Car pics in low light. Advice needed
10-19-2006, 09:08 AM
#1
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Car pics in low light. Advice needed
It just started to rain quite hard and our house is surrounded by farm fields which drain off onto the road, making for some nice 10ft waves as cars go by. I thought I'd try snapping some pics with my 30D to see how they came out.
I had it set to TV mode with various shutter speeds but everything comes out too dark. ISO 1600 was ok but way too grainy. It's not that dark out so wondered what Im doing wrong. Anyone have some setting suggestions?
I had it set to TV mode with various shutter speeds but everything comes out too dark. ISO 1600 was ok but way too grainy. It's not that dark out so wondered what Im doing wrong. Anyone have some setting suggestions?
10-19-2006, 09:25 AM
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i've had most of my experience shooting cars in low light since i work fairly late on the weeknights and am busy on the weekends.
the tricks i use are the following:
1. well lighted areas with white light, rather than incandescent yellow street lights.
2. remote shutter release or timed shutter release to prevent camera shake
3. tripod tripod tripod
4. low iso which will compensate in longer shutter speed
5. usually, i don't mind the long shutter speed since i have a remote, so i shoot in a smaller aperature typically, but that's preference thing to get a sharper image.
below are a few examples of the different kinds of lighting you'll find in low light
white garage light where there's plenty of it
outdoor fairly yellow lighting. a fair amount of color correction needed to be done to this one
sunset natural red/orange/yellow lighting
the tricks i use are the following:
1. well lighted areas with white light, rather than incandescent yellow street lights.
2. remote shutter release or timed shutter release to prevent camera shake
3. tripod tripod tripod
4. low iso which will compensate in longer shutter speed
5. usually, i don't mind the long shutter speed since i have a remote, so i shoot in a smaller aperature typically, but that's preference thing to get a sharper image.
below are a few examples of the different kinds of lighting you'll find in low light
white garage light where there's plenty of it
outdoor fairly yellow lighting. a fair amount of color correction needed to be done to this one
sunset natural red/orange/yellow lighting
10-19-2006, 09:25 AM
#3
depends on the time of day + the shutter speed + your Fstop of the lense +ISO. The larger the Fstop (smaller the number) the more light it can draw. The longer the shutter the more light. The higher the ISO the brighter.
Hard to say why based on your description. I would say try making the shutter speed longer and getting closer to the action so you can use a larger Fstop
Hard to say why based on your description. I would say try making the shutter speed longer and getting closer to the action so you can use a larger Fstop
10-19-2006, 10:22 AM
#4
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Originally Posted by hyb,Oct 19 2006, 09:08 AM
It just started to rain quite hard and our house is surrounded by farm fields which drain off onto the road, making for some nice 10ft waves as cars go by. I thought I'd try snapping some pics with my 30D to see how they came out.
10-19-2006, 01:52 PM
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Originally Posted by FormulaRedline,Oct 19 2006, 10:22 AM
Are you trying to snap shots of the waves in the low light? Stop action in low light is not going to work no matter what. The camera can't physically gather enough light, even with the super sensetive (read: noisy) higher ISO settings.
10-19-2006, 02:32 PM
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First, take that crap off of TV mode and start shooting manually. You will need to adjust your own f/stops as well as shutter speeds now (and now they will work) because in TV mode they both do not... In TV mode you are limited to what you can and cannot do.
Secondly, as "Got Rice" suggested, switch your file quality to RAW from Jpeg... This will give you more lattitude, but might induce noise as you amplify the signal.
Third, try to shoot with as large an aperture as possible (lower the number) like f/2.8, 3.5, or 4.0...
Keep your ISO high 800 should be enough, but if you have no ambient light AND there is no street lights, you might need faster... go upwards of 1600 if need be.
Lastly, try and keep the car in the same place in your viewfinder as you move with the car in the same fashion a shooter follows a moving target (although don't lead him, just keep him in the same place) and follow through. Don't stop the camera, swing all the way through with your target!
Now the beauty of all this.... You're shooting digital. If you make a mistake or it's too dark, back off the shutter speed and wait for the next car to do it again!
Good luck, hope this helps.
Secondly, as "Got Rice" suggested, switch your file quality to RAW from Jpeg... This will give you more lattitude, but might induce noise as you amplify the signal.
Third, try to shoot with as large an aperture as possible (lower the number) like f/2.8, 3.5, or 4.0...
Keep your ISO high 800 should be enough, but if you have no ambient light AND there is no street lights, you might need faster... go upwards of 1600 if need be.
Lastly, try and keep the car in the same place in your viewfinder as you move with the car in the same fashion a shooter follows a moving target (although don't lead him, just keep him in the same place) and follow through. Don't stop the camera, swing all the way through with your target!
Now the beauty of all this.... You're shooting digital. If you make a mistake or it's too dark, back off the shutter speed and wait for the next car to do it again!
Good luck, hope this helps.
10-19-2006, 10:23 PM
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just note that the higher the iso, the higher the noise, which makes digital pics look like crap imo. i almost always shoot in the lowest iso possible (200 on my d70). with a tripod, adjusting the exposure compensation is usually good enough for me.
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10-20-2006, 02:33 AM
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Originally Posted by arrrmand,Oct 20 2006, 02:23 AM
just note that the higher the iso, the higher the noise, which makes digital pics look like crap imo. i almost always shoot in the lowest iso possible (200 on my d70). with a tripod, adjusting the exposure compensation is usually good enough for me.
10-20-2006, 08:39 AM
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Originally Posted by F1-Fanatic,Oct 20 2006, 03:33 AM
No disrespect arrrmand, but hyb's post is talking about a moving subject in very dark conditions. Neither a tripod nor an ISO of 200 will work if he wants to capture the cars that are creating the 10 foot waves.