Last minute advice! (indoor)

g0g

Have a basic enough DSLR, haven't much of a clue, and need to take some indoor photos later at a staff party. So basically indoor dim/dark pub photos. I know what I have isn't at all ideal but need to figure correct setup...

Pentax K-R 18-55 kit lens no extras

Am I right in saying:
F-Stop - lowest value possible?
ISO - keep around 1600 or 3200?
Built-in flash - better to use it or not?
Is best mode to use Av?

Sorry if these are really beginner-y questions!:)

Any (simple!) advice appreciated!

pixbyjohn

Use the flash otherwise your photos will be blurry. Check how high your ISO will go without the photos becoming noisy.
http://www.adorama.com/alc/0012955/article/FAQ-What-is-Noise-in-a-Digital-Photograph

ScumLord

If you could pick a well lit corner do to photos in just so you can guarantee some results you'd have some photos in the bag at least. Then anything else you get is a bonus. I've found that a basic DSLR setup can be hard to get working in a dark place whereas compacts are made for that kind of stuff. Maybe bring along one of those as a back up.

I don't think the built in flash on a DSLR will be much good, I've found them to be more hassle than they're worth and I've given up on the one built into mine. Maybe your's is much better.

pixbyjohn

Just try this at home in a dimly lit room and see if you are happy with the results>>>>> Manual setting Shutter speed 160.... Aperture Setting f5.6 and ISO 200 with flash on. Have autofocus on. Let me know how it works for you?

AnCatDubh

Sorry if i'm too late but i'd offer the following for you to consider -

if uncomfortable with the environment and/or conditions which you will be shooting in, and if your equipment is basic enough (nothing wrong with what you've indicated above btw, other than it would be a little challenged in low light which will be your shooting environment), and if there is expectation on you to produce the goods in terms of photographs of the evening for the office then I'm inclined to suggest two things to you;

a) stick the camera in green mode, pop up the flash, and snap away

b) get relatively close to your subjects

and as to dealing with the aftermath - get used to removing red-eye. Even picasa does a good job on it and is really efficient in removing them.

I'd put more attention into the scenes which you take if possible - look out for backgrounds in particular, and arranging people if that's what the evening allows.

The higher ISO's are fine if your photo kit can deal with them without too much noise but know the limits of your kit. Noise lives in the shadows and in a dimly lit room they will come to the fore. In print it will be more forgiving than on screen.

If you use the on board / pop up flash, then *I think* your shutter speed will be set automatically to 1/60 (ie. to try stuff what available light there is onto the sensor while still keeping the image reasonably sharp/free of blur), this unless you go into manual or shutter priority mode* ( * the latter i'm not certain of).

Enjoy the evening and don't get too stressed by it. Unless you have photo-aficionados at your workplace, it is likely that if you can get some photographs, reasonably well lit, with happy people / happy faces, then you'll be the photo hero of the evening with better results than most point and shoots or camera phones used on the night by others (do you work at Magnum by any chance? because then i'd start panicing alright )

Have fun.

pixbyjohn

g0g wrote: »

Have a basic enough DSLR, haven't much of a clue, and need to take some indoor photos later at a staff party. So basically indoor dim/dark pub photos. I know what I have isn't at all ideal but need to figure correct setup...

Any (simple!) advice appreciated!

how did the shoot go?

MarkN

I'm late to this but for next time, get yourself a cheap prime like a Canon 50mm 1.8 and you will be able to shoot in low light without flash and get nice results, obviously I'm not sure how wide you'd need the shots to be but for me if I am stuck where I don't want a big lens and a speedlite making me stand out, that's what I would bring to shoot.

g0g

Thank you so much everyone for the tips! To be honest I didn't get to read all of them in time, but I'm determined to put some time into learning more about how this works before the next night out happens! I wouldn't bring the big camera if going out with friends, but this was a work night so I did it. In the end I got roped into admin most of the night and someone else used my camera with the settings I guessed with.

With lens not zoomed I had F3.5, I set the ISO to 1600, flash on for all shots. I think I left it in Av mode, so does that mean then shutter speed would have been selected by camera? Shutter speed seems to vary between about 1/15 and 1/30, with most at 1/25.

I'm happy enough with the results although they're by no means fantastic photos. I think with a bit of practice I might improve by next year. I don't know how to explain what's wrong with the photos (i.e. whether it's "noise" or what?) and they all have people in them so I'd prefer not to post publicly!

Someone else showed up with their camera who seemed to have a better clue. Don't think it was a DSLR but one of those ones that looks like a compact camera yet you can change the lens. He had a separate flash that he put down around the place, but said it wasn't a whole lot of use as the roof was very dark or something?

g0g

MarkN wrote: »

I'm late to this but for next time, get yourself a cheap prime like a Canon 50mm 1.8 and you will be able to shoot in low light without flash and get nice results, obviously I'm not sure how wide you'd need the shots to be but for me if I am stuck where I don't want a big lens and a speedlite making me stand out, that's what I would bring to shoot.

