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ISO400&Overcast Skies

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ChromeLight

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Quick question:

I'll be in Ireland in July this year with an SD9. I'm anticipating overcast skies (as a worst case) from horizon to horizon. I plan to be shooting from 10 am to about 4 pm each day. If I'm shooting at ISO 400 in these conditions will there be enough light to overcome the marginal ISO performance of this camera? I ask because I've shot some ISO 400 before in partly cloudy conditions, and there seemed to be enough light for a good picture. But I'm wondering about really overcast days.

I can't test this myself right now because I live in California and have only sunny skies to deal with right now. So I would appreciate any feedback from anyone who has shot ISO 400 with the SD9 in the conditions I've described above.
 
you're just rubbing in the fact that you have only sunny sky to work with.

:)
ChromeLight said:
Quick question:

I'll be in Ireland in July this year with an SD9. I'm anticipating
overcast skies (as a worst case) from horizon to horizon. I plan to
be shooting from 10 am to about 4 pm each day. If I'm shooting at
ISO 400 in these conditions will there be enough light to overcome
the marginal ISO performance of this camera? I ask because I've
shot some ISO 400 before in partly cloudy conditions, and there
seemed to be enough light for a good picture. But I'm wondering
about really overcast days.

I can't test this myself right now because I live in California and
have only sunny skies to deal with right now. So I would appreciate
any feedback from anyone who has shot ISO 400 with the SD9 in the
conditions I've described above.
Click to expand...
--
Chunsum
http://www.pbase.com/chunsum
http://www.pbase.com/sigmasd9
 
don't you think you will need ISo4oo for that except you want to do sports or other stuff that includes more movement.

Anyway as long as you can keep the shutterspeed for a correct or slight overexposure around 1/125 it should be ok.

--
http://www.pbase.com/sigmasd9/dominic_gross_sd10

 
and the histogram.
ChromeLight said:
Quick question:

I'll be in Ireland in July this year with an SD9. I'm anticipating
overcast skies (as a worst case) from horizon to horizon. I plan to
be shooting from 10 am to about 4 pm each day. If I'm shooting at
ISO 400 in these conditions will there be enough light to overcome
the marginal ISO performance of this camera? I ask because I've
shot some ISO 400 before in partly cloudy conditions, and there
seemed to be enough light for a good picture. But I'm wondering
about really overcast days.

I can't test this myself right now because I live in California and
have only sunny skies to deal with right now. So I would appreciate
any feedback from anyone who has shot ISO 400 with the SD9 in the
conditions I've described above.
Click to expand...
 
Dominic,

Thanks. So I guess you're saying that in Northern Europe in July there should be enough light, even on a cloudy day, so that you can hand hold at ISO 100 and I won't need a higher ISO? If so, that's great.

Erik
Dominic Groß said:
don't you think you will need ISo4oo for that except you want to do
sports or other stuff that includes more movement.

Anyway as long as you can keep the shutterspeed for a correct or
slight overexposure around 1/125 it should be ok.

--
http://www.pbase.com/sigmasd9/dominic_gross_sd10

Click to expand...
 
CL,

I am not sure you will need ISO 400 exclusively in Ireland. You are considerably further north of sunny southern California, which means that the mid-summer sun is lower on the horizon, but the days are longer. In effect, the lower sun will provide you with more natural polarization (bluer skies) and more intense colors in general for folks to complain about here as being unnatural. Ireland truly has the most amazing green scenery in any light.

Furthermore, weather conditions vary greatly. On the eastern side, the weather is more stable and can range from gloomy to bright for longer periods. The western coast can provide most of the seasons in one day. Wind is a constant there.

Morning and evening light tend to be lengthier and more gradual, since the angle of the sunset is shallow.

Whiskey is smooth in the center, the music is great everywhere, and the folks are more friendly than anyone Steinbeck found during his Travels. Most places have Guiness running freely from the village fountain.

--
Laurence

There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

http://www.pbase.com/lmatson/root
http://www.pbase.com/sigmasd9/root
http://www.pbase.com/cameras/sigma/sd10
http://www.pbase.com/cameras/sigma/sd9
http://www.beachbriss.com (eternal test site)
 
I live in swansea, wales (just a ferry ride from cork) and I can use my sd9 at 100iso with no problems...

