Quote Originally Posted by wycrich


Q2. If I want to take pictures of my 2 yr old kid indoor, assuminghe is not that cooperative in keepingstill,is it qualified as "freezing action in low light" and thus I need to consider f/2.8?

It sounds like you're in a pretty similar situation to me. About 90% of the photos I take are of my 11mo old son inside my house. My house has lots of big windows (meaning lots of natural light) and I often (40% maybe) have to use f2.2and f2.5 at ISO 400 to get a shutter speed of 1/60 or 1/80. That's at specific times of the day, in specific rooms of the house too, not at night. Those shutter speeds stop my son enough to get good photos, but he's not that fast yet. I've really been wanting to get a 2.8 zoom, but I really don't want to have to go up to ISO 800 to get the shutter speeds. I shoot with a Rebel XS and 50 1.8II btw. Don't forget that IS does nothing to stop action! Sure, you may be able to hand hold at 1/15, but your son will be a blurry blob!


Quote Originally Posted by wycrich


Q3. If I use a flash with a non-f/2.8 lens, can I achieve "freezing action in low light"and for the situation I mentioned in Q2 above?

Yea, it will stop the action. I use a 430EX every once in a while, and even bounced off the ceiling, I can use ISO 100 and 1/200. If you keep the flash on your camera and bounce it, the focus assist works wonders (at least on my 18-55 kit), but I haven't been able to get results that I like very often doing that. I'm getting some radio triggers and umbrellas for Christmas.


Hope that helps some!


Lewis