UGHHHHHH! HELP!

[AnneChan]

Wow, this advice is all over the place. Lets start with the fact that the D500 is a fine & capable camera. You don't need full frame. Now the catch is that any camera is simply a tool used to record an exposure. A camera records light. Period. And, as you know, you are shooting in some very poor light; it is the light that is bad and fundamentally the source of all frustration.

... Someone else pointed out that you could get an 85mm f/1.8 prime, with the caveat being that you would now need to crop a good deal to get the same framing as the 170mm focal length. The flip side is that f/1.8 lets in over twice as much light at f/2.8! And I doubt this images are being blown up and printed as 16x20 (or even 8x10) prints so cropping should be fine.

Yes, the Nikon 85mm f/1.8 could be the lens for the job, but it doesn't have VR, and that limits the SS to about 1/125s, although a mono-pod may help a bit.

Here's a shot I took where there was hardly any light at all (single 500W stage light).


Slightly cropped, but otherwise unprocessed JPEG.

Wow that is beautiful. I did NOT know that 85MM didn't have VR - I feel that I am a "shaker" - it's disappointing given it is $500, although maybe that sounds inexpensive to many! Not sure what to do here...

You can try the Tamron 85/1.8. It does have VR. It's more expensive, but you spent a lot on the camera, so you maybe shouldn't compromise too much on the lenses.--
Tinkety tonk old fruit, & down with the Nazis!
Bob

good point. Thanks and I will def look into it!

 

[AnneChan]

With your camera raising ISO past 400 does not help noise, you need to increase exposure, not ISO.

You are correct in keeping ISO to the base ISO but with the D500 I would think you can go up to ISO 3000 and end up with at least a "usable" photo.

400 is not base ISO.

Never said Base ISO is 400

Quotes above.

When you say "go up to ISO 3000", you mean underexpose 3+ stops, clip 3+ stops of highlight, and end up with a usable photo?

No, what I am saying is using ISO 3000 or higher to get properly exposed photos can still get you usable photos.

Do you know what ISO speed is, and how is it determined?

Yes, but I think we have far surpassed beginners forum.

 

[bobn2]

With your camera raising ISO past 400 does not help noise, you need to increase exposure, not ISO.

You are correct in keeping ISO to the base ISO but with the D500 I would think you can go up to ISO 3000 and end up with at least a "usable" photo.

400 is not base ISO.

Never said Base ISO is 400

Quotes above.

When you say "go up to ISO 3000", you mean underexpose 3+ stops, clip 3+ stops of highlight, and end up with a usable photo?

No, what I am saying is using ISO 3000 or higher to get properly exposed photos can still get you usable photos.

Do you know what ISO speed is, and how is it determined?

Yes, but I think we have far surpassed beginners forum.

 

[LynniePad]

Nikon 85mm f/1.8 could be the lens for the job, but it doesn't have VR, and that limits the SS to about 1/125s, although a mono-pod may help a bit.

Here's a shot I took where there was hardly any light at all (single 500W stage light).


Slightly cropped, but otherwise unprocessed JPEG.

Excellent example of when you can use high ISO. Since most artifacts are in the shadows the subject being the guitarist's face has the proper combination of light and shadow to produce a great image without having to remove grain. Again, great work and thanks for sharing.

Thanks for your comments. First outing with that lens, so I was keen to test it at f/1.8.

These days, I'd stretch the SS a little lower, but at that stage, I was "sticking to the rules".

 

[AnneChan]

the embarrassing thing is

Never be embarrassed. Hopefully we're always learning from our mistakes. I doubt there is one person on this blog that has never said to themselves at least once "Why did I do that". Absorb some of the good information provided and enjoy taking photographs. The more you practice, the more second nature it will all become.

--
http://www.dpreview.com/members/5199381230/galleries

Thanks for that. I just seem to constantly set the ISO too high or too low. On the spot adjustments are difficult as well, because it's not so clear just from looking at the display on camera back. I just like very very sharp photos and I don't often get them. I took this on the same day, and it worked much better:





I guess I am just looking for more consistency!

 

[scokill]

the embarrassing thing is

Never be embarrassed. Hopefully we're always learning from our mistakes. I doubt there is one person on this blog that has never said to themselves at least once "Why did I do that". Absorb some of the good information provided and enjoy taking photographs. The more you practice, the more second nature it will all become.

--
http://www.dpreview.com/members/5199381230/galleries

Thanks for that. I just seem to constantly set the ISO too high or too low. On the spot adjustments are difficult as well, because it's not so clear just from looking at the display on camera back. I just like very very sharp photos and I don't often get them. I took this on the same day, and it worked much better:



I guess I am just looking for more consistency!

That's the best shot you've posted. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that shot. You need to understand that there are keepers...that is when you get a good subject, good composition, match for you settings and gear limitations. I shoot dance and if I get 10-15 keepers per song I feel pretty good. Don't expect every shot to be a keeper, focus on the good ones and use the techniques discussed to increase your technical keeper rate...that is where camera settings match the scenes as best as possible, you were focused on the subject, no blur, etc.

Out of 75-100 shots I got about 10-15 of these types of shots below. The others were out of the horrible stage lights....essentially no light or they were sequence shots leading up to some action/leaps, or just not interesting, etc.

 

[AnneChan]

the embarrassing thing is

Never be embarrassed. Hopefully we're always learning from our mistakes. I doubt there is one person on this blog that has never said to themselves at least once "Why did I do that". Absorb some of the good information provided and enjoy taking photographs. The more you practice, the more second nature it will all become.

--
http://www.dpreview.com/members/5199381230/galleries

Thanks for that. I just seem to constantly set the ISO too high or too low. On the spot adjustments are difficult as well, because it's not so clear just from looking at the display on camera back. I just like very very sharp photos and I don't often get them. I took this on the same day, and it worked much better:



I guess I am just looking for more consistency!

That's the best shot you've posted. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that shot. You need to understand that there are keepers...that is when you get a good subject, good composition, match for you settings and gear limitations. I shoot dance and if I get 10-15 keepers per song I feel pretty good. Don't expect every shot to be a keeper, focus on the good ones and use the techniques discussed to increase your technical keeper rate...that is where camera settings match the scenes as best as possible, you were focused on the subject, no blur, etc.

Out of 75-100 shots I got about 10-15 of these types of shots below. The others were out of the horrible stage lights....essentially no light or they were sequence shots leading up to some action/leaps, or just not interesting, etc.

Good to remember. Your shot is gorgeous. Thanks!

 

[FingerPainter]

... I just seem to constantly set the ISO too high or too low.

Then don't set ISO at all. Use Auto-ISO and let the camera set ISO for you. What is important is to control the shutter and aperture, because those (plus the light in the scene) are what determines how noisy your image looks.

 

[LordKOTL]

... I just seem to constantly set the ISO too high or too low.

Then don't set ISO at all. Use Auto-ISO and let the camera set ISO for you. What is important is to control the shutter and aperture, because those (plus the light in the scene) are what determines how noisy your image looks.

Seconding what FingerPainter says here. Set the "base" ISO to something like 100 for the mall shots and also set AutoISO, set the aperture to the F-number that gives you the DoF you need to properly compose the shot, and set the shutter to the minimum value to provide the amount of stop-action and negate any camera shake you need to compose the shot, and then let the body determine the ISO.

If you find a lack of DR or too much noise, the only way to solve it then is to throw more light at the sensor, which means opening the aperture up more if possible--and might affect acceptable DoF, slowing the shutter down which might introduce too much motion blur/camera shake, or adding more light to the scene--which in the mall may not be possible.

And never be afraid to bracket.