Seriously, I'm not quite sure where you think Ireland is, but it certainly isnt on the dark side of the moon!

Expect to use shutter speeds of ~ 1/1000+ sec wide open from mid day untill about 4pm, you will be able to shoot hand held from about 6 am untill 8-9pm (so long as your not using a massive tele)

You wont need iso400.

Keep your shutter speeds double the focal length, i.e. for a 15mm lens use 1/30 sec, for a 50mm lens use 1/125 sec (I guess you know all of this???)

In July we should have temperatures of around 20-25 degrees C and lots of sun!

I shot the below pic on a fairly cloudy day (1/250 f/11):



There are other examples in my pbase gallery...

I hope you have a great time! dont worry about light there is lots of it here!!!

--
Thanks,

Wes.

http://www.pbase.com/wes_armour/sd9_images
ChromeLight said:
Quick question:

I'll be in Ireland in July this year with an SD9. I'm anticipating
overcast skies (as a worst case) from horizon to horizon. I plan to
be shooting from 10 am to about 4 pm each day. If I'm shooting at
ISO 400 in these conditions will there be enough light to overcome
the marginal ISO performance of this camera? I ask because I've
shot some ISO 400 before in partly cloudy conditions, and there
seemed to be enough light for a good picture. But I'm wondering
about really overcast days.

I can't test this myself right now because I live in California and
have only sunny skies to deal with right now. So I would appreciate
any feedback from anyone who has shot ISO 400 with the SD9 in the
conditions I've described above.
Click to expand...
 
Most of the time ISO100 will really do it and about if you need to shoot under a closed cover of really dark clouds handholding should still be possible at ISO200.
In July there should be really enough light...

--
http://www.pbase.com/sigmasd9/dominic_gross_sd10

 
Thanks for the information! Yes, that's what I thought. I just wanted to be sure. Where I live there's literally about 300 cloud free days a year. So in time you tend to forget what it's like to shoot with a little cloud cover.
wes~armour said:
Seriously, I'm not quite sure where you think Ireland is, but it
certainly isnt on the dark side of the moon!

Expect to use shutter speeds of ~ 1/1000+ sec wide open from mid
day untill about 4pm, you will be able to shoot hand held from
about 6 am untill 8-9pm (so long as your not using a massive tele)

You wont need iso400.

Keep your shutter speeds double the focal length, i.e. for a 15mm
lens use 1/30 sec, for a 50mm lens use 1/125 sec (I guess you know
all of this???)

In July we should have temperatures of around 20-25 degrees C and
lots of sun!

I shot the below pic on a fairly cloudy day (1/250 f/11):



There are other examples in my pbase gallery...

I hope you have a great time! dont worry about light there is lots
of it here!!!

--
Thanks,

Wes.

http://www.pbase.com/wes_armour/sd9_images
ChromeLight said:
Quick question:

I'll be in Ireland in July this year with an SD9. I'm anticipating
overcast skies (as a worst case) from horizon to horizon. I plan to
be shooting from 10 am to about 4 pm each day. If I'm shooting at
ISO 400 in these conditions will there be enough light to overcome
the marginal ISO performance of this camera? I ask because I've
shot some ISO 400 before in partly cloudy conditions, and there
seemed to be enough light for a good picture. But I'm wondering
about really overcast days.

I can't test this myself right now because I live in California and
have only sunny skies to deal with right now. So I would appreciate
any feedback from anyone who has shot ISO 400 with the SD9 in the
conditions I've described above.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
The answer is simple, do what you would do with a film camera.

1. Pick a camera setting similar to type of film you would you use(ISO 400)

2. Pick a lens with a generous F-Stop, if you can afford a lens under F3.5, buy it. Remember when we used to laugh at people with an F1.8 lens when we had an F1.4 or for the rich an F1.2 Cat lens?

3. You may be called a geek, but use a tripod. You don't have to be a pro to act like one. They didn't use them to pick up Chicks, just Pics

4. Depending on your photo subject, consider using a reflective umbrella or reflective card.

5. I still use a light meter, a used Gossen LunaPro is very cheap exposure insurance.

6. I shoot tons of storm pics in Las Vegas during flashflood season and Overcast Skies make better pics compared to Blinding Sun pics.

