Feedback on conference photos

A month ago I asked for lens suggestionsfor shooting at conferences. I got great feedback and decided to go for a Sigma 50-100 1.8 on my Canon 80D. Thanks again for your help!

Two days ago I used my new lens for the first time during a talk and I'd be happy to get some feedback on the results.

I was quite happy with the lens. The venue was not really large (about 50 participants). If audience is larger, more focal length on both sides would be nice (e.g. a 70-200 on FF).

In this case I was happy with my FL of 50-100 and also the aperture. The venue was brightly lit. All the more, I was surprised about the ISO needed (mostly 500-1000) to get a shutter speed of 1/125 and shorter. I think noise is starting to be visible on 100% crops above ISO 640. Above ISO 1000 it is distracting.

The handling of the sigma is great. I like the smooth zoom ring. The weight is okay. I sometimes used my monopod, sometimes I hold it freehand. Freehand is working if you don't have to shoot the whole day.

What I found out: I need to be more accustomed to my gear. I tried P, Av, and M with and without Auto ISO. I used continuous and AI servo. The mid autofocus point (with recomposing) and dedicated autofocus points. But I definitely need more practice. I had too few keepers due making mistakes with my camera.... And whitebalance was quite off, when set to manual. I had to adapt it in post.

Here are some of my best shots. RAW, post processed (Exposure, sharpness & noise with DXO Optics Pro):

1

2

3

4

5

What do you think? Any tipps for improvement?

Conference shots are really not that exciting. I like the last one with the selective focus.

Pepege wrote:

A month ago I asked for lens suggestionsfor shooting at conferences. I got great feedback and decided to go for a Sigma 50-100 1.8 on my Canon 80D. Thanks again for your help!

Two days ago I used my new lens for the first time during a talk and I'd be happy to get some feedback on the results.

I was quite happy with the lens. The venue was not really large (about 50 participants). If audience is larger, more focal length on both sides would be nice (e.g. a 70-200 on FF).

In this case I was happy with my FL of 50-100 and also the aperture. The venue was brightly lit. All the more, I was surprised about the ISO needed (mostly 500-1000) to get a shutter speed of 1/125 and shorter. I think noise is starting to be visible on 100% crops above ISO 640. Above ISO 1000 it is distracting.

Shots at ISO 1000 or less should not be noisy. I think there are two contributing factors in your case...

1) You are flirting with a borderline slow shutter speed. A little movement on your part and/or her part will exaggerate the loss of detail which can look like noise. For example, (viewing at 100%) #4 looks soft and noisy and it was shot at ISO 400. Meanwhile #5 looks sharp and appears to have less noise at ISO 2500. In #4 she is gesturing. In #5 she is standing still.

2) Noise is made worse when the image is under exposed. My guess is that the brighter background (and screen) fooled the camera's meter into under exposing, leaving you the challenge of fixing it in post.

They are certainly not bad images at normal viewing size. I just wanted to address your comments on noise. Indoor shooting is always a challenge. You could bump your ISO to get 1/200 sec. for sharper images. But flash is often the only real solution.

The handling of the sigma is great. I like the smooth zoom ring. The weight is okay. I sometimes used my monopod, sometimes I hold it freehand. Freehand is working if you don't have to shoot the whole day.

What I found out: I need to be more accustomed to my gear. I tried P, Av, and M with and without Auto ISO. I used continuous and AI servo. The mid autofocus point (with recomposing) and dedicated autofocus points. But I definitely need more practice. I had too few keepers due making mistakes with my camera.... And whitebalance was quite off, when set to manual. I had to adapt it in post.

Here are some of my best shots. RAW, post processed (Exposure, sharpness & noise with DXO Optics Pro):

1

2

3

4

5

What do you think? Any tipps for improvement?

NikonNature wrote:

Shots at ISO 1000 or less should not be noisy. I think there are two contributing factors in your case...

1) You are flirting with a borderline slow shutter speed. A little movement on your part and/or her part will exaggerate the loss of detail which can look like noise. For example, (viewing at 100%) #4 looks soft and noisy and it was shot at ISO 400. Meanwhile #5 looks sharp and appears to have less noise at ISO 2500. In #4 she is gesturing. In #5 she is standing still.

