinner/dusk/late afternoon when these things are usually occuring...after I lock ISO at 800 or below and open up to 4 or 2.8 generally. I started to wonder if it was my lens.....

I don't recall.... which 2.8 lens did you get?

I shooot for 1/60, still can get some ok shots at 1/40 if I'm focus on holding the camera really steady. And I have VERY unsteady hands. Have had trembling hands since I was a child. I do think the IS on this lens is very good.

My issues tend to come with my 50-150 2.8 lens as it has no IS. They just came out with a new OS version of this lens but the size and weight have kept me from upgrading so far. (It's a full pound heavier than the non-OS version I have).

I also tend to shoot on burst mode. If you shoot several in quick succession, you're more likely to get one in the middle that's sharper than the others.

 

[Hockeyman]

How about a one shot HDR photo?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I had a similar situation early in May at Chef Mickeys, we were all the way in the back with not the greatest lighting. I used a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 and had to battle with settings the whole time tying to get clear shots of my kids and characters in constant motion. I think I started with adjusting the shutter speed so I wouldnt get motion blur and then adjusted the ISO and Aperture around that. I did end up with a bunch of noise in some but like Photo_chick mentioned, you learn to work around it or try to fix it in post processing. I think that whole breakfast I had more misses than hits, It wasnt pretty lol. Had to juggle 2 toddlers with food and all while trying to eat and adjust the camera in between the characters visiting our table lol.

This is funny - we've all been there!

In a situation like this it might be best to throw it on Auto, let the flash pop up, and call it a day, lol.

 

[Hockeyman]

All these shot at ISO 3200 f/2.8 and 1/125 with no flash. You can see some noise in these large 1024x680 but smaller it isnt as noticable

DSC04235-2 by Mike Sperduto, on Flickr


DSC04228 by Mike Sperduto, on Flickr


DSC04237 by Mike Sperduto, on Flickr

 

[handicap18]

All these shot at ISO 3200 f/2.8 and 1/125 with no flash. You can see some noise in these large 1024x680 but smaller it isnt as noticable

DSC04235-2 by Mike Sperduto, on Flickr


DSC04228 by Mike Sperduto, on Flickr


DSC04237 by Mike Sperduto, on Flickr

Hey!! We sat in those same seats in '05. Minnie was THE BEST!!!

(these were taken before I got my dSLR)

 

[Hockeyman]

Hey!! We sat in those same seats in '05. Minnie was THE BEST!!!

(these were taken before I got my dSLR)

Hahaha that is too funny. What are the odds lol

 

[Hockeyman]

Here is a comparison of the same shot using ISO 3200. The first one I did sharpen a little originally and that added some noise. The second shot I turned down the sharpen and added some noise reduction a little over half way over using Lightroom 4. So you can see shooting with a higher ISO you can fix a lot in PP

DSC04235-3 by Mike Sperduto, on Flickr

DSC04235-2 by Mike Sperduto, on Flickr

 

[ThurlFan]

I have a bias for shooting in available light, but I have a even bigger bias for getting home with pictures that are of sufficient quality for DW's scrapbooks! So if it's one of those now-or-never moments, I often opt for Auto mode unless I've already taken a couple shots under the existing conditions and have that comfort level that I can get it right the first time. With the stabilized lenses and my Rebel, I can shoot down to 1/25 handheld most of the time, and have even pushed it to 1/13 when I needed to (and could get away with it).

I have one of those Gary Fong diffusers for the popup flash and it does take the edge off just a bit. Next major purchase for the kit will be an external flash, and the diffuser is simply not in the same category as bounce for softer flash pictures. I will have a whole lot of new learning to do when I get one, though

 

[meanpc]

I'll just echo what others are saying, use a flash if the light is insufficient to get a good exposure at the DOF you need. It's not high-art, it's a snapshot around a table. Use an external flash if you can and the diffuse or bounce or both to soften the light and eliminate hard shadows. Most good wedding photgraphers wouldnt dream of taking shots like that without flash.

 

[meanpc]

Ill contradict what I just wrote above... if the light is close, I'll sometimes accept a too-slow shutter speed and use the spray and pray method. Especially useful for groups or kids, when your chances of having eyes open and good expressions on everyone simultaneously are suspect.

 

[boBQuincy]

I try to use a Lumiquest Softbox with an external flash. The softboxes come in various sizes and the larger the better but the big ones (8" x 7") are not very subtle looking.

 

[SrisonS]

I'd say to invest in an external flash, and realize the greatness of bouncing it (the Yongnuo YN465 is cheap, but good). You'll have much more of an appreciation for flash lit pictures.

I initially bought a Sigma 30mm (before I got the Yongnuo), because I hated how the flash made my pictures look. Now, I'm at a point where I know when to use the Sigma, compared to the flash; and visa versa. I bascially use the sigma for more of the creative shots. But for just regular snapshots, the external flash (with bouncing) gets used.