Basic questions about shooting in low light

[Loswr]

My biggest fear of M mode is that someday I will see bigfoot running away, grab the camera and click off a few shots, only to realize after he is gone I am 7 or 8 stops under or over exposed. In my excitement and haste I had once again forgot to adjust the settings.

That's why I recommend setting up C3 as your BEAU* Mode – settings along the lines of 1/500 s, f/5.6, and Auto ISO. Then, it's a spin of the dial to the end, and you won't miss the shot.



* Bigfoot, Elvis, Aliens and Unicorns

 

[Mikehit]

And this is where personal preferences come in.

I agree with a lot of your points but will comment on the following couple of points:

*While Shutter Priority may feel comfortable, you will get much better results in Manual mode. Shutter priority or Aperture priority used in conjunction with the exposure compensation dial gives precisely the same flexibility as manual mode and (for me anyway) is easier to think about on the fly. Manual can be scary for people new to the skillsSet your shutter for the subject (at least 1/60s for stationary or slow moving people, 1/100s minimum for things like dance, and 1/250s-1/500s for most sports shots, though 1/1000s may be necessary for high speed stuff.
*With the 5DIII, if you use manual ISO, ISO 6400 is about the top you'll want to use Is this specific to manual mode? As has been said above, no reason to limit yourself to 6400 and it depends on the intended use. Do you have specific demands regards noise?
*If you have changing lighting like stage shots, use M, set manual ISO, and a medium shutter speed. Dial back & forth between slower and faster shutter speeds to adjust exposure Why not set your preferred aperture/speed and use auto ISO - or is that because of the risk you see of it exceeding 6400?
Also, above you say set the shutter speed for the circumstances yet here you are effectively saying set the aperture? Is this specific to the situation of changing lighting?

I agree that everyone has their own style and without knowing more about the OPs subjects and such it's hard to give tailored advice. I also agree that Manual mode is scary, but I have found that Shutter Priority can be quite frustrating for many people. Low light is one of those times when M mode is almost mandatory to get the best shots.

As for ISO 6400, I think that's about the top you would want to use with the 5DIII unless you're just posting stuff on the web. I have personal preferences on noise, but most people seem to generally agree on CR and others that each body kind of has an upper limit that most people are happy with.

And on that final comment, if you have one of the more recent bodies with Auto ISO and the ability to set limits, then yes. M mode just gives you that extra bit of control and if you have the very newest bodies, or a 1D X, you can do M mode plus exposure compensation

Ultimately, it's all about what the person feels comfortable doing, but those tips have worked well for me and M mode isn't so scary in the digital world because you can experiment without wasting tons of money on film!

I was recently in Canada shooting grizzlies hunting using a 7D2. The weather was variable and at times shooting ISO 6400 to get the shutter speed - any less and the motion blur would make the image useless even for 'memories' but 6400 (even 12800) gave me personal images that I am very happy with. Provided I don't need to crop or recover shadows!!!
And that, as we obviously agree, is about personal choice and how the image will be used.

If I wanted to have them printed in a magazine the issue would be very, very different and this is why I think it would be helpful if people put their comments into perspective instead of making bald statement of 'never go above ISO of XXXXX'.

As takesome1 says, one reason I like Av is that after taking a shot the camera is always ready for the next shot (unless I have added significant compensation) especially grab shots and that is not always the case with manual. Even accepting Neuro's comments about using C3, it still depends on remembering to 'spin the dial'....

 

[takesome1]

And this is where personal preferences come in.

I agree with a lot of your points but will comment on the following couple of points:

*While Shutter Priority may feel comfortable, you will get much better results in Manual mode. Shutter priority or Aperture priority used in conjunction with the exposure compensation dial gives precisely the same flexibility as manual mode and (for me anyway) is easier to think about on the fly. Manual can be scary for people new to the skillsSet your shutter for the subject (at least 1/60s for stationary or slow moving people, 1/100s minimum for things like dance, and 1/250s-1/500s for most sports shots, though 1/1000s may be necessary for high speed stuff.
*With the 5DIII, if you use manual ISO, ISO 6400 is about the top you'll want to use Is this specific to manual mode? As has been said above, no reason to limit yourself to 6400 and it depends on the intended use. Do you have specific demands regards noise?
*If you have changing lighting like stage shots, use M, set manual ISO, and a medium shutter speed. Dial back & forth between slower and faster shutter speeds to adjust exposure Why not set your preferred aperture/speed and use auto ISO - or is that because of the risk you see of it exceeding 6400?
Also, above you say set the shutter speed for the circumstances yet here you are effectively saying set the aperture? Is this specific to the situation of changing lighting?

