Blank Picture - Why?

Bazza06 · Mar 11, 2015

Hi.

I recently bought a Nikon D5300 and have been experimenting with some of the settings.

When I put the camera in shutter priority mode some of the pictures I take are completely black.

I noticed that the F-Stop is 5 and the black pictures occur at speeds of 1/125 and above.

The pictures I've taken are in small room with the lights on at night time.

I'm assuming that there isn't enough light getting into the lens but I thought that at F5 the lens is at its most widest and therefore would not require much time to get the light in?

I am just starting out so it's all new!

Incidentally I'm shooing in RAW if that makes any difference.

Thanks.

tedolf · Mar 11, 2015

Bazza06 said:
Hi.

I recently bought a Nikon D5300 and have been experimenting with some of the settings.

When I put the camera in shutter priority mode some of the pictures I take are completely black.

I noticed that the F-Stop is 5 and the black pictures occur at speeds of 1/125 and above.

The pictures I've taken are in small room with the lights on at night time.

I'm assuming that there isn't enough light getting into the lens but I thought that at F5 the lens is at its most widest and therefore would not require much time to get the light in?

I am just starting out so it's all new!

Incidentally I'm shooing in RAW if that makes any difference.

Thanks.

Likely, you have the flash engaged but your manually selected shutter speed is above the flash synchronization speed. If this is the case, you might see a properly exposed "slice" of the scene in the photo.

Posting an example would be helpful.

Honestly, if you are new to photography, a DSLR is a very poor place to start. They are complex machines. I would return it if you can and get a high end point -n-shoot camera and start with that. It may meet all your needs and you likely will never have to upgrade.

tEdolph

Bazza06 · Mar 11, 2015

tedolf said:
Bazza06 said:

Hi.

I recently bought a Nikon D5300 and have been experimenting with some of the settings.

When I put the camera in shutter priority mode some of the pictures I take are completely black.

I noticed that the F-Stop is 5 and the black pictures occur at speeds of 1/125 and above.

The pictures I've taken are in small room with the lights on at night time.

I'm assuming that there isn't enough light getting into the lens but I thought that at F5 the lens is at its most widest and therefore would not require much time to get the light in?

I am just starting out so it's all new!

Incidentally I'm shooing in RAW if that makes any difference.

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Likely, you have the flash engaged but your manually selected shutter speed is above the flash synchronization speed. If this is the case, you might see a properly exposed "slice" of the scene in the photo.

Posting an example would be helpful.

Honestly, if you are new to photography, a DSLR is a very poor place to start. They are complex machines. I would return it if you can and get a high end point -n-shoot camera and start with that. It may meet all your needs and you likely will never have to upgrade.

tEdolph

No the flash wasn't engaged, in fact, it didn't even pop up. Making that only happens in Auto mode?

Rather than swap it for a point and shoot I'll spend more time trying to understand why.

I really don't want to give up so soon after starting!

tedolf · Mar 11, 2015

Bazza06 said:
tedolf said:

Bazza06 said:

Hi.

I recently bought a Nikon D5300 and have been experimenting with some of the settings.

When I put the camera in shutter priority mode some of the pictures I take are completely black.

I noticed that the F-Stop is 5 and the black pictures occur at speeds of 1/125 and above.

The pictures I've taken are in small room with the lights on at night time.

I'm assuming that there isn't enough light getting into the lens but I thought that at F5 the lens is at its most widest and therefore would not require much time to get the light in?

I am just starting out so it's all new!

Incidentally I'm shooing in RAW if that makes any difference.

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Likely, you have the flash engaged but your manually selected shutter speed is above the flash synchronization speed. If this is the case, you might see a properly exposed "slice" of the scene in the photo.

Posting an example would be helpful.

Honestly, if you are new to photography, a DSLR is a very poor place to start. They are complex machines. I would return it if you can and get a high end point -n-shoot camera and start with that. It may meet all your needs and you likely will never have to upgrade.

tEdolph

Click to expand...

No the flash wasn't engaged, in fact, it didn't even pop up. Making that only happens in Auto mode?

Rather than swap it for a point and shoot I'll spend more time trying to understand why.

I really don't want to give up so soon after starting!

It would help if you could post and example. At least then we could see the EXIF data.

TEdolph

BlueEther · Mar 11, 2015

I would suspect that there is just not enough light. What was the ISO?

