Discussion
Looking for advice. I have just returned to photography, used to do it as a hobby back in the day of film etc when you used to buy a suitable iso film for your subject fast/slow etc.
I'm soon off on honeymoon to Botswana/Namibia and hope to get some nice pictures of the animals to this end I have bought a Nikon D90 and a couple of lens but I'm not sure where to start with the iso setting if I start experimenting given the light conditions down there.
Any advice on this or just any advcice most welcome
Phil
I'm soon off on honeymoon to Botswana/Namibia and hope to get some nice pictures of the animals to this end I have bought a Nikon D90 and a couple of lens but I'm not sure where to start with the iso setting if I start experimenting given the light conditions down there.
Any advice on this or just any advcice most welcome
Phil
DSLR sensors have a base or native ISO setting and start to suffer, to varying degrees, with 'noise' when you get into higher ISOs.
My suggestion, therefore, would be the leave the ISO on the base or native setting (probably 200) and only increase it if you need to because your shutter speed is too slow even when shooting with a wide open aperture (unless you're using a tripod of course).
Bit of experimentation before you go will yield big dividends when you're away - you don't want to be faffing about with the destruction manual hoping Mr Rhino stands still for the next 10 minutes...
I'm assuming when you say a couple of lenses you have something like a consumer 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 as well? In that case on the early morning safari shoots i'd go for aperture priority, F5.6 (assuming you are zoomed in), and use the lowest ISO you need to get at least 1/250 sec. shutter speed (pref. higher). Once the sun has come up a bit you can stop down a bit to get into the sharper area of the lens (maybe F8-F11 ish) after droping the ISO down to 200 first.
Always get the driver to turn off the engine when stoped to stop the vibrations and get a beanbag (or rolled up fleece etc) to rest the lens on.
Blinking cold on the plains first thing in the morning btw - take something to keep warm.
Always get the driver to turn off the engine when stoped to stop the vibrations and get a beanbag (or rolled up fleece etc) to rest the lens on.
Blinking cold on the plains first thing in the morning btw - take something to keep warm.
Dogsey said:
As Mr Carter always suggests, rtfm is a good place to start.
RTFM is a must, but although it will tell you WHAT everything is, it won't tell you WHEN to use it. Essentially, keep ISO as low as possible unless you need to increase it to get the results you want (most often a faster shutter speed, but it also means flash goes further).
Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff