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  1. #1
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    Manual Settings Help Please

    Since I have been trying to set my own shutter speeds, I seem to of lost the plot.
    My camera is Canon EOS 550D with Kit lens 18-55mm IS

    I read as a general rule of Thumb...that for a lens without IS ... which my kit lens with the EOS 550D has ... Is to ,make the denominator of the Shutter fraction larger than the FL (focal length) I am shooting...

    Eg...if shooting at 50mm I should set the Shutter to 1/60 (is that about right)

    Seems with IS you can can a bit lower, but by how much I am not sure.

    I take it the thing to do when taking shots is to use the least amount of ISO you can, as too much can produce unwanted noise ... So is this where I should consider dropping the Shutter speed to avoid using higer ISO's? I notice the only issue I fall into here is maybey having to use a tripod ... and if I do this should I turn off IS when doing so?

    Sorry to be confused about all this.

    One other things I have noticed and am confused about.
    Is that in Manual mode ,,,, My F/ration Or Aperture readout of that is what it is called F5.6 ... just stays as F5.6 no matter if I turn the lens from 18mm all the way up ... (narrowing the app) to 55mm ... and in turn going form 55 back down to 18mm ... It just displays the same f5.6

    In other modes it seems to change with the selected focal length going from F3.5 to F5.6.
    Should I not worry about what the F/ration is and just stick with looking at the lens to see my what I have focused at, then use the general rule of thumb considering ISO and Shutter speed.......AND is there something else I have to factor in when shooting in manual.

    Once again....sorry I seem to be so confused on all this......

    I do need some help and whilst I am reading about things and shooting....having someone to talk to that I can actually ask questions in my own messed up way, could really help me understand a little bit better.

    Thanks

  2. #2
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    Re: Manual Settings Help Please

    for base shutter speed you are right. 1/focal length is the old rule of thumb to minimize camera motion. It does nothing though for stopping motion. You need to figure that out trial and error.
    Your aperture (F number) isn't changing in Manual mode because you have ot set it yourself. To set it you need to figure out hte way the 550 displays it metering. I can';t help you there since I don;t use Canon.
    To set shutter and have the camera set Apetrure you want to be using S mode.
    Hope that sheds a bit of light on your dilema.
    It's not about the camera....

  3. #3
    Senior Member Anbesol's Avatar
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    Re: Manual Settings Help Please

    Dave, the 1/focal range number is a rather conservative estimate. With more efficient means of steadying the camera, that rule can be quite easily broken, however, its all in technique. So, your mileage may vary.

    Is that in Manual mode ,,,, My F/ration Or Aperture readout of that is what it is called F5.6 ... just stays as F5.6 no matter if I turn the lens from 18mm all the way up ... (narrowing the app) to 55mm ... and in turn going form 55 back down to 18mm ... It just displays the same f5.6
    You'll need to readjust to 3.5 as you zoom out. Or, better yet, get a fixed aperture lens.
    - Charlie

    Feel free to edit and repost my work as a part of your critique.

  4. #4
    Senior Shooter Greg McCary's Avatar
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    Re: Manual Settings Help Please

    Well it really all depends on what you are shooting as well. Fast action, soocer, football ect also the light you are dealing with. A gym, field ect. For sports a higher shutter speeds and a static like a object like a tree something else. It just takes practice. Landscapes of course maximum IQ and depth almost always requires a tripod annd turn IS off. IS will also depend on what focal length you are shooting. You should be able to shoot 3-4 stop slower speeds with IS depending on technique.
    All of this can vary from shooter to shooter as well. A brain surgeon will probably fair better than a carpenter kind of thing.lol

    If you look at your lens if it's 3.5-5.6 you are only going as low as 5.6 zoomed in and no lower than 3.5 zoomed out. As Charlie stated get a lens that is 2.8 across the board and you can have it on both ends. But that's more money.
    I am like Barney Fife, I have a gun but Andy makes me keep the bullet in my pocket..

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  5. #5
    Senior Member AgingEyes's Avatar
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    Re: Manual Settings Help Please

    Quote Originally Posted by Davekyn View Post
    I read as a general rule of Thumb...that for a lens without IS ... which my kit lens with the EOS 550D has ... Is to ,make the denominator of the Shutter fraction larger than the FL (focal length) I am shooting...