As said above an example would help

chuxter · Mar 11, 2015

BlueEther said:
I would suspect that there is just not enough light. What was the ISO?

As said above an example would help

All above is correct. You need to:

Post a picture that is "black"...be sure that the EXIF data is included
In case you can't figure out how to post a picture, tell us what the sensitivity setting [ISO] was.
Take a series of pictures w/ the same dim lighting. Start at 1/125, f/5, and what ever ISO setting you have been using. For each picture, increase the exposure time one "click". Look at each picture immediately after you take it. Tell us if an image slowly appears as you go through this sequence.
Pop the flash up and take a picture at 1/125, f/5, and the standard ISO. Is it black?
If you never see a non-black image, take off the lens cap.

BlueEther said:
--
Charles
Somewhere south of 38 S

Bazza06 · Mar 11, 2015

chuxter said:
BlueEther said:

I would suspect that there is just not enough light. What was the ISO?

As said above an example would help

Click to expand...

All above is correct. You need to:

Post a picture that is "black"...be sure that the EXIF data is included

In case you can't figure out how to post a picture, tell us what the sensitivity setting [ISO] was.

Take a series of pictures w/ the same dim lighting. Start at 1/125, f/5, and what ever ISO setting you have been using. For each picture, increase the exposure time one "click". Look at each picture immediately after you take it. Tell us if an image slowly appears as you go through this sequence.

Pop the flash up and take a picture at 1/125, f/5, and the standard ISO. Is it black?

If you never see a non-black image, take off the lens cap.

chuxter said:

--
Charles
Somewhere south of 38 S

Click to expand...

:-D Lens cap was off - I did check that before posting and making a complete idiot of myself.

I did increase the exposure time and yes a picture did start to appear. Hopefully I have attached an example of a black picture so that you can see the settings and make sense of what I did.

Appreciate all the help.

Bazza06 · Mar 11, 2015

I've just noticed that the picture settings shows F25 but when I first noticed this issue the settings showed F5.

Bazza06 · Mar 11, 2015

Just seen that all black pictures show F/25 in the EXIF data but when I took the photos the camera showed F5?

harcourtfenton · Mar 11, 2015

Short version - there isn't enough light to do what you want.

Long version - and a good idea if you want your photography to be more than hit and miss - is to learn basic exposure principles.

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-exposure.htm

It sounds like your using a low ISO setting in what, from a camera's point of view, is low light, and with 1/125th and f5 you're not going to do better than a dark image, and a practically black result is not all that surprising.

The f25 example would be a dead cert at those shutter speeds without an enormously long exposure. The f5 isn't going to work well either. Remember - your eyes and brain adapt to low light better than a camera. Don't be afraid of high ISO with a modern DSLR.

Learn, experiment. It will help.

BlueEther · Mar 11, 2015

with an ISO of 100 you will struggle to get any usable image in a room with only lightbulbs for light.

Look up exposure triangle, and read, read some more, then read it all again.

Stick the camera in Auto, Auto(no flash) or P, and look at the settings the camera sets. Go back to A (or better yet M) and set the smae settings then play from there changing one setting at a time from there and watch what it does to the lighting of the photo. Also watch the exposure metre in the botom of the viewfinder

confyushis · Mar 11, 2015

Bazza06 said:
I've just noticed that the picture settings shows F25 but when I first noticed this issue the settings showed F5.

i'm more inclined to believe that the camera was set to f/25 than f/5 ... but either way, the settings are obviously not appropriate for the scene you are trying to capture ... how many lights were on? 1 lamp? 10? does the camera work in daylight?

if the photo is dark and your camera is working correctly you have a few options:

increase the light (with flash or room lights ... sun, etc.)
widen your aperture (f/3.5 when lens is set to 18mm?)
raise your iso (great photos are possible at 800 or 1600 iso also)
slow your shutter (1/50s is pretty good to capture still subjects)

hope this helps ...

Bazza06 · Mar 11, 2015

Thanks everyone.

Very helpful information. The picture wasn't important but I was curious to understand why I got a black picture when, as it was my belief, the lens was at its most widest.

BlueEther · Mar 11, 2015

Low F = wide, high F = closed down = very little light.

Just to make sure you know the right way around the F works

Bazza06 · Mar 11, 2015

BlueEther said:
Low F = wide, high F = closed down = very little light.

