when shooting indoors and fairly low light is available how do you setup your camera???
What shooting mode do you prefer?
Do you use bounce flash?? flash diffusers??
What ISO speed do you use??
I just want to get a little insight on what other people are doing when shooting indoors so that I can hopefully improve my IQ when shooting indoors.
I use an XTi with 430ex and 24-70 2,8 lens. Yes i do bounce flash and use a garyfong clear diffuser. I usually shoot in AV mode. I find that ISO 400 is the highest usable ISO on my XTi.
In general, my approach is to shoot in Av with the widest aperture that gives me enough depth of field, and at the lowest ISO that gives me a fast-enough shutter speed to achieve no-shake or desired effect, regardless of light levels. If I have consistent-enough subject locations and safe light locations, I'll use 1-3 remote flashes on stands triggered by PocketWizards. If I don't have good conditions for remote flashes but I do have a good-enough ceiling, I'll use bounce flash. If I can't use bounce flash, I'll often go without flash. I have a pair of Sto-Fen diffusers but they rarely get used. More often I'll just use a small cut of Rosco 103 as a start, and an umbrella if I need more effect.
I don't hesitate to shoot at ISO 800-3200 on my 10D. I use a 580EX and 580EX II along with diffusers and bounce, depending on the situation. I shoot at ISO 100-400 when using the strobes. I also shoot a lot at f2.8-f4 indoors. Av mode, manual WB.
jks_photo:What shooting mode do you prefer?
Av for available light, M for video, C1 for flash (Manual), and C2, C3 for other customizations.
jks_photo:Do you use bounce flash?
Yes, if it's possible.
jks_photo:flash diffusers?
Usually, but not if I can do the job better with bounce alone.
jks_photo:What ISO speed do you use?
100 if I have enough light.
400 for most flash stuff.
1600 for low light. (Sometimes underexposed to the equivalent of ISO 25600.)
Daniel Browning: jks_photo:What shooting mode do you prefer? Av for available light, M for video, C1 for flash (Manual), and C2, C3 for other customizations. jks_photo:Do you use bounce flash? Yes, if it's possible. jks_photo:flash diffusers? Usually, but not if I can do the job better with bounce alone. jks_photo:What ISO speed do you use? 100 if I have enough light. 400 for most flash stuff. 1600 for low light. (Sometimes underexposed to the equivalent of ISO 25600.)
Daniel,
i guess i got the ISO speed right, for i too shoot at 400 when using flash.
Could you please tell me.... when you go manual with your with-flash shots - at what power output do you set your flash to?? I know this varies depending on the model of the flash, i just want to get a general idea. Or by "manual" you mean setting th camer speed and opening manually and leave the flash in TTL mode?
Also can you give me somewhat of a guideline on how to compensate or measure the effective range of the flash when it is bounced? and when it has a diffuser on? and when it has a diffuser and bounced [like when you use a gary fong basically flash is always pointed upwards with the diffuser on.]?
All the setting has to boil down to giving me a fast-enough shutter speed to eliminate camera shake.
If I have to use ISO 3200, so be it. A noisy image is more usable than a noise-free-but-blurry image.
To me the shots and the moment are more important. Don't get me wrong, I don't like the noise in high ISO settings either, but when the moment calls and the only way I can get usuable image is to use the highest ISO, I will not hesitate to use it. If I don't use it I will get nothing!
jks_photo:Or by "manual" you mean setting th camer speed and opening manually and leave the flash in TTL mode?
I meant manual aperture and shutter with TTL flash. I'm not as advanced with flash as many other forum members around here. Here's on example: http://community.the-digital-picture.com/forums/t/2081.aspx
jks_photo:Also can you give me somewhat of a guideline on how to compensate or measure the effective range of the flash when it is bounced?
Really the only thing you can do once you hit maximum power on the flash is up your ISO and use faster f-numbers. If I need higher FPS (quick recycle time) or there are high ceilings, I wont hesitate to use ISO 3200 with flash, at least until there is too much contamination from existing light.
I don't have an external flash so I diffuse my onboard flash using opteka's diffuser. I also shoot in Av mode so I can control the f-stop, the shutter sits at 1/200 by default because the flash is on!
Mannual Mode , Boost ISO 400-800 Speed 1/60 1/80 set to below exposure on Camera metering with flash .
Hi jks_photo,
I´m also using the XTi or 400D. I have an 580EX II flash. I have loaded a canon firmware hack to the cf-card and now have access to ISO 3200. Native ISO. I also got access to more advanced focus patterns and spot metering. It works great. You will find more info here: http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/400D if you are interested. It loads from the cf-card so it does not mess up the internal firmware.
