Shooting With Fixed Aperature Lense

[HRZag]

OK, I sprung for the fixed 2.8 200mm lense.

Now, what format do I shoot in? Aperature priority, Shutter Priority or Auto? I am shooting Nikon D100, shooting outdoor sports.

Thanks.

[drg]

Depends upon what you want to do! To control the DOF Aperture priority to be able to select and control how much of your image is "in focus-DOF"

Shutter Priority to select the best shutter speed for the circumstance.

For sports probably Shutter priority, on a monopod, would be the best start. The 2.8 then will give you the extra stop or two (i.e. faster shutter speed for motion control).

Try the sports forum as well for more ideas.

Best wishes and looking forward to samples. By the way, a Nikkor 2.8/200 or ???.

[HRZag]

Thanks for the reply.

Fixed Ap. is a new world for me.

It is the Nikkor VR 70-200, 2.8 Big and heavy but shoots nic

[Photo-John]

Congratulations - that's an awesome lens!

You don't have to use it any differently than whatever you were using previously. There are many reasons why that lens will be better - auto focus, VR, glass quality, etc. But if you're in low light or want a shallow depth-of-field, you now have the option of "opening it up" and shooting at f/2.8 or f/3.5 at 200mm. By the way, generally, you'll want to stop down at least one stop for a little dpeth-of-field breathing room and for best image quality. Even though your lens can open up to f/2.8, that usually won't deliver the best image quality.

Welcome to the good stuff - it's addictive

[lidarman]

I'm lost here...but from the context of the replies, seems like everyone else understands. But this post seems to be about a prime (fixed focus) lens? Not a lens fixed at f/2.8???

Or am I missing something?

[zrfraser]

Thanks for the reply.

Fixed Ap. is a new world for me.

It is the Nikkor VR 70-200, 2.8 Big and heavy but shoots nic

Appears that it is a fixed aperture zoom.

[another view]

...or to be technical it's really a constant aperture zoom. This just means that the maximum aperture of the lens remains constant over the focal length range. In this case, you can shoot f2.8 at 70mm or f2.8 at 200mm.

If it were a variable aperture lens the aperture values would change with the focal length. Usually variable aperture lenses are slower, so it would be probably something like f4 at the short end and f5.6 at the long end.

In the case of using an automatic mode on the camera (A, P, S, etc), variable aperture isn't that big of a deal - other than the fact that the maximum aperture is usually slower. If you were shooting in manual mode and/or doing somthing like shooting under studio lights that were manually set with a flash meter, changing your focal length (zooming) will change your exposure because the aperture value is different.

In low light, I usually shoot in "A" mode wide open - this gives me the fastest shutter speed I can get based on the lighting conditions. Different scenario, but if the light levels are bad you might want to try this. Because the DOF is so shallow you may lose some shots due to the focus being off but when it's on you'll have the least motion blur due to the fastest shutter speed.

[Sebastian]

I'm confused too, all primes are fixed aperture. Zooms can be variable or fixed.

[Sebastian]

Oh, missed that post, sorry. You wouldn't shoot it any different than whatever you shot before. Like AV explained, the strength of a constant aperture zoom is that your exposure isn't screwed with while zooming in manual mode.

[masdog]

You might want to consider shooting manual. If you shoot in any of those modes, especially on a very sunny day, light colors can easily throw off the camera meter and give you horribly over or under exposed images.

Although the best way to meter, without an incident light meter, is by using a grey card, you can use any neutral color to get an adequate metering. According to gmen (I think) on the photography-on-the.net forums, green meters very similarly to neutral greys. If you meter off the grass and use that to adjust your exposure, you'll get fairly close to a perfect exposure.

[lidarman]

You might want to consider shooting manual. If you shoot in any of those modes, especially on a very sunny day, light colors can easily throw off the camera meter and give you horribly over or under exposed images.

Although the best way to meter, without an incident light meter, is by using a grey card, you can use any neutral color to get an adequate metering. According to gmen (I think) on the photography-on-the.net forums, green meters very similarly to neutral greys. If you meter off the grass and use that to adjust your exposure, you'll get fairly close to a perfect exposure.

Now that i understand what page we are on...

The problem with manual and sports is as you swing the camera around the lighting might change and unless you are quick, you have to adjust something.

I usually choose aperture priority and make sure that there is no condition where the shutter speed will exceed the fastest shutter of the camera. Most sports shooting I do is wide open aperature for short DOF and fast shutter times.

[Photo-John]

Now The problem with manual and sports is as you swing the camera around the lighting might change and unless you are quick, you have to adjust something..

True. But I'd rather make my own mistakes. I always shoot in manual. That's how I learned and I've just never been able to trust any light meter or camera processor that much.

Oh yeah - I'm quick. Sorta...

[ken1953]

True. But I'd rather make my own mistakes. I always shoot in manual. That's how I learned and I've just never been able to trust any light meter or camera processor that much.

Oh yeah - I'm quick. Sorta...

So...if I understand what you and Seb are saying, I should just continue shooting in manual mode and not even worry about messing with the Ap Priority or Shutter Priority until I've mastered the manual??? And then choose whether I want or need to use either. As of right now, I only use Manual mode and frequently only manual focus. On rare occasion I get lazy and put it in auto mode...but that's only when I want to be lazy!!! hehe...
Ken

[lidarman]

True. But I'd rather make my own mistakes. I always shoot in manual. That's how I learned and I've just never been able to trust any light meter or camera processor that much.

Oh yeah - I'm quick. Sorta...

Not sure I understand what you just said. You have to trust some meter even in manual to get a an aperature and shutter speed. Unless what you are doing is tweeking the exposure up or down a bit from what the meter is giving you? I do that in AP using the EV. I know it's not the cleanest way but like I said, I can't shoot 5 frames of a snowboarder in flight and tweek the settings in a fraction of a second.

[Sebastian]

I'm with PJ on this one. I meter for the bright areas, and I meter for the dark areas, and when the action shifts from one to another, I compensate accordingly. The end result is always better than any [insert function here]-priority mode, especially for sports.

It's more work to get good at it, but the result is much more consistent.

[another view]

It's funny how the more that we shoot and the more advanced that camera metering modes get, the more we rely on manual modes. Same here.

[Sebastian]

I can't speak for AV, but that's not what I'm saying at all. Manual is the best way to keep the quality under control and consistent. The other modes are just for being lazy, they are in no way better than manual. Most of the time they're far worse.

[another view]

Yeah, you can speak for me. That's how I feel about it - but a lot of times I do shoot in an auto mode. The trick is to know when it won't give you the results that you want.