Just to make sure you know the right way around the F works

tedolf · Mar 11, 2015

Bazza06 said:
chuxter said:

BlueEther said:

I would suspect that there is just not enough light. What was the ISO?

As said above an example would help

Click to expand...

All above is correct. You need to:

Post a picture that is "black"...be sure that the EXIF data is included

In case you can't figure out how to post a picture, tell us what the sensitivity setting [ISO] was.

Take a series of pictures w/ the same dim lighting. Start at 1/125, f/5, and what ever ISO setting you have been using. For each picture, increase the exposure time one "click". Look at each picture immediately after you take it. Tell us if an image slowly appears as you go through this sequence.

Pop the flash up and take a picture at 1/125, f/5, and the standard ISO. Is it black?

If you never see a non-black image, take off the lens cap.

Bazza06 said:

--
Charles
Somewhere south of 38 S

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

:-D Lens cap was off - I did check that before posting and making a complete idiot of myself.

I did increase the exposure time and yes a picture did start to appear. Hopefully I have attached an example of a black picture so that you can see the settings and make sense of what I did.

Appreciate all the help.

This is a good exposure......

for the surface of Mercury.

Good God!

F/25!

1/200 sec.?

Please, return this camera and get an advanced point-n-shoot.

Put it on "A" mode and take a photography class.

Tedolph

tedolf · Mar 11, 2015

Bazza06 said:
Just seen that all black pictures show F/25 in the EXIF data but when I took the photos the camera showed F5?

EXIF don't lie.

F/25 it was.

And at 1/200 sec. all at ISO 100.

Do you know what a light meter is?

Do you know where to find it on your camera?

Do you know what its purpose is?

Please, step away from the camera.

Seriously, ditch the DSLR and get something that is appropriate for you.

I am not trying to humiliate you. The most important thing a new photographer needs to learn is composition and timing. You are going to get all tied up in the technicalities of trying to operate a DSLR rather than learning what is really important. There are other cameras with equal image quality that are far more simple to operate yet have all the capabilities of your DSLR. It would be far better for you to start that way.

TEdolph

BlueEther · Mar 11, 2015

Bazza06 said:
BlueEther said:

Low F = wide, high F = closed down = very little light.

Just to make sure you know the right way around the F works

Click to expand...

steephill · Mar 11, 2015

I suggest you brush up on your social skills. Your approach is downright rude and unhelpful.

Bazza06 · Mar 11, 2015

tedolf said:
Bazza06 said:

chuxter said:

BlueEther said:

I would suspect that there is just not enough light. What was the ISO?

As said above an example would help

Click to expand...

All above is correct. You need to:

Post a picture that is "black"...be sure that the EXIF data is included

In case you can't figure out how to post a picture, tell us what the sensitivity setting [ISO] was.

Take a series of pictures w/ the same dim lighting. Start at 1/125, f/5, and what ever ISO setting you have been using. For each picture, increase the exposure time one "click". Look at each picture immediately after you take it. Tell us if an image slowly appears as you go through this sequence.

Pop the flash up and take a picture at 1/125, f/5, and the standard ISO. Is it black?

If you never see a non-black image, take off the lens cap.

tedolf said:

--
Charles
Somewhere south of 38 S

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

:-D Lens cap was off - I did check that before posting and making a complete idiot of myself.

I did increase the exposure time and yes a picture did start to appear. Hopefully I have attached an example of a black picture so that you can see the settings and make sense of what I did.

Appreciate all the help.

Click to expand...

This is a good exposure......

for the surface of Mercury.

Good God!

F/25!

1/200 sec.?

Please, return this camera and get an advanced point-n-shoot.

Put it on "A" mode and take a photography class.

Tedolph

Damn you've found out. I am actually training for a mission to Mercury

I'm just experimenting hence I'm here in the beginners forum!

Just trying to understand why I got the picture I did and thanks to you guys I now know.

I've had point and shoots and did just that. I never delved into the settings and by buying this camera I've actually forced myself to do so.

It's all experience and without fools like me you more experienced guys would have no one to laugh at!! Neither would there be a Beginners section

Blank Picture - Why?

Member

Forum Pro

Member

Forum Pro

Well-known member

Forum Pro

Member

Member

Member

Forum Enthusiast

Well-known member

Senior Member

Member

Well-known member

Member

Forum Pro

Forum Pro

Well-known member

Veteran Member

Member

Similar threads

Keyboard shortcuts