    Eg...if shooting at 50mm I should set the Shutter to 1/60 (is that about right)
    Still a good rule to follow. It worked then and it still works now.

    Seems with IS you can can a bit lower
    Yes.

    but by how much I am not sure.
    Experiment and find it out yourself. You're the one holding the camera, not anyone else. What works for them may not work for you.

    I take it the thing to do when taking shots is to use the least amount of ISO you can as too much can produce unwanted noise ... So is this where I should consider dropping the Shutter speed to avoid using higer ISO's?
    Generally it's true that you want to use the lowest ISO you can afford to, but technologies have been giving us more leeway these days. Also, it depends on how your final images will be viewed. For example, if it's for web viewing only and it's going to be low resolution, what appears to be noisy when viewed large and close no longer be so when it is shown small. Go experiment and find it out yourself.

    I notice the only issue I fall into here is maybey having to use a tripod ... and if I do this should I turn off IS when doing so?
    Depends on the lens you use. In general, if you use the rule-of-thumb you stated in the beginning, you can turn the IS off anytime whether your camera is on the tripod or not. IS is there for letting you to shoot at a lower shutter speed than you used to hand-hold your camera for. If you're shooting at fast shutter speed, you don't need the help of IS.

    Is that in Manual mode ,,,, My F/ration Or Aperture readout of that is what it is called F5.6 ... just stays as F5.6 no matter if I turn the lens from 18mm all the way up ... (narrowing the app) to 55mm ... and in turn going form 55 back down to 18mm ... It just displays the same f5.6
    That's because you're in manual mode, in which you change the aperture, shutter speed and ISO. The camera does not change anything for you. I think your camera is just doing what you set it to do.

    In other modes it seems to change with the selected focal length going from F3.5 to F5.6.
    That's because other modes allow the camera to take charge of one thing or another.

    Should I not worry about what the F/ration is and just stick with looking at the lens to see my what I have focused at, then use the general rule of thumb considering ISO and Shutter speed.......AND is there something else I have to factor in when shooting in manual.
    Have you taken an exposure reading yet?

    In manual mode, you take the exposure reading and then set the aperture, shutter speed, ISO or a combination of them the way you see fit.


    Thanks
    You're welcome. Hope I've helped a bit.

  6. #6
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    Re: Manual Settings Help Please

    Thanks for taking the time to reply. I was away on the weekend and learned quite a bit! I really enjoy trying to capture Birds in flight, and boy ah boy did I learn a thing or two about shutter speed and now know more about the F ratio and Iso coming together to produce whatever F stops for a given situation.

    Just going through all my pics now and cleaning up the higher ISOs that have good composition and worth keeping despite the noise.

    I really got confused between Focal length and the Aperture changes with the AV/exposure control or whatever you want to call it. I also learned that backing off on the zoom helps to keep a faster shutter speed and lower Iso as well ... no doubt I can see how good lenses can help here, although I am going to have to tweak as much as I can with the kit len's.

    Forgive me for not responding directly, as I will return to do so......wife want' me to pick the best and downsize for internet.......BRB ;)

    Thanks Again.........I was thinking after giving myself a really good thorough shooting session, how silly I must of sounded...but then again...asking the silly questions is how I learn.

  7. #7
    Senior Member AgingEyes's Avatar
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    Re: Manual Settings Help Please

    Quote Originally Posted by Davekyn View Post
    I also learned that backing off on the zoom helps to keep a faster shutter speed and lower Iso as well ...
    IMO, you should try to find out why backing off on the zoom affects the the exposure reading your camera is showing you. When you change from a longer focal length to a shorter focal length, the field of view changes and the camera is "seeing" more of the scene. If the scene has a lot of bright areas, the camera now "think" it's bright enough outside and so it does not need a slower shutter speed to ensure that the "subject matter" is exposed correctly, As a result, it changes into a higher shutter speed to "correct" the exposure. However, as far as your main subject is concerned, the first exposure setting could be the correct one; the faster shutter speed actually will render your main subject under-exposed. Therefore, if you want to use a faster shutter speed, increase the ISO or open up the aperture, not zooming back out. Besides, by changing the focal length, you are changing the look of your final photograph as the field of view has changed.