7. Practice! I shoot photos about 1 hour a day and try various setting to see what happens. Take notes and compare your pics on computer w/ notes. In the old days we had to buy 100ft rolls of B/W film and stink up the house developing it. This is so much cheaper.

8. Photography can be taught, I had a student who was a punk truck driver later get his ad photos published in Vogue magazine.

9. When I get a PBase account, I will show everyone what I mean. I won a Photo Scholarship in 1978 using a Kodak X60 with 110 film.
 
Thanks for your response. ISO 400 on the SD9 really only works in good light. When the light levels really start to dip something like Provia 400F gives much better results. The last time I was in Europe I shot 400F in 120 format with great results. But from the responses so far it looks like during the summer I'll be able to use ISO 100 in both film and digital without any problems.

If you want to see clouds, go to my gallery and have a look at my medium format images:

http://www.pbase.com/chromelight
LasVegasSigma10 said:
The answer is simple, do what you would do with a film camera.

1. Pick a camera setting similar to type of film you would you
use(ISO 400)

2. Pick a lens with a generous F-Stop, if you can afford a lens
under F3.5, buy it. Remember when we used to laugh at people with
an F1.8 lens when we had an F1.4 or for the rich an F1.2 Cat lens?

3. You may be called a geek, but use a tripod. You don't have to be
a pro to act like one. They didn't use them to pick up Chicks, just
Pics

4. Depending on your photo subject, consider using a reflective
umbrella or reflective card.

5. I still use a light meter, a used Gossen LunaPro is very cheap
exposure insurance.

6. I shoot tons of storm pics in Las Vegas during flashflood season
and Overcast Skies make better pics compared to Blinding Sun pics.

7. Practice! I shoot photos about 1 hour a day and try various
setting to see what happens. Take notes and compare your pics on
computer w/ notes. In the old days we had to buy 100ft rolls of B/W
film and stink up the house developing it. This is so much cheaper.

8. Photography can be taught, I had a student who was a punk truck
driver later get his ad photos published in Vogue magazine.

9. When I get a PBase account, I will show everyone what I mean. I
won a Photo Scholarship in 1978 using a Kodak X60 with 110 film.
Click to expand...
 
I would still try ASA/ISO 400 shots and compare to ISO 100 shots if you can so the rest of us can compare.

I will keep this in mind when I start posting my shots.

Sigma should kick a donation to DPR in the name of the Sigma forum for the work we do!

Maybe they could at least sponsor PBase accounts for us to post photos.
 
Laurence Matson said:
CL,

I am not sure you will need ISO 400 exclusively in Ireland. You are
considerably further north of sunny southern California, which
means that the mid-summer sun is lower on the horizon, but the days
are longer. In effect, the lower sun will provide you with more
natural polarization (bluer skies) and more intense colors in
general for folks to complain about here as being unnatural.
Ireland truly has the most amazing green scenery in any light.
Click to expand...
Yeah until the SD9 shoots it. Ha Ha (so I've heard)
Laurence Matson said:
Whiskey is smooth in the center, the music is great everywhere, and
the folks are more friendly than anyone Steinbeck found during his
Travels. Most places have Guiness running freely from the village
fountain.
Click to expand...
People would have been friendlier if Steinbeck had travelled with Sasha instead of Charley!
td
Laurence Matson said:
--
Laurence
Click to expand...
 
ChromeLight said:
Quick question:

I'll be in Ireland in July this year with an SD9. I'm anticipating
overcast skies (as a worst case) from horizon to horizon. I plan to
be shooting from 10 am to about 4 pm each day. If I'm shooting at
ISO 400 in these conditions will there be enough light to overcome
the marginal ISO performance of this camera?
Click to expand...
The controversies surrounding the SD-9 and SD-10 in low-light conditions and/or shooting at ISO 400 (or higher with the SD10) are overblown.

This past weekend, I shot underground in a Metro station in Washington DC. These are huge, cavernous, massively open spaces with an eerie step-into-the-future quality. The only available light is flourescents from above and from below, at the track level. My SD-9 was set on Auto and shot this dark space at ISO 400 and — at the moment — an unknown speed and aperture.

The end result, as always, is an astonishing picture. The camera captured everything my naked eye saw in this strange atmosphere ... hardly any adjustments necessary. The pic is sharp, and there is NO noise. The arched, pure cement, patterned ceiling is the exact color I saw there, and both the pattern of the cement and color of the light (steely light blue) looks accurate. I can also see every person on the platform, read most of the signage, and can easily make out the blues and reds of the exit sign lights, information booths, etc.

