Night shooting

[Basco]

hello,i have a canon EOS 30D with the 70-200mm f4/L non IS version with a 580EX ll speedlite,when i shoot at night,i cant go beyond 1/60 @ f4,whatever i do....u know that a long size zoom lens like that with a non IS built-in with the 1.6x factor the 30D got,its not fair to shoot at these settings and get sharp images .... is there a way to overcome this problem so i can shoot at more reasonable combination.

P.S. even if i fire up my ISO to 1600 it still gives me this combo .... help !!!!!

[Jimmy B]

Basco are you shooting Manual? What kind of shots are you trying to take?
Can you upload a shot? Just trying to help, Jimmy B

[Basco]

well mostly those are wedding shots and on-stage exhibition with satges lights ... well some of my shots were good (at wedding)but mosty are dim and dark and dosent do the 'L" nor the EOS 30D nor the 580EX II its right so ill post some of my unedited pics but sized down pics for reviews and comments,thx a lot ...

[Basco]

Regardless of the picture quality (sharpness,color,shades ...etc)or the mood it gives the pic,i was just wondering why i can't go beyond 1/60 with f4 with ISO 800??

[Jimmy B]

Basco sit down and read this, very informative!
http://planetneil.com/tangents/flash...hy-techniques/
Jimmy B

[Photo-John]

beyond 1/60 with f4 with ISO 800??

Can you be more specific about what you mean by that? Do you want a slower shutter speed, higher ISO, more light? The sample you posted is defintiely underexposed. But without knowing more, I don't know why. What shooting mode are you using? In shutter priority you should be able to choose any shutter speed you want up to the max flash sync, which I think is 1/200th with your camera. And with manual, you should be able to set the aperture and shutter speed to whatever you want.

[Basco]

that specific shot was taken with auto mode,i was shooting most of the time like that (i know its not a professional way to shoot)but ill try to change to M mode and see the difference ... ill keep u posted.

[Photo-John]

It's ok. You're allowed to shoot in Auto mode or any mode you want. Whatever works for you

But the reason I asked, is you're finding a limitation. And now that I know what mode you're using, it makes more sense. I just put my 40D in the green mode (auto) and the built-in flash automatically popped up and the exposure time went from 1/4 second to 1/60th second. That's because the auto mode is trying to help make sure your photos don't suffer from camera shake. The 1/60th second shutter speed is fast enough to eliminate most camera shake blur. If you put the camera in shutter priority mode (TV), you'll be able to choose any shutter speed you want. Just be aware that the slower you go, the more likely you are to get some blur because you can't hold the camera still enough. Experiment and find out how slow you can go and still hold the camera steady. It will depend on the length of your lens. So with your 70-200mm lens, you'll need faster shutter speeds to eliminate the shake.

I think your problem is solved. Try changing the mode and experimenting and let us know how it works out.

[frleal70]

Thanks for the link, JB.

[Lori11]

I have the same camera and the same lens, my "camera shake" comes from me however, I really need an IS but cant affordone right now. I shoot Auto too for that reason. Also the tighter you zoom, the darker the photos will be. Someone here told me to try TV mode and it made all the difference, the trick was to to practice with it endlessly for me, it made all the difference in my shots.

[Photo-John]

the tighter you zoom, the darker the photos will be.

That's only true if you have a variable aperture lens, e.g., f/3.5-5.6. With a fixed aperture pro lens, the aperture doesn't have to change and the exposure will stay the same when you zoom. Actually, the exposure won't change on a variable aperture lens if you have it stopped down to the maximum telephoto aperture. In other words, if you're f/3.5-56 lens is set at f/5.6 and you zoom all the way in, your exposure won't change because you're already at the largest aperture for the telephoto end of the zoom. But if you're set to f/3.5 and you zoom in, the aperture will change two stops and ruin your photo.

[fotoengineer]

I started off with an intense passion for night photography - check out my fine art section on my web site - http://www.fotoimpressions.com

Currently I'm a Professional Wedding Photographer in Rochester, NY, but still love to shoot at night - please also visit my Graduate Work section and look at the accumulations series.

[Kajuah]

that's a great website, fotoengineer, where did you train when doing your schooling?

[Jimmy B]

Thanks for the link, JB.

No problem, I learned a lot from that site
JB

[Basco]

indeed thats a great website to learn from JB , thx a lot

P.S. ive tried with manual shooting mode and ETTL flash mode and wow,its another world guys,its lot lot better,thx for the help