Photography Question

[gr8fl4porsche]

What are the best settings to use for indoor digital pics with limited lighting.
For example - how do I set up the camera for family Holiday pics in average lit rooms at night.

I use a Nikon D70S with 18-200 Nikkor VR lens.

I usually get better indoor pics with an older Olympus point and shoot in auto mode compared to the auto mode on the DSLR.

Outdoor on a sunny day the pics are spectacular. I have been playing with the camera for a over a year now and I still struggle.

[Cornpanzer]

Invest in a good flash. Then play with varying intensity levels and bounce angles. The pop-up flash just doesnt have the Butt to get the job done.

[kstar]

Originally Posted by Cornpanzer

Invest in a good flash. Then play with varying intensity levels and bounce angles. The pop-up flash just doesnt have the Butt to get the job done.

+1.

I get the best results bouncing the light off the ceiling. The SB-400 flash will do this at a reasonable price. I use an SB-600 which allows me use bounce flash on portrait (vertical) shots, among other things.

You could also try using something to diffuse the light from the built in flash; try a white post-it over the flash.

edit: I use a D40 with the same lens you have, FYI. When I am shooting indoors, I typically use program mode, set white balance to "auto" and exposure compensation to -0.7 (D70 may vary on this last setting!)

FWIW.

Best,

Kurt

[Steve Carlton]

I think you're fighting a losing battle. Some suggestions in order of preference, and test the setup to confirm:

1. Get an SB600 + a diffuser. (An SB800 includes one)

2. Get or rent a 50mm f/1.8 lens. They're about $125, and they're an awesome value and very good to have. Fantastic image quality. It might be fast enough to shoot without a flash (try ISO 800 and auto WB) It won't cast a shadow when using the built-in flash.

3. Shooting with the built-in flash should work to some extent. The more the 18-200 is zoomed in, the bigger a shadow it will cast against the flash. Wider angles might work. Get a diffuser if you can. Set the white balance to flash and the ISO as low as it will go, and put the camera in program mode.

4. Set your ISO high, like 800, and shoot at aperture-priority wide open. Shooting ISO 1600 or more will probably result in bad image quality. Hopefully, your shutter speeds won't be under 1/30th sec. Zooming will slow down this already slow lens. Set your white balance to auto. Try some test shots.

If you've got the D70s and an 18-200VR, you really should add an external flash to your bag. Setting your EV (exposure compensation) to -0.3 to -0.7 or so will reduce the shutter speed requirement and probably avoid unnaturally bright exposures, too.

[masraum]

Basically, you'll want/need to use a flash, but it also depends upon what you're trying to photograph. Will it be portraits where people are standing still smiling for the camera and you want them to stand out of the photograph, will it be active mobile kids tearing into gifts, a big group of people filling a room, etc...? Give us a better idea of what sort of photos you're wanting to take, and we can probably provide some more specific pointers.

ISO should probably be 400, depending upon the subject and purpose of the photo, you may want longer exposures or shorter exposures or a large depth of field or a shallow depth of field.

Also, you can do a google search for "indoor photography" or "photography indoor lighting" etc.... and get tons and tons of hits, but then you'll have tons of info to wade through.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

2. Get or rent a 50mm f/1.8 lens. They're about $125, and they're an awesome value and very good to have. Fantastic image quality. It might be fast enough to shoot without a flash (try ISO 800 and auto WB) It won't cast a shadow when using the built-in flash.

Ditto, Canon has basically the same lens, and it's an immensely useful valuable lens. The only issue that you might have shooting wide open is a shallow depth of field which may or may not work for you.

One thing that I would recommend that digital cameras offer, is that you should go into a room and take tons of photos of basically nothing, playing with the various settings to see what works for you and what provides what results. You can take a thousand shots and won't have to pay for developing.

Again, more details about the photos that you want to take will allow us to provide more detailed info.

[Steve Carlton]

If you can, shoot RAW + JPEG. You'll have the ability to go back and correct white balance, exposure and other bad settings with the RAW file. If the camera supports compressed RAW, use it. There's no noticeable loss at all. Make sure you have enough memory to do that. You can also "chimp" the camera- look at the LCD after your shot. If you know it's a loser, delete it to same memory space and post-processing time.

[gr8fl4porsche]

Forgot to mention I do have the SB-800 flash. Not sure what all the settings are for.

Thanks for the tips so far.

Christmas Eve will be shooting the typical shots. People sitting around opening presents, posed group shots and action shots trying to catch the little ones doing something stupid.

Which mode do you normally use on the flash?

[gchappel]

If you have the sb-800, use the ttl settings and look into using it wireless using the cls system. It is a terrific flash system.
Look at http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/ for more flash info than you can imagine.
Keep shooting!
Gary

[masraum]

I'd probably use bounce flash, and possibly reduce the exposure a bit. Using direct flash especially close in a smallish room usually results in harsh lighting and weird shadows. Reducing the exposure with bounce will reduce that tendency.

