Focusing in dark places?

[2WheelPhoto]

......... Not indoor low light photography. I hope that suggestion was a joke................

Don't knock until you try it. I'm not saying try to get EVERYTHING from 0.001" to infinity in focus.... just the normal distances your subjects are. 5-10 feet is not an impossible feat, even at f/5.6 or f/8.

Okay, let me know the next time you are shooting handheld, indoor, low light, no flash photography where you need a flash light just to give the focus system something to lock into and are shooting at f/8. Sounds a bit far from optimal to me. Just sayin'.

If you shoot motorcycles with a tripod and available light at night where we do, you'll need a tripod and focus light.

[Ads]

[480sparky]

Okay, let me know the next time you are shooting handheld, indoor, low light, no flash photography where you need a flash light just to give the focus system something to lock into and are shooting at f/8. Sounds a bit far from optimal to me. Just sayin'.

Who said anything about autofocus? I said PREfocus.

[Kerbouchard]

I didn't say anything about using autofocus. The OP implied that his autofocus was not working because the lighting conditions were too dim. He also said manual focus was not an option because his viewfinder was pitch dark. That gives any experienced photographer a good idea of the light levels. Since the OP also said he is trying to take pictures at a party, we can also assume he doesn't want to shoot at 1/2 second shutter speed.

Given all that info, we can further infer that any advice to shoot at f/8 is ridiculous.

That is all.

[Aye-non Oh-non Imus]

Okay, let me know the next time you are shooting handheld, indoor, low light, no flash photography where you need a flash light just to give the focus system something to lock into and are shooting at f/8. Sounds a bit far from optimal to me. Just sayin'.

Isn't this where the cream rises to the top? You're talking bo!!ocks anyway. There are a myriad of options to shoot in those conditions. Just because you approached the scene ill prepared doesn't mean that the rest of us are that way inclined.

[Kerbouchard]

Okay, let me know the next time you are shooting handheld, indoor, low light, no flash photography where you need a flash light just to give the focus system something to lock into and are shooting at f/8. Sounds a bit far from optimal to me. Just sayin'.

Isn't this where the cream rises to the top? You're talking bo!!ocks anyway. There are a myriad of options to shoot in those conditions. Just because you approached the scene ill prepared doesn't mean that the rest of us are that way inclined.

Huh? For one thing, I am not the OP. For another, I told the OP what he needed to do to shoot in those conditions. Third, shooting in that scenario was not my advice nor is it something I would do. Forth, I don't know what "bo!!ocks" is. And last of all, I don't like your tone.

Carry on.

[Creative]

No need to start a flame war. I'll try all the ideas i was suggested and i'll see whats more comfortable with me, since im new to the photography world.

[480sparky]

...............Given all that info, we can further infer that any advice to shoot at f/8 is ridiculous.

Yeah, if you want to shoot at ISO 100, maybe 200. Ever try 1600? Maybe you need to go to 6400. Who knows? The OP hasn't let us in on any of those secrets yet.


OK, once again.......... P R E focus. You don't look through the viewfinder to focus. >>>>>Take the camera/lens off of autofocus and take control.<<<<< You look at the numbers on the lens. That's what they're there for..... so you can set the lens' focus at a certain point.

If your subjects are 5-10 feet away, you focus at 6¾ feet. This is accomplished quite easily by looking AT the lens, not THROUGH it, and turning to focus ring until ~6¾ is at the mark on the lens. Set the lens to f/8, and match the ISO to the lighting. Now, anything between 5 and 10 feet will be in focus.

[Kerbouchard]

Don't knock until you try it. I'm not saying try to get EVERYTHING from 0.001" to infinity in focus.... just the normal distances your subjects are. 5-10 feet is not an impossible feat, even at f/5.6 or f/8.

Okay, let me know the next time you are shooting handheld, indoor, low light, no flash photography where you need a flash light just to give the focus system something to lock into and are shooting at f/8. Sounds a bit far from optimal to me. Just sayin'.

If you shoot motorcycles with a tripod and available light at night where we do, you'll need a tripod and focus light.

Well, I don't typically shoot motorcycles with a tripod in available light...and based on the post that the OP made, neither does he. I fail to see how your comment has anything to do with the topic of this thread.

If what you are saying is the conditions I mentioned aren't optimal and there are other options, than I would agree. That was my point. Heck, I even explained the other options.

[Aye-non Oh-non Imus]

No Sh!t Sherlock, I can read and comprehend.

Missed your suggestion and in the editor, can't go back. Will do, though.

You brought up the scenario, not me.

My tone is very beige tonight. Would prefer that to turn? I highly doubt it.

The double ! was a substitution for double L, since that would have been censored.

... My Wayward Son.

[Kerbouchard]

...............Given all that info, we can further infer that any advice to shoot at f/8 is ridiculous.

