Canon EOS Rebel 300D

Mike McCarty · 02-01-2005, 11:59 AM

Are you noticing your shutter speed as you do this? You only want enough to do the job. If you are using a tripod you aren't proving much (stationary camera, stationary subject). But if it's hand held you can see what the minimum SS would be for you to hold steady.

Kimberly Dow · 02-01-2005, 12:15 PM

Yes Mike - I was noticing the shutter speed. I did these hand-held and of course my movement could be a problem as well. It is hard to determine what speed is going to look the best once I get the photos to the computer. I guess that would come with time and experience?

Cindy Procious · 02-01-2005, 12:53 PM

Oh Kim - thanks so much. Being the parent of a troubled teen right now, I am always in need of a good laugh, and you SO helped me this morning. (I wasn't laughing AT you - more like WITH you - because i've been there, right where you are, when i got my Rebel.)

For those who don't have a Rebel, here are the little symbols to which Kim is referring. (Kim - this book came with my camera - did you not get one of these?)

Anyway - I learned a lot from this thread about ISO. My last photo shoot yielded ghost images in my sitter's eyeballs - double-vision - even with the tripod - I was shooting at an ISO of 100. Now I know that was the problem! Thanks, Mike!

Kim - this is page 51 in the manual.

Cindy Procious · 02-01-2005, 12:55 PM

For ISO (page 50).

Kimberly Dow · 02-01-2005, 01:48 PM

Cindy -

Thanks for posting this. Glad to be useful this am.

Yes I got the **(*^!! book. It is helpful, but not if you dont understand what ISO means in the first place. I had bought another book just about the Rebel at Barnes & Noble and was working my way through that. I need to now go back and read the original manual now.

Here is the thing - if you are not experienced with this and someone starts talking 'shutter speed' - there is no way to understand. How the heck would I know what the shutter speed should be? Just the other day I took a photo in low-light and it took forever to click. It was an 'a-ha' moment for me. So THIS is when I need to speed up the shutter.

I've been saying for years that I need a class in basic photography. This forum may be quicker and more useful though.

Mike McCarty · 02-01-2005, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Just the other day I took a photo in low-light and it took forever to click. It was an 'a-ha' moment for me

That should have been an "a-ha" moment. A tenth of a second is an eternity for the aperture to be open. Much movement can take place in this amount of time.

For hand held operation an experienced photographer on solid footing without any wind can manage as low as 1/30 of a second. Not something you want to strive for. You might shoot for 1/60 as a minimum. For tripod use this would not be a problem. That takes care of your end of the camera.

For the other end of the camera -- an adult can hold steady enough for 1/30 but again, it's not something to strive for. Children are a whole other smoke. I would want to be 1/100 of a second and 1/200 would be better for the little ones.

Remember, additional speed does not add any quality to your image. It only allows you to stop the action, subtle as it may be. In fact, if you are using ISO to gain SS you are arguably loosing quality as you go farther up the speed ladder.

I have on my Nikon a feature called "Auto ISO" which allows me to set a minimum shutter speed (say 1/60). If the available light is such that the SS drops below this number it will automatically bump up the ISO until the SS gets to my target minimum. Pretty handy, I don't know if your camera has this. If it does I would recommend you use it. I am so used to managing this manually from my film days I have a hard time letting go.

Kimberly Dow · 02-01-2005, 03:20 PM

Another stupid question Mike -

When you say 1/30 of a second - that would be an ISO of 30? So when you say 1/200 for kids that would be the 200 ISO setting - correct?

That scares me since in those Barbie shots I didn't get anything decent under 800. And she wasn't moving. Maybe too much coffee.

Mary Sparrow · 02-01-2005, 05:57 PM

So as not to bore you with more test pictures. I just did the same thing Kim did with another still doll model.

I tried out every manual white balance setting on the thing with an ISO of 800, and got nice clear pictures, with obvious differences in color. Then I put it on the automatic setting that just cuts the flash off. Doing that got me the most accurate color, but the face was blurry on the doll. (This was what I was doing the other day with Marc). The next best color was putting it in P mode but automatic WB..they were very close, but the face was clear.

So I suppose, for now, until I really learn this, in order to avoid the blur, I am better off putting it in P mode to avoid the blur and pick the white balance Icon that best fits the situation...which seems like the auto WB was doing the trick. I guess this computerized camera is smarter than me..Whoda thunk it.