Fish Supper

Steep
Posted 07/06/2014 - 23:52 Link
I was using AV mode to try and keep a decent depth of field and shooting RAW, I suppose I could try full manual next time and trust to RAW to let me drag the exposure back up. Or bite the bullet and just go higher on the iso. One thing I've noticed is that using AF-C slows the burst rate way down.
davidstorm
Posted 07/06/2014 - 23:55 - Helpful Comment Link
AV mode is just fine, if you need to prevent whites burning out just dial in an exposure adjustment of minus whatever value is required. I often shoot this way and regularly dial in 2/3 of a stop under-exposure. It's always easier to bring out shadow details than it is to recover burned out highlights.

Regards
David
Flickr

Nicola's Apartments, Kassiopi, Corfu

Some cameras, some lenses, some bits 'n' bobs
dougf8
Posted 07/06/2014 - 23:58 Link
I just had to read the manual!!!! What is the world coming to?

In AV mode, to select Auto ISO (within your preset levels) hold the ISO button and press the green button. You could have it set to max the ISO at 1600 but if the shot can take lower ISO it will drop down automatically. ( the slow setting in the menus, means it will try to take the lower ISO by priority)

Bracketing mode also includes a 2 shot option with the 2nd shot either -ve or +ve adjustment.

(off to look up TAV which I've never understood and always steered well clear of.)
Lurking is shirking.!
Edited by dougf8: 08/06/2014 - 00:01
Steep
Posted 08/06/2014 - 00:03 Link
Again Doug I've got auto iso turned off though I have tried it with a 100-400 range before.
dougf8
Posted 08/06/2014 - 00:14 Link
Steep wrote:
Again Doug I've got auto iso turned off though I have tried it with a 100-400 range before.
I've turned a few things on having just found out about them. I've always hand selected ISO but I might spend the next week on auto.

I think I understand TAV mode now! Still too new fangled for me.
Lurking is shirking.!
Edited by dougf8: 08/06/2014 - 00:14
Smeggypants
Posted 08/06/2014 - 00:48 Link
Steep wrote:
Cheers guys. I've never been that happy with the results at higher iso settings so tend to keep it at 100 as much as possible. The second shot there was at 1/400th so shutter speed/iso wasn't the problem.
I disagree, 1/400 is far too slow for stuff splashing about in water with a 300mm lens


Quote:

The more I look at it the more I think the focus is a bit out and that's probably down to using AF-C, the focus point has caught a wave perhaps.

Getting focus right in these situations isn't easy, but you can increase the number of keepers castl;y by setting shutter speeds and ISOs accordingly.

There's no need to worry about noise at higher ISOs, these days. Noise can easily be removed but camera shake motion blur etc cannot.

You've probably got loads of great shots that would have been keepers with a higher shutter speed and ISO

I also just noticed you're using f7.1. shots like this would benefit from a narrower DOF. The DA*300 is a great lens and would look fine at F/4.0


For a shutter speed of 1/2000 and F/4.0 your ISO for the same exposure ( 1/400,f/7.1,ISO100 ) would only be ISO160

but even if you keep the Aperture to 7.1 you'd still only need an ISO500 to bump up the shutter to 1/2000


This is a good calculator to compare settings for various EVs

http://www.easyhdr.com/documentation.php?spc=ev
[i]Bodies: 1x K-5IIs, 2x K-5, Sony TX-5, Nokia 808
Lenses: Pentax DA 10-17mm ED(IF) Fish Eye, Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8, Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8, Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.2, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7, Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8, Sigma 135-400mm APO DG, and more ..
Flash: AF-540FGZ, Vivitar 283
michaelblue
Posted 08/06/2014 - 05:23 Link
dougf8 wrote:
Steep wrote:
Cheers guys. I've never been that happy with the results at higher iso settings so tend to keep it at 100 as much as possible. The second shot there was at 1/400th so shutter speed/iso wasn't the problem. The more I look at it the more I think the focus is a bit out and that's probably down to using AF-C, the focus point has caught a wave perhaps.

When I go there I'm usually standing for two to three hours. The K3 plus 300mm plus grip is a fantastic combo but very heavy and if I'm having to hold it for that length of time I get very shaky hands/arms so the monopod is a must (and I have a home made rig that gives me plenty of easy movement at the head). I'd use the tripod but that really does get cumbersome.
The thing I heard in the past was the shutter speed should be at least the inverse of the lens length. So 300mm lens at least 1/300s to avoid blur from shaky hands. I hate hand holding at 300mm as I love coffee. I don't think 1/400 will cut it for action where you are slewing the lens to follow the target. I push the speed way up high using the ISO even when just using a 50mm to shoot the toddler or a 100mm macro.

In lightroom you just slide the NR slider and noise disappears. There is a trade off but only getting a few keepers from 280 shots might be improved by sacrificing a tiny bit of IQ.
Not quite.
Actually a 300mm lens on a Pentax DSLR becomes 450mm so a minimum shutter speed of 1/450 sec. would be required.
Regards,
Michael
dougf8
Posted 08/06/2014 - 07:04 - Helpful Comment Link
michaelblue wrote:

.....

Not quite.
Actually a 300mm lens on a Pentax DSLR becomes 450mm so a minimum shutter speed of 1/450 sec. would be required.
It doesn't affect SR.

Crop factor is about the sensor.
Focal length remains the same.
Lurking is shirking.!
Smeggypants
Posted 08/06/2014 - 09:29 Link
michaelblue wrote:
dougf8 wrote:
Steep wrote:
Cheers guys. I've never been that happy with the results at higher iso settings so tend to keep it at 100 as much as possible. The second shot there was at 1/400th so shutter speed/iso wasn't the problem. The more I look at it the more I think the focus is a bit out and that's probably down to using AF-C, the focus point has caught a wave perhaps.