I will posting this pic on my pbase area as soon as possible.

The long and short of it is: don't worry. ISO 400 is no problem — at least, not with my SD-9. I have no noise problems, no skin tone problems, no artifacts, no dust. All I seem to have is great pictures that make most people's jaws drop.

— SteveG
 
Steve,

I'm sure your shot turned out great. But the experience of most of us is that we use ISO 200 and 400 only in an emergency.
veroman said:
ChromeLight said:
Quick question:

I'll be in Ireland in July this year with an SD9. I'm anticipating
overcast skies (as a worst case) from horizon to horizon. I plan to
be shooting from 10 am to about 4 pm each day. If I'm shooting at
ISO 400 in these conditions will there be enough light to overcome
the marginal ISO performance of this camera?
Click to expand...
The controversies surrounding the SD-9 and SD-10 in low-light
conditions and/or shooting at ISO 400 (or higher with the SD10) are
overblown.

This past weekend, I shot underground in a Metro station in
Washington DC. These are huge, cavernous, massively open spaces
with an eerie step-into-the-future quality. The only available
light is flourescents from above and from below, at the track
level. My SD-9 was set on Auto and shot this dark space at ISO 400
and — at the moment — an unknown speed and aperture.

The end result, as always, is an astonishing picture. The camera
captured everything my naked eye saw in this strange atmosphere ...
hardly any adjustments necessary. The pic is sharp, and there is NO
noise. The arched, pure cement, patterned ceiling is the exact
color I saw there, and both the pattern of the cement and color of
the light (steely light blue) looks accurate. I can also see every
person on the platform, read most of the signage, and can easily
make out the blues and reds of the exit sign lights, information
booths, etc.

I will posting this pic on my pbase area as soon as possible.

The long and short of it is: don't worry. ISO 400 is no problem —
at least, not with my SD-9. I have no noise problems, no skin tone
problems, no artifacts, no dust. All I seem to have is great
pictures that make most people's jaws drop.

— SteveG
Click to expand...
 
Dave,

I think you are about the only literate person around here or the only one dumb enough to be on the same wave length as I am. So let's figure this out:

Do you play setter or spiker?

L
Tucsondave.2 said:
Laurence Matson said:
CL,

I am not sure you will need ISO 400 exclusively in Ireland. You are
considerably further north of sunny southern California, which
means that the mid-summer sun is lower on the horizon, but the days
are longer. In effect, the lower sun will provide you with more
natural polarization (bluer skies) and more intense colors in
general for folks to complain about here as being unnatural.
Ireland truly has the most amazing green scenery in any light.
Click to expand...
Yeah until the SD9 shoots it. Ha Ha (so I've heard)
Tucsondave.2 said:
Whiskey is smooth in the center, the music is great everywhere, and
the folks are more friendly than anyone Steinbeck found during his
Travels. Most places have Guiness running freely from the village
fountain.
Click to expand...
People would have been friendlier if Steinbeck had travelled with
Sasha instead of Charley!
td
Tucsondave.2 said:
--
Laurence
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
Laurence

There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

http://www.pbase.com/lmatson/root
http://www.pbase.com/sigmasd9/root
http://www.pbase.com/cameras/sigma/sd10
http://www.pbase.com/cameras/sigma/sd9
http://www.beachbriss.com (eternal test site)
 
LSV10,

There is a Pbase account you can use:

http://www.pbase.com/sigmasd9/root
LasVegasSigma10 said:
Maybe they could at least sponsor PBase accounts for us to post
photos.
Click to expand...
Open to all comers with their best shots.

--
Laurence

There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

http://www.pbase.com/lmatson/root
http://www.pbase.com/sigmasd9/root
http://www.pbase.com/cameras/sigma/sd10
http://www.pbase.com/cameras/sigma/sd9
http://www.beachbriss.com (eternal test site)
 
Laurence Matson said:
Whiskey is smooth in the center, the music is great everywhere, and
the folks are more friendly than anyone Steinbeck found during his
Travels. Most places have Guiness running freely from the village
fountain.
Click to expand...
And, just like NY, smoking is banned in enclosed public places.

Enjoy.

Julian
 
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