when shooting indoors in fairly low light, how do you set yout camera??

[jks_photo]

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.

[peety3]

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.

[ShutterbugJohan]

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.

[Daniel Browning]

What shooting mode do you prefer?

Av for available light, M for video, C1 for flash (Manual), and C2, C3 for other customizations.

Do you use bounce flash?

Yes, if it's possible.

flash diffusers?

Usually, but not if I can do the job better with bounce alone.

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.)

[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.

Do you use bounce flash?

Yes, if it's possible.

flash diffusers?

Usually, but not if I can do the job better with bounce alone.

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.)
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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.]?

[Sinh Nhut Nguyen]

All the setting has to boil down to giving mea 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 noisein 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!

[Daniel Browning]

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

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.

[Dan Fleming]

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!

[SupraSonic]

Mannual Mode , Boost ISO 400-800Speed 1/60 1/80 set to below exposure on Camera meteringwith flash .

[Johnny Rasmussen]

Hi jks_photo,


I&acute;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.