I'm not sure how camera savvy you are, but if you're not comfortable with lots of experimentation, then stick with program mode. You can probably rotate a wheel and run through different aperture/shutter speed combos. For kids and action, you want a slower shutter speed to freeze them so you don't end up with any blur.

For group shots where you're shooting people that are all side by side in front of you, then use a large aperture (small number, ie f3.5) so that will bring the people into focus and blur the background so the people stand out as the subjects.

You may want to play with some similar shooting over the next 2 days to experiment and be more comfortable before the big day comes.

[vash]

i think play with it. try a tripod, shut off the flash. maybe set it on the fill flash setting. you may find a whole new style of picture that you love.

if you need a flash, get a long sync cord. move the flash to one side, and start from there. it is digital, you can shoot, dump, and go.

[Steve Carlton]

Yep. Put it in Program mode and one of the wheels will let you change amongst the allowable f/stop & shutter speed combos. Put the ISO to the lowest setting you can for better quality and set the White Balance to flash (should be a lightning bolt). Familiarize yourself with the flash modes, red-eye, flash synch, etc. I'd just go with the normal mode; you're not likely to get red eyes with the flash so far above the lens. Do some test shots with different EV settings to see what looks the most natural. Put the flash diffuser that came with the SB800 on it. It'll take the edge off. Make sure you have 4 AA back up batteries for the flash. You'll notice when it gets tired.

[campbellcj]

An external flash is your easiest bet. Bouncing is good as long as the ceiling or wall you bounce off is reasonably low, level & neutral colored.

Without a flash you will need to use slow shutter speeds or faster glass (like the 50mm f/1.8D). I'm not sure if the D70 supports it, but the auto-ISO feature can be very useful in compromised or constantly changing lighting conditions. You can set the minimum desired shutter speed you want and the camera will automatically increase the ISO to try to maintain it. With the 18-200VR you can probably handhold pretty slow speeds like 1/30th or 1/45th, if you have steady hands.

The cool thing is that since digital is essentially 'free' you can shoot LOTS of pics, and just toss the lame ones.

[gr8fl4porsche]

Thanks for the help guys, I have the 800 working remotely now and picked up a 50mm 1.8 lens.

Much better pics.

Merry Christmas to all.

[911pcars]

Any camera needs sufficient light to properly expose the film or sensor (whichever the case). Without enough ambient light, that means supplementing with flash or strobe lights (portable or otherwise) or additional continuous lights (hot or cold).

Or, put the camera on a tripod or equivalent and increase the duration the available light can enter the camera lens. This doesn't work too well with live subjects, but a stuffed horsehead or Rolex watch w/o a second hand are good candidates.

Sherwood

[RWebb]

the VR is likely as good as the fast f/1.8 lens; the need for a tripod is nearly obviated - read up on how to set and use the VR lens - it is one hell of a major innovation

you can set the ISO up high if you don't use your flash - I think it'll go to 1,600 on the D70 -- the pic may have a lot of noise tho.

flash often looks artificial and the subjects won't look very candid

you can turn on a lot of lights in the room also

and yes, shoot jpg + raw

[911pcars]

"....flash often looks artificial and the subjects won't look very candid...."

Yes, if used from the normal camera position with direct flash. That's very minimal lighting.

There are techniques to make light appear more natural. For example, bouncing light from ceiling and nearby walls, reflected surface or through translucent material will produce more natural light quality.

Sherwood

[9dreizig]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

If you can, shoot RAW + JPEG. You'll have the ability to go back and correct white balance, exposure and other bad settings with the RAW file. If the camera supports compressed RAW, use it. There's no noticeable loss at all. Make sure you have enough memory to do that. You can also "chimp" the camera- look at the LCD after your shot. If you know it's a loser, delete it to same memory space and post-processing time.

+1 , actually it's amazing what Office Picture viewer can do to correct VERY simply....

[911pcars]

There's only so much one can do with an underexposed scene no matter if it's high res jpg or raw.

Here's one. Anyone care to try fixing it?



It's easier to "fix" if the exposure and the lighting ratio are closer to ok.

Sherwood

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

If you can, shoot RAW + JPEG. You'll have the ability to go back and correct white balance, exposure and other bad settings with the RAW file. If the camera supports compressed RAW, use it. There's no noticeable loss at all.

Make sure you have enough memory to do that. You can also "chimp" the camera- look at the LCD after your shot. If you know it's a loser, delete it to same memory space and post-processing time.

I shoot RAW and it works beautiful. Photos are large (30-40 megs each) but my God the quality.

Joe