When I go there I'm usually standing for two to three hours. The K3 plus 300mm plus grip is a fantastic combo but very heavy and if I'm having to hold it for that length of time I get very shaky hands/arms so the monopod is a must (and I have a home made rig that gives me plenty of easy movement at the head). I'd use the tripod but that really does get cumbersome.
The thing I heard in the past was the shutter speed should be at least the inverse of the lens length. So 300mm lens at least 1/300s to avoid blur from shaky hands. I hate hand holding at 300mm as I love coffee. I don't think 1/400 will cut it for action where you are slewing the lens to follow the target. I push the speed way up high using the ISO even when just using a 50mm to shoot the toddler or a 100mm macro.

In lightroom you just slide the NR slider and noise disappears. There is a trade off but only getting a few keepers from 280 shots might be improved by sacrificing a tiny bit of IQ.
Not quite.
Actually a 300mm lens on a Pentax DSLR becomes 450mm so a minimum shutter speed of 1/450 sec. would be required.
None the less this guideline is just for lens focal length compensation.

We're also talking about a dynamic scene where dolphins are splashing about devouring fish thrown at them. This isn't static landscape.

I would shoot a scene like this at least at 1/2000
[i]Bodies: 1x K-5IIs, 2x K-5, Sony TX-5, Nokia 808
Lenses: Pentax DA 10-17mm ED(IF) Fish Eye, Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8, Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8, Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.2, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7, Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8, Sigma 135-400mm APO DG, and more ..
Flash: AF-540FGZ, Vivitar 283
Steep
Posted 08/06/2014 - 10:01 Link
I'm thinking of going back today so I'll try you way smeggy and buy you a pint if it works
AlexJh
Posted 25/11/2015 - 12:54 Link
Smeggypants wrote:
Steep wrote:
Cheers guys. I've never been that happy with the results at higher iso settings so tend to keep it at 100 as much as possible. The second shot there was at 1/400th so shutter speed/iso wasn't the problem.
I disagree, 1/400 is far too slow for stuff splashing about in water with a 300mm lens


Quote:

The more I look at it the more I think the focus is a bit out and that's probably down to using AF-C, the focus point has caught a wave perhaps.

Getting focus right in these situations isn't easy, but you can increase the number of keepers castl;y by setting shutter speeds and ISOs accordingly.

There's no need to worry about noise at higher ISOs, these days. Noise can easily be removed but camera shake motion blur etc cannot.

You've probably got loads of great shots that would have been keepers with a higher shutter speed and ISO

I also just noticed you're using f7.1. shots like this would benefit from a narrower DOF. The DA*300 is a great lens and would look fine at F/4.0


For a shutter speed of 1/2000 and F/4.0 your ISO for the same exposure ( 1/400,f/7.1,ISO100 ) would only be ISO160

but even if you keep the Aperture to 7.1 you'd still only need an ISO500 to bump up the shutter to 1/2000


This is a good calculator to compare settings for various EVs

http://www.easyhdr.com/documentation.php?spc=ev
You can use http://aurorahdr.com/ to compare settings for various EVs (if you have a mac)
ronniemac
Posted 25/11/2015 - 20:59 Link
These are excellent photos, really capture the drama, and I'm glad I'm not a salmon!
tyronet2000
Posted 27/11/2015 - 21:40 Link
I would have been pleased to get any of these shots, for me #1 has the wow! factor.
Regards
Stan

PPG
drofmit
Posted 03/12/2015 - 00:29 Link
In digital, I wouldn't use 100ASA for anything except as a means of reducing light gathering in very bright shots...
it doesn't seem to give better results... as opposed to the analogue days...
especially with todays sensors...
200 min...
very happy with 800 these days... even on the old *istD
had excellent results with 1600... on the K7...
haven't had the time to experiment.... yet... with the K3-2....
but to get a high speed and a decent f.stop and dof, you will need to go away from 100ASA.

Take the time to find a scene with a waterfall in it...
there are loads in the Inverness area...
preferably with some rocks at different distances from you...
and just experiment with the exposures... "film" speeds, shutter speeds and dof...
on the same moving water...
then compare those shots...
I think you will be very surprised at just how far you can move away from 100ASA and still get superb results.... if not better...
film is free these days... experimentation on a real subject is the way to go...
and those dolphins were there thirty years ago....
so you will always be able to go back...
and back....
and back...

Until global warming pushes them north of Scrabster!!
Never be afraid to talk about your techniques...
"Give a thousand photographers...
the same camera, lens and scene...
and you'll always get a thousand different takes!!"
Anon.
davidtrout
Posted 03/12/2015 - 18:49 Link
Smeggypants wrote:
Steep wrote:
Here's an example which would have been a far better shot if it had worked. Problems were mostly that the dolphins were quick, here and gone and never in the same place twice.. Although I was using the monopod you have to take into account my shakey hand too... The blur to the left is the back of someones head, the point was very busy as it is most days now.

Comment Image
I prefer that shot.

I noticed both shots were on ISO100. I would have upped the shutter speed quite a bit and used an ISO of at least 800 to 1600. Even higher if necessary

I wouldn't have used monopod either as in such a dynamic scene it would be too restricting and a shutter speed high enough to capture the action isn't going to show camera shake anyway.
I tend to agree with Smeggy and Tim on this. I would only use minimum ISO on my K3 on the very rare occasions when a very slow shutter speed and wide aperture were called for. When any sort of action is involved, or very low light, mine goes up to 1000 or 1600 quite often.
As for the monopod. I haven't used mine in years because in any sort of action photography I found it an encumbrance.
Edited by davidtrout: 03/12/2015 - 18:50

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