About indoor shooting and use of flash with my 400D:
I am using the ISO that is necessary to give me sharp images. I have made great 13x19 prints shot with ISO 1600 and now that I got access to ISO 3200 I will not hesitate to use it if I need to. I am not concerned by noise at all. Remember that it is a big difference from what you see on your screen and what the image will look like when printed.
How do I use the flash:
Most of the time I use fill-flash. I shoot in manual mode, looking at the meter in the viewfinder, dialing inn a slight underexposure in the camera, dialing inn -1 2/3 on the flash and shoot. I then check the histogram and makes adjustments if necessary. I always bounce the flash. I experiment often, letting the flash bounce in different directions. I am also aware of other lightsources when I choose my "bouncing" direction. Blending lightsources can interesting. I do not have a diffuser. Maybe I will buy one someday.
Sometimes I choose not to use flash at all, just using available light. I set the ISO to max and shoot. Proper whitebalance is important not to blow one of the RGB channels under some types of light.
Hi Johnny,
read your post. I am interested in that firmware hack you mentioned.
just to clarify, won't it "mess" with my internal firmware?? What if I decide not to use it anymore, will my camera functions still be normal???
jks_photo:won't it "mess" with my internal firmware??
No. It doesn't overwrite any of the internal firmware.
jks_photo:What if I decide not to use it anymore, will my camera functions still be normal???
Yes. There are no guarantees, but I think it's very safe and you will be able to revert back to the Canon firmware with no problems.
Johnny Rasmussen:I have loaded a canon firmware hack to the cf-card and now have access to ISO 3200. Native ISO. ... now that I got access to ISO 3200 I will not hesitate to use it
For what it's worth, ISO 3200 is worse than ISO 1600 pushed 1 stop. It has the exact same amount of noise, but it has one stop of blown highlights. If you shoot raw, I advice to always use ISO 1600 with -1 EC instead of ISO 3200. My 5D2 has ISO 25,600, but ISO 1600 with -4 EC results in a far better picture than actually using the ISO 25,600 setting.
As Daniel Browning already has written, I think this is safe. If you are afraid of your camera or if it still is under warranty you must think about it. My 400D has a 5 years warranty but I consider the hack very safe to use anyway. Read carefully what other members are saying before you make your desicion. The link I gave you has another link to a forum thread that discusses this in detail. You can find it here: http://chdk.setepontos.com/index.php/topic,3290.0.html 17 pages with information. The community still consider this hack as "under development". New features can be added easily. You download a .fir file from here http://code.google.com/p/400d/downloads/list and replace it with the one already in the cf-card when new features are added. The latest file is dated 2009.09.13
In the initial process I think the hack is loading a small command line to the CMOS in your camera. That is all. This command line is "pointing" to the cf-card where the hack is. You can then boot the camera from the card. As soon as you format your card or uses a card without the hack the camera behaves like before. The question is if you can get rid of the command line that is in your cameras firmware if you are performing a flash using Canon´s latest firmware v1.1.1. Some in the community say yes, some are uncertain.This is not a problem for me, I am going to use this hack as long as the camera is working. I already have 40.000+ clicks on it and when the shutter stop working it´s time for an upgrade anyway.
About the 3200 ISO extension: The community says this is a native extension. Not a ISO 1600 underexposed 1 stop. I guess I have to take their word for it.
About the spotmetering extension: Works like a charm.
About the added focus frame patterns: This is in my opinion the most useful extension in the hack. I can set the focus points like you do in the 1-series and the 7D. I really like that option. You can use a zone setting, vertical setting, horizontal setting etc. A very nice feature when shooting moving subjects or when you want you to get the composition right.
Think about it before you make your desicion. I personally love it.
Best wishes,
Johnny
Johnny Rasmussen:About the 3200 ISO extension: The community says this is a native extension. Not a ISO 1600 underexposed 1 stop. I guess I have to take their word for it.
Yes, it is a native extension. But that's my point: like all Canon cameras, the native extensions are bad. It's far better to avoid the native extensions and use ISO 1600 underexposed instead.
Hi Daniel,
Can you explain what you mean by that? I know that you loose headroom and dynamic range as you climb up the ISO ladder but I have never heard that underexposure will give you less noise. I thought it was the opposite. I have never done a comparison though. I have sometimes set my camera to -2EV at ISO1600 simply because I needed the shutter speed. But the images needed a lot of work to become usable.
- Johnny