That's I did read somewhere else online that the Pentax 35mm lens is excellent and cheap, but when I found out what "cheap" means (i.e. only £ 130!) I had second thoughts as the camera with two kit lenses only cost me a bit over € 300 second hand! Will keep my eyes out for a second hand one. What makes these lenses so much better? Is it the 1.8 value meaning it allows more light in?

g0g

AnCatDubh wrote: »

Sorry if i'm too late but i'd offer the following for you to consider -

if uncomfortable with the environment and/or conditions which you will be shooting in, and if your equipment is basic enough (nothing wrong with what you've indicated above btw, other than it would be a little challenged in low light which will be your shooting environment), and if there is expectation on you to produce the goods in terms of photographs of the evening for the office then I'm inclined to suggest two things to you;

a) stick the camera in green mode, pop up the flash, and snap away

b) get relatively close to your subjects

and as to dealing with the aftermath - get used to removing red-eye. Even picasa does a good job on it and is really efficient in removing them.

I'd put more attention into the scenes which you take if possible - look out for backgrounds in particular, and arranging people if that's what the evening allows.

The higher ISO's are fine if your photo kit can deal with them without too much noise but know the limits of your kit. Noise lives in the shadows and in a dimly lit room they will come to the fore. In print it will be more forgiving than on screen.

If you use the on board / pop up flash, then *I think* your shutter speed will be set automatically to 1/60 (ie. to try stuff what available light there is onto the sensor while still keeping the image reasonably sharp/free of blur), this unless you go into manual or shutter priority mode* ( * the latter i'm not certain of).

Enjoy the evening and don't get too stressed by it. Unless you have photo-aficionados at your workplace, it is likely that if you can get some photographs, reasonably well lit, with happy people / happy faces, then you'll be the photo hero of the evening with better results than most point and shoots or camera phones used on the night by others (do you work at Magnum by any chance? because then i'd start panicing alright )

Have fun.

Thanks, I've learnt a lot from that post! The one thing I've found with this camera if I put in on auto mode in the dark is that it always seems to choose a really low shutter speed, thus making it hard to take photos. Maybe it's that I keep "zooming in" and does that then reduce aperture and drive the shutter time upwards?

MarkN

Well you could get the 50mm 1.8 for about €80-90 new. 1.8 f stop allows more light, although I'd suggest 2.2+ as your depth of field will be very shallow. More light results in better shutter speeds which results in sharper pictures as you're reducing your risk of camera shake.

The main risk with using AV mode indoors especially with low light is unless you whack up the ISO (some cameras handle this better than others) the shutter speed can be quite slow in order for the camera to get the shot and again, you risk blurring from camera shake.

g0g

MarkN wrote: »

Well you could get the 50mm 1.8 for about €80-90 new. 1.8 f stop allows more light, although I'd suggest 2.2+ as your depth of field will be very shallow. More light results in better shutter speeds which results in sharper pictures as you're reducing your risk of camera shake.

The main risk with using AV mode indoors especially with low light is unless you whack up the ISO (some cameras handle this better than others) the shutter speed can be quite slow in order for the camera to get the shot and again, you risk blurring from camera shake.

Thanks again. Any idea where I could get it at that price? When I look at camerapricebuster none of the Pentax 35mm lenses seem close to that price. This one seems to be the one I read people talking about?

call_mea_matt

g0g, if you live near Navan, you can come to me. I have this lens, so you can try how it works on your camera.
I was taking pictures in museum with k-r and manual 50/2 lens. Fully open and iso 1600 gave me times 1/50, 1/60. With DA 35@2.4 and iso 2000 you should get times around 1/80- 1/100. Dimm light at home (pub mode :-) ), set your camera to manual mode (M) and try with different times and ISO. Alway keep lens wide open.
This picture was taken on ISO 2000, f2.8 and 1/25sec. Light was only corner lamp with small 40W bulb.


MarkN
50mm on aps-c could be too narrow. I would affraid even about 35mm. The best idea is zoom f/2.8 and camera with usable iso 6400 or sigma 18-35/1.8 :-)

MarkN

Good point, without realising I was basing my use of 50mm on FF mind you if it's more close up shots of two or three heads max, might be ok. I've had the Sigma 18-35 and for low light it was brilliant but quite a bit out of budget for OP.

g0g

Thanks really appreciate the offer but am Bray-based! My lesson for the week is how the zoom (which I had always been using) impacts on how open the lens is! Will certainly try to experiment a bit more now as that seems to be the only way to learn. Would a better flash be a good investment for bouncing light off rooves? Do I need to spend a lot on that or would something cheap and cheerful do the job?

call_mea_matt wrote: »

g0g, if you live near Navan, you can come to me. I have this lens, so you can try how it works on your camera.
I was taking pictures in museum with k-r and manual 50/2 lens. Fully open and iso 1600 gave me times 1/50, 1/60. With DA 35@2.4 and iso 2000 you should get times around 1/80- 1/100. Dimm light at home (pub mode :-) ), set your camera to manual mode (M) and try with different times and ISO. Alway keep lens wide open.
This picture was taken on ISO 2000, f2.8 and 1/25sec. Light was only corner lamp with small 40W bulb.


MarkN
50mm on aps-c could be too narrow. I would affraid even about 35mm. The best idea is zoom f/2.8 and camera with usable iso 6400 or sigma 18-35/1.8 :-)