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Low Light Theatre Shots - 85 1.8D

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Thanks for the photos - great shots.

I have been thinking about getting this lens for the same purpose - my kids (10 and 14) are both playing in orchestras - plus the occasional solo spot on piano or cello. I've tried using the Nikkor 18-70 - not quite long enough and too slow. I've had some moderate success with the Tamron 70-300 which has great reach; but this is really too slow and very difficult to hold steady at the long end, even on a monopod, given that the exposures are fairly long. I've thought that the 85mm f1.8 might be the answer (plus being a great portrait lens), and you have made the decision easy!

Now all I need to be able to take photos as good as yours is talent

David

PS - It's a very funny play isn't it! Looks like a good performance from your shots
 
Sydney Dave,

Your gonna be spoiled by having f1.8 after trying your other two lenses. from f3.5 to f1.8 is a double doubling of the shutter speed. from f5.6 to f1.8 is a double double doubling of the shutter speed. You can almost not do any better than the 85/1.8 (okay there is the 1.4!)

The 85 gets you in close, surprisingly enough, but the next step after getting the lens and finding that it still isn't close enough, is gonna be foot zooming. If you find you aren't close enough and you feel you really "need" more telephoto, it is almost impossible to find anything like the 85 in aperture size. Lenses after 85 start getting smaller apertures, so avoid the temptation to even want more and just be the obnoxious Dad who gets too close or come early enough to scope out the best seats or whatever. Get the most out of your 85mm.

Guy Moscoso
DavidfromSydney said:
Thanks for the photos - great shots.

I have been thinking about getting this lens for the same purpose -
my kids (10 and 14) are both playing in orchestras - plus the
occasional solo spot on piano or cello. I've tried using the
Nikkor 18-70 - not quite long enough and too slow. I've had some
moderate success with the Tamron 70-300 which has great reach; but
this is really too slow and very difficult to hold steady at the
long end, even on a monopod, given that the exposures are fairly
long. I've thought that the 85mm f1.8 might be the answer (plus
being a great portrait lens), and you have made the decision easy!

Now all I need to be able to take photos as good as yours is talent

David

PS - It's a very funny play isn't it! Looks like a good
performance from your shots
Click to expand...
 
if you find the a good copy, this lens is awesome! here's mine from
last month.

here's a shallow dof from 85/1.8 taken in the dim lighting of a
high school auditorium.
D70, spot mode, iso 800, f1.8, 1/30, aperture priority, no flash.



same as above set up but 1/640 shutter speed and no flash.



same as above but 1/320 shutter

 
Very nice. Any special in camera settings to acheive vibrant colors? Or do you do something in postprocessing?
 
Congratulations for your daughter ! Great achievement, hope plusses all the way.
And also for your photos. Which reminds me why I have this lens on my wishlist.

miancu

--
-------------------------------
Nikon D80
Nikkor 28-200mm f / 3.5-5.6D IF
Pentax ZX-M
smc PENTAX-M 50mm f/1.4
Zenit TTL
Helios 58mm f/2
Meyer Oreston Pentacon 50mm f/1.8
Meyer Orestegor Pentacon 200mm f/4
 
Sorry to resurrect this thread but it mentions precisely a question that i have. Exactly why does the lens blow the highlights out when it is shot wide open? I think it is a very sharp, reasonably fast lens but if I can't use it wide open it looses some of its value to me. If someone could tell me if there is anything I can do I would appreciate it. I am shooting a local CYT (Christian Youth Theatre) production of Les Mis on Tuesday morning.
--

Have a system to achieve work you are proud of, that can absorb the problems that inevitably happen when you are in a hurry.
 
rv for Jesus said:
Sorry to resurrect this thread but it mentions precisely a question
that i have. Exactly why does the lens blow the highlights out when
it is shot wide open? I think it is a very sharp, reasonably fast
lens but if I can't use it wide open it looses some of its value to
me. If someone could tell me if there is anything I can do I would
appreciate it. I am shooting a local CYT (Christian Youth Theatre)
production of Les Mis on Tuesday morning.
--
Have a system to achieve work you are proud of, that can absorb the
problems that inevitably happen when you are in a hurry.
Click to expand...
wonder if 85/1.4 suffers form the same problem. i noticed this, too with my 1.8. maybe 85/1.4 owners will give us some feedback. 85/1.8 has a different design (number of blades, diaphragm, etc), made of different glass and coatings than 85/1.4. so, it's just not the aperture, tho both are very fast lens. like any other special tool (this is a specail lens), we have to learn its strengths and weaknesses to be able to employ it to the fullest. the more we use it the more skillful we get. of course, always, the key here is to nail the exposure (white balance, too is very tricky when shooting stage play). i took about 200 shots at a high school production of a broadway play last night (my son was light crew chief). this time i felt confident--changed aperture/shutter/iso on manual mode because of the changing lights--i felt more in control this time after using this lens shooting volleyball for three years. i'm going to post some later. thanks.
 
