Dark Ride Settings

J

jtrain75

Member
Hello knowledgeable peeps,
; When taking pics in Dark Rides, what do you prefer to shoot in? Manual, Shutter or Aperture Priority? Is there an advantage over another on Dark Rides? I have a Canon XS and was going to use my 50mm f/1.8 on the rides. I'm just hoping that if used at 800 or 1600 ISO it'll be sufficient and not have too much noise. Thanks everyone!
 
ISO 1600 will be noisy, but are removing noise afterwards or will you be using the camera's High ISO NR?

However, the ISO 1600 of today is nothing like ISO 800 of the D30 years ago.

Anyway, I used to use manual mode because I couldn't trust the camera to meter the scene properly. ; Lately I've shot in aperture priority, with my camera set for a minimum shutter speed to go along with Auto-ISO, so I don't have to do anything on my own. ; Unfortunately it looks like your Auto-ISO maxes out at 800, so personally I would use 1600.

Nik's Dfine is available at a discount right now, if you look at our boards it was posted this week to a blog with the discount code. ; I used to use Noise Ninja (and I'll be using Dfine in the near future) to remove noise.
 
Thanks Roger, I'll probably be using the High ISO NR, although I have not tried it yet. Maybe I'll practice tonight. I know that the noise is heavy in 1600, so I very well may have to purchase the Noise Ninja.
I guess I'll just have to go trial and error at first!
 
I am looking forward to shooting some of the dark rides this year with my D3's, the low level light / high ISO performance is great so I am hoping to capture detail that I haven't managed before.
 
For dark rides I use to use Shutter Priority and put the shutter speed at the lowest practical setting for whatever lens I was using- 1/50 for a 50mm- etc. and ISO at the highest usable for whatever camera I had- drop the EV to somewhere between -1.0 and -2.0 and that was it. ; The prevailing logic is a dark shot is better than a blurry shot.

Since getting better cameras (D300 & D700) with logical Auto-ISO and a higher ISO ceiling I have switched to Aperture Priority- Setting the lens wide open or maybe one click less- and telling the Auto-ISO not to let the shutter speed drop below the same rule of thumb speed (1/50 for 50mm and so on.) ; Still shooting a -1 to -2 exposure compensation (Which is the NEW 'Oops I forgot to reset the camera uh-oh moment...use to be ISO- at least this one is easy to see in the LCD when shots are day outside in sunlight :-[ ) it is surprising how many times the ISO is at a reasonable level and not pegged at some ridiculous value like 12,800 (which is where I usually top it out.) ; ; ;

For example- this shot was taken w/ the D700 & 50/1.2 wide open- 1/50th Second and ISO 1100. ;

3524723010_e1666738c8_b.jpg


Same settings- ISO 1800

3524723442_d3d86612a5_b.jpg


Same settings- ISO 3600

3524723356_03519cda6f_b.jpg
 
auto iso is an awesome feature! it is near the top of "my menu" just below picture control.

Auto iso is an integral part of my "triangle" of exposure. (As opposed to just iso)
 
I used to shoot in manual mode and auto ISO on dark rides with the D40 and intentionally underexpose and "bring back" a stop or two in post. ; Now that I have the D90 with a more intelligent Auto-ISO system (and better high ISO), I plan on using the method Jeff described.

Even with the D40's crumby high ISO performance, I think I was able to do pretty well on the dark rides. ; Here are similar SSE shots to Jeff's that I took with the D40 and Sigma 30 1.4. ; They definitely aren't as sharp as his:




 
Awesome shots Jeff! I took over 1000 pics (my wife claims she never saw me on the vacation!) and I have not had a chance to review them on the computer yet. I'll post some up, but I don't think mine are anywhere as crisp as those! Nicely done!
 
Ok I reviewed all the pics I took on dark rides and surprisingly the noise was minimal! I was pleased by this. I used the High ISO NR and it worked nicely. However I came across another obstacle...my lens kept hunting to focus so alot of times I had to go to manual focus and unfortunately, they didn't come out as crisp as I was hoping to. Oh well all is not lost, I still got some decent shots. I guess I'll just have to give it another shot when I upgrade my lens and camera.
 
These are procedures that I have not attempted as of yet. So far I have only shot using Manual with nothing on Auto. All of my Dark ride or Night time shots are full Manual. I will have to give these settings mentioned a try when I can.
 
I was wondering if anyone knew if Canon had the auto iso feature on any of their cameras. ; Thanks Paul! ; Now I have to go check mine.
 
"PolynesianMedic" said:
I was wondering if anyone knew if Canon had the auto iso feature on any of their cameras. ; Thanks Paul! ; Now I have to go check mine.
Click to expand...

Yes my XS has auto ISO, but I'm not sure how high it will go.
 
"PolynesianMedic" said:
Where is it located? ; I have an XT that is probably a little too old for this setting, if it is newer for Canon.
Click to expand...

When you go into aperture or shutter speed priority, select your ISO and then scroll through the numbers. Auto should be right before 100. I hope this helps!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top