Help with camera settings ?

[dj wayne]

Hello all just wondered if we had anu camera experts on here I have a canon sx120is camera wondered what sort of settings are best for disco pictures at the moment they are either too dark or too light with the flash any help would be grateful.

regards

Wayne
www.andersonentertainments.co.uk

[Larry B Entertainment]

I have the same problem. I cant seem to get natural shots of the light beams. There either too bright or dark and out of focus.

[Fullforceeventsltd]

I found this site useful before for digital slr camera settings in low light. It may be of some use.

http://masochismtango.com/2009/09/28/how-to-take-club-photos/

[Andy Collins]

To take nice pictures in low light you'll need 1 of 2 things.

either a tripod, which is bulky and not really practical or a fast lense (preferred option)

I have a canon 450D and I brought a 50mm 1.4f lense. This allows lots of light to pass through the lense so I can take shots at a very fast speed. 1/250 second.

this stops the dreaded camera shake and blurry shots.

All the pictures that I take are on apature 1.4 with a shutter as I say around 1/250 second.

If you use a standard lense, most go down to around f4.2 and taking shots without a flash can be tricky at best, because the lense wont let enough light through - therefore you have to extend the shutter speed to around 1 - 3 seconds which is way too long without a tripod. Thats why the pictures are out of focus.

The attached picture was taken with an apature of 1.4 and a shutter speed of 1/250s in spot metering.

Im no way an expert. I never picked up a DSLR camera before the beginning of this year. I walked in to Jessops (other camera stores available) and told them what camera I have and what I wanted to do with it. The sales guy was not only very knowlageable but also took time to explain what lense I needed and why.

i brought the lense from them and have never looked back since. Obviously a lense is a tool and not a solution, but since I knew nothing about photography and to be honest - I have little passion in it - I only want to take nice pics for my web site and to show clients, once you have a quality lense it is so much easier. I learn't what settings work best very quiclky and now have a collection of half decent pics to show clients :)

A fast lense will cost anything from £100 upwards depending on make and model of your camera. Mine cost around £260 from memory but it has been worth every penny as it takes some stunning photos - not pro quality but good enough for me!

[dj wayne]

Thanks for all your advice looks like a trip to jessops in the near future, Andy your pictures look really good thanks again.

Regards

Wayne

www.andersonentertainments.co.uk mobile disco Essex

[Digital Jack]

Can you ajust the ISO on your camera ?
The ISO refers to the sensitivity of the sensor in your camera , increase it if you can.


Read about it here >>>>

http://www.photoxels.com/tutorial_iso.html











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[dj wayne]

Just a quick update I went to Jessops today for some advice and was told I need a sony hx5v as these are much better in low light conditions but at £175 is it going to be any good I dont mind venturing into the world of dslr if I have to the girl in the shop was only young so none the wiser really :confused: thanks for all your help so far I am gonna look at my camera tonight and see what settings on there I can adjust.

Regards

Wayne

www.andersonentertainments.co.uk Mobile Disco Essex

[Digital Jack]

That looks like a rather good camera , the deal from Jessops is good too.
I see it has aperture manual mode as well as a host of other user adjustable settings , so I'd say it would be a great starting point.
In fact , with all the technology available on 'non' dslr cameras , who needs a dslr anyway ?
Sony make excellent equipment , so it's not as if it's going to go wrong - unless you drop it - but you wont be doing that will you, it's not the sturdiest piece of kit.


Read the reviews >> http://www.sony.co.uk/product/dsc-h-series/dsc-hx5v#pageType=TechnicalSpecs

[dj wayne]

Once again thanks for all the advise I must admit I can't decide what to do on this one buy a dslr which maybe too complicated to use, or go with a good quality compact like the canon g12 it seems everyone has different advice on this one :confused:


12512

Mobile Disco Essex (http://www.andersonentertainments.co.uk)

[ppentertainments]

Once again thanks for all the advise I must admit I can't decide what to do on this one buy a dslr which maybe too complicated to use, or go with a good quality compact like the canon g12 it seems everyone has different advice on this one :confused:


12512

Mobile Disco Essex (http://www.andersonentertainments.co.uk)
Personally I would go for an SLR - either nikon or canon. A very good cost effective slr is the Canon 1000d (can be bought in Jessops for around £350 with a standard lens). There is a lens similar to what Andy uses except it is f1.8 (off memory), which will be a vast improvement on the standard lens, although the standard lens will have a zoom on it if this is required.

So total cost new is around £450 but will be money well spent and a few hours practice will show you the basics of how it works. Compact cameras are excellent in good conditions (i.e. light) but a slr does produce more superior pictures.

Don't get me wrong there are some excellent compact cameras out now but just my opinion I would go for an SLR.

[Digital Jack]

Consider that fast lenses for dslr's can be rather expensive.
A fast lens is a lens with a wider than normal aperture (the wider the aperture = more light reaches the cameras sensor).

Example ; a lens with a maximum aperture as wide as F1.4 is considerably faster than a lens with a maximum aperture of F5.4.
You will be hard pressed to find a decent fast lens for less than £200 when it comes to Canon or Nikon.
And for that £200 you will only get something like a 50mm lens , no zoom , just 50mm......
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Canon-EF-50-mm-F-1-4-USM-Lens-/250885921078?pt=UK_Lenses_Filters_Lenses&hash=item3a69f75936
AND
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Canon-EF-24mm-f-1-4L-II-USM-Lens-f1-4L-f1-4-f-1-4-L017-/300481255960?pt=UK_Lenses_Filters_Lenses&hash=item45f6141a18

A lot of these modern point and shoot cameras have in built anti-shake technology , and it's fantastic for low light use.
Some camera makers call the technology Image Stabilisation.
It's very expensive to buy if you want an 'IS' lens for a dslr camera.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Canon-EF-800mm-f-5-6L-USM-/150654123808?pt=UK_Lenses_Filters_Lenses&hash=item2313af7f20

And your pictures will only be as good as the weakest link in the chain , if you use a cheap lens you will get a naff photograph - it doesn't matter how good a photographer you are , or how expensive your dslr may be.

[Digital Jack]

Lots of reading to be done here >>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> http://www.eos-forums.com/

[Spirits High]

Just a quick update I went to Jessops today for some advice and was told I need a sony hx5v as these are much better in low light conditions but at £175 is it going to be any good


Funny you should mention the hx5v as I too was in a camera shop the other day (not Jessops ;) ) and they recommended the hx9v retails at about £100 more than the Hx5 but apparently it's the nearest to a SLR that you'll get without it actually being an SLR :D

http://www.trustedreviews.com/Sony-Cyber-shot-DSC-HX9V-review_Digital-Camera_review

[yourdj]

I have the bigger powershot version of this with the 20 times optical zoom and find that sport mode works very well with the use of led lighting.

Tried it with speedlight flash and still prefer the outcome with the sport as it has a good exposure rate and ISO.
You can also take multiple pics if you hold it down.

Have a tinkle through here: http://your-dj-gallery.blogspot.com/