Need help with my Canon Digital Rebel EOS 300D

[mq1986]

Okay, I am a newbie, and here's the situation:

I am good at taking outdoor photos, especially using the Sports/Action setting. The photos all come out really great, I love them. They look really professional.

Then there are indoor settings. Well, I'm a high school student, and most of the photos I take indoors are in very bright, white lighting, so they come out pretty well.

What I'm really bad at is when there's a situation where I have to take photos indoors and there's very dim lighting and I hate using flash because it illuminates things on people's faces they don't want seen.

This is compounded when I'm using a big lens (70-300 mm) and I can't hold it properly because I don't like dragging a tripod around and I shake when I hold it 'cause it seems a little heavy or I'm weak, one of those.

This is further compounded when the photos I'm taking are of moving people.

Okay, the real problem was that yesterday I went to the spring concert for my high school and it was inside a dark theater and the lighting they used on the stage was very dim and all the people on stage were moving and dancing. When I looked at the photos today, most of them were soooo blurry, even though I used the Sports/Action setting so there was no flash and to capture motion. Using Adobe's Unsharp Mask filter helped a few photos, but I'm really tired of doing that, so I want to improve my photo-taking ability.

I can't handle manual. There is no way I can get a Nikon D70, and the problem is probably with me anyway. Is there anything I can do? Please help a person who is completely photography illiterate!

Remember: the problem is blurry photos of people. I can handle stationary objects, but not people...especially if they're moving and it's dark and I can't hold the camera still...maybe I'm asking too much for people to give me a magic tip to solve this? Here's a solution: don't take pictures....but I really want to!

[Sean Dempsey]

What I'm really bad at is when there's a situation where I have to take photos indoors and there's very dim lighting and I hate using flash because it illuminates things on people's faces they don't want seen.

An on-camera flash will do this. If you are in dim lighting and not using flash, you have to increase your exposure time and bring your aperture down(up?)... bring the aperture so the number is smaller (like a dark concert would be a 1/20th shutter and a 2.8 aperture or whatever). Another way to get around the flash is to get a speedlight like the 440 or 550ex and bounce it off the ceiling or walls, but again this requires you to buy a speedlight.

Also, if it's dark, you should be maxing out your ISO at 1600 on the drebel... are you?


This is compounded when I'm using a big lens (70-300 mm) and I can't hold it properly because I don't like dragging a tripod around and I shake when I hold it 'cause it seems a little heavy or I'm weak, one of those.

You are trying to reinvent the wheel here. Get a tripod or a monopod. Handheld shots with a telephoto zoom is never the way to go. Everyone shakes when they hold a camera, it is near impossible to shoot handheld below 1/125th shutter speed. Again, 1600 ISO should be used in all these situations.


This is further compounded when the photos I'm taking are of moving people.

If it is dark, and they are moving, you're gonna have 2 problems. First, it will be dark so you'll need a slower shutter speed and fast aperture to let in light. Second, they are moving so you'll need a faster shutter speed. See the problem? This is really hard to do without a tripod or flash. In this situation, you won't be able to freeze the action unless you use a speedlight flash, or wait until they aren't moving, but you'll still need a tripod, or damn good monopod.


inside a dark theater and the lighting they used on the stage was very dim and all the people on stage were moving and dancing. When I looked at the photos today, most of them were soooo blurry, even though I used the Sports/Action setting so there was no flash and to capture motion.

The sports action setting will set the shutter to pretty fast speeds, if I recall. This will NOT work unless there is bright light, period. I would strongly advise getting to know what I

There is no way I can get a Nikon D70

My Canon fanboy feelings are hurt by this statement =( A D70 would be ABSOLUTLEY no different in your predicament. Canon and Nikon do the exact same things.

Remember: the problem is blurry photos of people. I can handle stationary objects, but not people...especially if they're moving and it's dark and I can't hold the camera still...maybe I'm asking too much for people to give me a magic tip to solve this? Here's a solution: don't take pictures....but I really want to!

You need to check your ISO, learn and make sure you're using appropriate shutter and aperture settings, get a tripod or monopod, and save your money for a speedlight. Creativity and invention go a long way in photography, but eventually you NEED certain gear. If you want to do low light action photography, you'll need some of those things.

[mq1986]

Ahahaha, not really meaning to diss Canon or anything, but in any case, I wasn't really serious about changing to a Nikon or anything. Personally, I like mine because it looks better.

You're right; I do have to start training myself to use a tripod more...I hate dragging it around, but it looks like it's going to be necessary now that I have so many low light-action photos to take of.

As for a speedlight, how much does that cost?

And by the way, from now on, you are the person I'm going to consult photography on at least once a month for the rest of my life. ^_^

Just as a footnote, not ALL of the pictures turned out bad or anything, but to me, one bad photo is one too many. I'll start taking your advice right away.

[mq1986]

Oops, forgot to ask you, what is the difference between a speedlight and the on-camera light? Remember, major newbie on the loose here!

[Sean Dempsey]

the 550ex is like $350 and the 420ex is like $160.

"on camera" flash usually means the built in flash, or a speedlite that on the hotshoe on top of the camera.

With a speedlight, you can get a wireless transmitter or a cable and move the flash to your hand, a tripod, or across the room. I usually use a cable and a small tripod for the flash, or handhold it sometimes. Or put it in the hotshoe and bounce it off the walls.