I agree that everyone has their own style and without knowing more about the OPs subjects and such it's hard to give tailored advice. I also agree that Manual mode is scary, but I have found that Shutter Priority can be quite frustrating for many people. Low light is one of those times when M mode is almost mandatory to get the best shots.

As for ISO 6400, I think that's about the top you would want to use with the 5DIII unless you're just posting stuff on the web. I have personal preferences on noise, but most people seem to generally agree on CR and others that each body kind of has an upper limit that most people are happy with.

And on that final comment, if you have one of the more recent bodies with Auto ISO and the ability to set limits, then yes. M mode just gives you that extra bit of control and if you have the very newest bodies, or a 1D X, you can do M mode plus exposure compensation

Ultimately, it's all about what the person feels comfortable doing, but those tips have worked well for me and M mode isn't so scary in the digital world because you can experiment without wasting tons of money on film!

I was recently in Canada shooting grizzlies hunting using a 7D2. The weather was variable and at times shooting ISO 6400 to get the shutter speed - any less and the motion blur would make the image useless even for 'memories' but 6400 (even 12800) gave me personal images that I am very happy with. Provided I don't need to crop or recover shadows!!!
And that, as we obviously agree, is about personal choice and how the image will be used.

If I wanted to have them printed in a magazine the issue would be very, very different and this is why I think it would be helpful if people put their comments into perspective instead of making bald statement of 'never go above ISO of XXXXX'.

As takesome1 says, one reason I like Av is that after taking a shot the camera is always ready for the next shot (unless I have added significant compensation) especially grab shots and that is not always the case with manual. Even accepting Neuro's comments about using C3, it still depends on remembering to 'spin the dial'....

I think MacGuyver had very good general comments and direction to give to someone with limited experience that asks for advice without giving any detail of the exact situation.

In your bear example concerning the bear and ISO I would likely not be happy with an ISO 6400 shot. (speaking 7D II) There have been instances where I shot at ISO 6400 that the time of day, the lighting and subject gave the picture a special dreamy look. In those situations the fact that I had to shoot at ISO 6400 worked to the common good of the picture. But those are rare exceptions, generaly the pic just has to much noise.

Even at that the comparison of shooting a 7D II vs shooting with the 5D III at ISO 6400 are not the same. Probably about a stop difference, for instance I said previously I wouldn't be happy above ISO 3200 (refering to the 5D III) this means I wouldn't be happy with the 7D II above ISO 1600.

My prefrence for DSLR ISO limits come from my experience with DSLR's starting with the 50D and the 5 other type of bodies I have owned since. The best advice for the OP is to shoot at the diffrent ISO's and find his/her preference.

 

[Mikehit]

As ever in photography, the subject matter is everything.
If someone got photographic evidence of Elvis Presley riding Shergar down the ramp of a UFO, who would give a crap about whether it was ISO 800 or 12,800? Even Nat Geo wouldn't care.
I have some photos I will never delete because of the moment they capture even if they are too bad to show anyone else. There are some occasions I regret not taking because at the time I thought 'the ISO will be too high' or 'they are too far off for a decent shot' or some other lame excuse.

Set to Av (or manual) and auto ISO and make the decision later, I say.

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Neuro.
I like the BEAU mode, took a few seconds before I spotted the small print.
I thought P or even [] were the settings suggested to catch fleeing ladders (a thread a long time ago involving blown evidence shots)? The "camera will always get a shot" settings though not what you might use for more considered shots.

Cheers, Graham.

My biggest fear of M mode is that someday I will see bigfoot running away, grab the camera and click off a few shots, only to realize after he is gone I am 7 or 8 stops under or over exposed. In my excitement and haste I had once again forgot to adjust the settings.

That's why I recommend setting up C3 as your BEAU* Mode – settings along the lines of 1/500 s, f/5.6, and Auto ISO. Then, it's a spin of the dial to the end, and you won't miss the shot.



* Bigfoot, Elvis, Aliens and Unicorns