Thanks for your feedback. I'll see what I can do with this lens as it is the best choice I have for this type of shot and I think I'll be using it quite a bit.
--

Have a system to achieve work you are proud of, that can absorb the problems that inevitably happen when you are in a hurry.
 
... I have learned to control the blown highlights by shooting in the following manner:
JPEG Fine
Auto ISO
Shutter Priority
Incandscent White Balance
EV comp -1
Center Weighted Metering
As fast a shutter speed as possible ... 1/200-1/500
Multi-zone AF

Keep checking the highlights/historgram and you will find quite acceptable results.

Recent shots at http://www.pbase.com/shschorus

Michael

--
http://www.pbase.com/mmccreary
http://www.McCrearyRealty.com

'A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.' - Douglas Adams

 
Michael

Thanks so much for sharing the link to your photos on pbase. I am going to have to get my photreflect site up so I can show and tell too.

I noticed on your chorale group EXIF that you did a "multiple spot" meter of the girls in black dresses on a black background which is very similar to pictures that I shoot for the Salvation Army in navy uniforms on a black background with theatre spot lighting.

What is "multiple spot" metering? Please pardon my ignorance. I thought I could only do centerweighted, spot or matrix metering. I'm using a D2x.

Thanks.

Rick Vogeney
--

Have a system to achieve work you are proud of, that can absorb the problems that inevitably happen when you are in a hurry.
 
This was my first job with the 85 1.8 and I must say I was happy with it at f2.8 but for some reason at 1.8 or 2 it blew the highlights out. And yes I did compensate with a stop faster on the shutter speed. Most of these were shot handheld at about 1/60 sec at 2.8, ISO around 1200. Maybe I'm not understanding something about how this D2x is metering.

Rick

--

Have a system to achieve work you are proud of, that can absorb the problems that inevitably happen when you are in a hurry.
 
Just took my first pictures with the 85/1.8 last night at a dress rehearsal. I was shooting RAW and it sure gets tough as lights are constantly changing. Was shooting Apature priority and kept bouncing all over the place from f1.8 to f4 based on light - usually on the lower end but was able to get some decent shots if subjects weren't moving. The change in lighting really keeps you thinking! Below is one of my daughter. On this one I was able to get at 5.6 since they had most the lights up. Shot this one at 1/100 and was using 400 ISO all night. I also had to drop the EV on almost all the pixs from -.67 to -1.0. Kept watching the blown highlights and just adjusted and went with the flow. I'm going to try again tonight and shoot 800 ISO - FINE .jpg only. I agree, on the wide open I wasn't thrilled withe results. Maybe at 800 I'll get a few more keepers in the bunch.

 
Why give up on raw and shoot jpeg? Also why shoot iso 800 on the shots where there better light (those where you shot at f5.6)? This is why a dedicated iso button would be nice - to change iso quickly. Think about Noiseware community edition if you dont like the amount of noise.
 
Excellent shots, tack sharp and good color rendition. Were yiou allowed to use flash or just bump up ISO setting and use large aoerature
 
Wonderful shots. Your white balance appears to be spot-on, which can be very difficult in a theatre setting, and your hand-held results are very sharp. I'm sure you and the school were pleased with your results. Congrats on your daughter's accomplishments.

Cheers,

Jason
 
... All shot in JPEG Fine, Apperture priority, f2.8-3.2, Center weighted metering, center spot auto focus, shutter speeds of 1/60-1/125, +0.3 EV, Incadescent WB, AF-S, ISO 640-800.

All were hand-held with good bracing techniques.

BTW ... I turned off the focus "beep", auto-focus assist lamp and auto review of the LCD. I had the schools permission to shoot during the performance as long as they got copies of the shots!

Thanks,

Michael

--
http://www.pbase.com/mmccreary
http://www.McCrearyRealty.com

'A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.' - Douglas Adams

 
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