Yeah, if you want to shoot at ISO 100, maybe 200. Ever try 1600? Maybe you need to go to 6400. Who knows? The OP hasn't let us in on any of those secrets yet.


OK, once again.......... P R E focus. You don't look through the viewfinder to focus. >>>>>Take the camera/lens off of autofocus and take control.<<<<< You look at the numbers on the lens. That's what they're there for..... so you can set the lens' focus at a certain point.

If your subjects are 5-10 feet away, you focus at 6¾ feet. This is accomplished quite easily by looking AT the lens, not THROUGH it, and turning to focus ring until ~6¾ is at the mark on the lens. Set the lens to f/8, and match the ISO to the lighting. Now, anything between 5 and 10 feet will be in focus.

Did you even read the OP or did you just start giving advice? The OP has a Canon EOS T1i. We aren't talking about a D3s or 1DMk5. The OP cannot shoot at ISO 6400. Heck, it's max possible ISO is 3200 and I doubt it gives usable results at ISO 800.

This entire argument is ridiculous.

To the OP, the internet is full of advice. Some good, some bad. It is up to you to filter it all out. Maybe what I am telling you is completely wrong. Maybe what somebody else is telling you is completely wrong.

Either way, in my opinion, the best way to increase your keeper percentage in the type of conditions you describe is to use a speedlight mounted to your hot shoe and bounced off a nearby wall or ceiling. The speedlight will supply you with the necessary lighting and will also function as an AF assist.

For what it's worth, if you pop up your flash, your camera does have a built in AF assist, but it uses a pre-flash from the built in flash. It's not optimal, but it may help in the conditions you are describing until you can better equip yourself.

[Kerbouchard]

No Sh!t Sherlock, I can read and comprehend.

Missed your suggestion and in the editor, can't go back. Will do, though.

You brought up the scenario, not me.

My tone is very beige tonight. Would prefer that to turn? I highly doubt it.

The double ! was a substitution for double L, since that would have been censored.

... My Wayward Son.

I don't know that means, either...even with the substitution. Either way, it sounds like we had a misunderstanding. No big deal. I typed out that specific scenario in response to a suggestion to just shoot at the hyperfocal distance at around f/8. I didn't think that would work too well under the conditions the OP had mentioned. That was why I brought it up.

Sorry for the confusion.

[Dao]

Read your camera user's manual so you can learn how to use the low light auto focus assist feature of the pop up flash unit.

EDIT: I was just looking through the T1i user's manual online, and like most Canon users's manual it sucks, badly. I don't see that the T1i has a low light auto focus assist feature.

Another reason I can't recommend Canon gear.

T1i has AF-Assist beam

Quote from Canon Site:
"AF Assist Beam
Intermittent firing of built-in flash
Effective range: Approx. 4.0m/13.1 ft. at center, approx. 3.5m/11.5 ft. at periphery"

[480sparky]

Did you even read the OP or did you just start giving advice? The OP has a Canon EOS T1i. We aren't talking about a D3s or 1DMk5. The OP cannot shoot at ISO 6400. Heck, it's max possible ISO is 3200 and I doubt it gives usable results at ISO 800.

This entire argument is ridiculous.

To the OP, the internet is full of advice. Some good, some bad. It is up to you to filter it all out. Maybe what I am telling you is completely wrong. Maybe what somebody else is telling you is completely wrong.

Either way, in my opinion, the best way to increase your keeper percentage in the type of conditions you describe is to use a speedlight mounted to your hot shoe and bounced off a nearby wall or ceiling. The speedlight will supply you with the necessary lighting and will also function as an AF assist.

For what it's worth, if you pop up your flash, your camera does have a built in AF assist, but it uses a pre-flash from the built in flash. It's not optimal, but it may help in the conditions you are describing until you can better equip yourself.

Well, it's painfully obvious you're the only one who has all the correct answers, so I'll just shut up now.

[Kerbouchard]

I'm sorry it had to end this way Sparky...I'm glad you have finally seen the light.

[Aye-non Oh-non Imus]

....... I typed out that specific scenario in response to a suggestion to just shoot at the hyperfocal distance at around f/8. I didn't think that would work too well under the conditions the OP had mentioned. That was why I brought it up.

As I read the OP's initial thoughts, it was all about focusing in a dimly lit scene. Exactly how does your suggestion to set hyperfocal distances at f/8 improve his chances to acheive focus? He can't see sh!t. First off, he/she need to hit a demarcation printed on the lens. Without some source of illumination, this will be very difficult. Without some light source, he/she will not be able to see the dials on the lens in order to acheive said hyberfocal distance. Hmmm, I know, a pen light just might do the trick. In my case, a pair of reading glasses to boot.

......If you need a flash light for your focus module to lock on, you are pretty much beyond your camera's capabilities, at least without flash.........

But not the photographers McGiver skills. In most cases, there is always a work around.