  8. #8
    Senior Member OldClicker's Avatar
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    Re: Manual Settings Help Please

    Quote Originally Posted by AgingEyes View Post
    IMO, you should try to find out why backing off on the zoom affects the the exposure reading your camera is showing you. When you change from a longer focal length to a shorter focal length, the field of view changes and the camera is "seeing" more of the scene. If the scene has a lot of bright areas, the camera now "think" it's bright enough outside and so it does not need a slower shutter speed to ensure that the "subject matter" is exposed correctly, As a result, it changes into a higher shutter speed to "correct" the exposure. However, as far as your main subject is concerned, the first exposure setting could be the correct one; the faster shutter speed actually will render your main subject under-exposed. Therefore, if you want to use a faster shutter speed, increase the ISO or open up the aperture, not zooming back out. Besides, by changing the focal length, you are changing the look of your final photograph as the field of view has changed.
    I think what he means is that it is a variable aperture zoom (i.e. 3.5-5.6) and that he can get 'wider' at the short end. - Terry
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  9. #9
    Senior Member AgingEyes's Avatar
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    Re: Manual Settings Help Please

    Quote Originally Posted by OldClicker View Post
    I think what he means is that it is a variable aperture zoom (i.e. 3.5-5.6) and that he can get 'wider' at the short end. - Terry
    He did mention he got faster shutter speed as a result. The question is: why?

    The thing is, the correct exposure setting for a the subject matter, as long as the light stays the same, should not change regardless of the focal length of the lens one is using.

  10. #10
    Senior Member OldClicker's Avatar
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    Re: Manual Settings Help Please

    Quote Originally Posted by AgingEyes View Post
    He did mention he got faster shutter speed as a result. The question is: why?

    The thing is, the correct exposure setting for a the subject matter, as long as the light stays the same, should not change regardless of the focal length of the lens one is using.
    It does with a variable aperture zoom. As you increase the focal length, the minimum f/stop gets larger and requires a slower shutter speed and/or higher ISO. - Terry
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    I am no better than you. I critique to teach myself to see.
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  11. #11
    Senior Member AgingEyes's Avatar
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    Re: Manual Settings Help Please

    Quote Originally Posted by OldClicker View Post
    It does with a variable aperture zoom. As you increase the focal length, the minimum f/stop gets larger and requires a slower shutter speed and/or higher ISO. - Terry
    I could be wrong but I think you've missed my point Terry. For your information, I do have zoom lens that has different max apertures for the short end and the long len of the zoom. So I believe I knew what you were talking about. However, I just hope that beginners should not be thinking that zooming back out is the way to get a faster shutter speed and thus allow you to use a lower ISO and whenever they want to use a faster shutter speed, they just zoomed back out. There are other factors to consider :

    1. A change in the focal length changes the appearance of the final photograph.
    2. The camera "sees" more at 70mm. As the in-camera exposure meter is a reflective light exposure meter, at 70mm, the camera determines the final exposure readings now based on more elements in the scene that it sees. Depending on what those elements are and their brightness, when the camera is in auto exposure mode, the exposure reading changes even if it is a fixed-aperture zoom lens. Is that second reading the correct one for the subject matter at hand? That's the question I think one should consider before pressing the shutter button. That's what I am trying to tell Dave.

  12. #12
    Woe is me! wfooshee's Avatar
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    Re: Manual Settings Help Please

    Another thing to consider when "backing off the zoom" is that now the subject is smaller in the frame, and when you get it on the computer you may find yourself wanting to crop the image. Well, now you've got the same "frame" you had when zoomed in, but it's lower resolution (because you cropped) and possibly incorrectly exposed (because the camera played with aperture and shutter as you zoomed, and metered more background as well.)

    Zooming back may give the appearance of sharpness, lack of motion blur, but if you crop to blow it up, you'll be right back where you started, and all of that motion is still there.

    But if backing off the zoom gives you back that stop of exposure of exposure, maybe that's enough to be the difference in the motion blur. More light means faster shutter.

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