Oh, thanks, you are right. #4 is 1/100s. Now I realize that this is too long. Maybe the focus is a bit off as well. But it interesting that #5 looks indeed much sharper!

2) Noise is made worse when the image is under exposed. My guess is that the brighter background (and screen) fooled the camera's meter into under exposing, leaving you the challenge of fixing it in post.

I realized that while shooting and usually overexpose 2/3-1 steps compared to what the meter was telling me (evaluative metering).

They are certainly not bad images at normal viewing size. I just wanted to address your comments on noise. Indoor shooting is always a challenge. You could bump your ISO to get 1/200 sec. for sharper images. But flash is often the only real solution.

Okay, 1/200 makes sense. I will try it next time and see if it is sharper!

Thanks!

Pepege wrote:

A month ago I asked for lens suggestionsfor shooting at conferences. I got great feedback and decided to go for a Sigma 50-100 1.8 on my Canon 80D. Thanks again for your help!

Two days ago I used my new lens for the first time during a talk and I'd be happy to get some feedback on the results.

I was quite happy with the lens. The venue was not really large (about 50 participants). If audience is larger, more focal length on both sides would be nice (e.g. a 70-200 on FF).

In this case I was happy with my FL of 50-100 and also the aperture. The venue was brightly lit. All the more, I was surprised about the ISO needed (mostly 500-1000) to get a shutter speed of 1/125 and shorter. I think noise is starting to be visible on 100% crops above ISO 640. Above ISO 1000 it is distracting.

The handling of the sigma is great. I like the smooth zoom ring. The weight is okay. I sometimes used my monopod, sometimes I hold it freehand. Freehand is working if you don't have to shoot the whole day.

What I found out: I need to be more accustomed to my gear. I tried P, Av, and M with and without Auto ISO. I used continuous and AI servo. The mid autofocus point (with recomposing) and dedicated autofocus points. But I definitely need more practice. I had too few keepers due making mistakes with my camera.... And whitebalance was quite off, when set to manual. I had to adapt it in post.

Here are some of my best shots. RAW, post processed (Exposure, sharpness & noise with DXO Optics Pro):

What do you think? Any tipps for improvement?

+1

Nice range of focal lengths and perspectives! I love it.

The only one I'm not too crazy about is #2. Not so crazy about the lip position. For something like that . . . maybe fire of a few images, as its hard to anticipate the motion of their lips, and then select the best one?

Take care & Happy Shooting!

TacticDesigns wrote:

+1

Nice range of focal lengths and perspectives! I love it.

The only one I'm not too crazy about is #2. Not so crazy about the lip position. For something like that . . . maybe fire of a few images, as its hard to anticipate the motion of their lips, and then select the best one?

Take care & Happy Shooting!

Thanks, TacticDesigns, for your feedback, appreciate it very much!

#2: I am with you, I already did a burst and this was the best from it!

In the meantime I practiced shooting low-light. I went out at dusk and made pictures of my cat and everybody else who was not hiding quick enough. Now I feel already a bit more familiar. Hopefully I can convert it to better photos next time!

Thanks!

Pepege wrote:

TacticDesigns wrote:

+1

Nice range of focal lengths and perspectives! I love it.

The only one I'm not too crazy about is #2. Not so crazy about the lip position. For something like that . . . maybe fire of a few images, as its hard to anticipate the motion of their lips, and then select the best one?

Take care & Happy Shooting!

Sorry. Pls mind the typing. I'm on my cell phone.

Thanks, TacticDesigns, for your feedback, appreciate it very much!

+1

#2: I am with you, I already did a burst and this was the best from it!

+1

I guess hard to predict what a person is going to say. Maybe wait for a pause. Maybe that will get either a serious look or smile? I don't know. But taking portraits, especially kids, I fire off a few shots. Amazing how a split second can change an expression so much.

In the meantime I practiced shooting low-light. I went out at dusk and made pictures of my cat and everybody else who was not hiding quick enough. Now I feel already a bit more familiar. Hopefully I can convert it to better photos next time!

Hey. IMHO it's fun to chase the shot!

Thanks!

+1

Take care and happy shooting.