Indoor / Low light issues with fast moving fish!

[smoke665]

I'll be honest here, I know little to nothing about wb. I've heard it talked about, and I know it's important, I've just fallen back on the camera to take care of it.

Your camera is going to try to interpret the light and adjust to what it thinks will be right. Unfortunately it doesn't work in difficult situations. This is a handy little thing to get in the habit of carrying Vello White Balance Card Set for Digital Photography WB-CS B&H in lieu of this a Styrofoam plate works well.

You mention RAW format. So I've been storing images as jpg

any image stored as JPEG will have the camera manufacturers algorithms applied to the image. Moving to the next level will require you to save as Raw.

Do you use an external light meter to determine the light breakdown? How important is it to understand the composition of the light?

Not sure what you mean by light breakdown. I have a light meter that I use occasionally but most of the time I use the camera. However the meter is merely a guide, not the final decision. I take a test shot based on the meter reading, then view the image and histogram. The exposure is adjusted to get the maximum data per the histogram for the shot. If your talking about light "temperature", that's why shooting the target is important, it gives you a known constant, that you can later adjust your images to in post.

 

[nixgeek]

I think in this situation working on one's hand holding technique is going to help a lot more than a tripod.==> Stability - making yourself a tripod versus using one

This sound like a life skill I could use even outside of photography, thanks!

 

[nixgeek]

Do you use an external light meter to determine the light breakdown? How important is it to understand the composition of the light?

Not sure what you mean by light breakdown. I have a light meter that I use occasionally but most of the time I use the camera. However, the meter is merely a guide, not the final decision. I take a test shot based on the meter reading, then view the image and histogram. The exposure is adjusted to get the maximum data per the histogram for the shot. If your talking about light "temperature", that's why shooting the target is important, it gives you a known constant, that you can later adjust your images to in post.

I'll have a look at those cards, so you take a picture of the white card and adjust the wb to set the camera's value for white to that of the known, calibrated white of the test card ? I'll go read that as well, I need to RTFM more before asking things like this on a forum.

So by light breakdown, I meant the temperature. I'll go read the terminology page in a minute

Thanks again!

 

[astroNikon]

..... I need to RTFM more before asking things like this on a forum....

Problem is the Manual is great if you already understand stuff, it's a great "reference" but isn't that good to learn for newbies.

There's some great book on how to learn alot of this stuff, of course it still requires practice to gain that understanding.
like this, but find one for d5100.
==> https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Ni...144&sr=8-2&keywords=mastering+the+nikon+d7000

maybe like this one ==> https://www.amazon.com/Nikon-D5100-...r2&keywords=mastering+the+nikon+d5100+dummies

 

[nixgeek]

So far I've been learning how to use the camera by trying to do something, failing, coming home and researching and reading how other people have solved it.

For example, my pictures were too dark on auto, so a friend showed me how to set aperture iso and shutter speed to get a better picture.

Yesterday when af on the lens wouldn't work through glass, I switched to mf and played around until it worked.

I suspect it'll continue until I can take a decent photo.

When I'm more confident with the theory I'll probably swap it out for a different camera (maybe a & 7200) and learn it all again

 

[smoke665]

I'll have a look at those cards, so you take a picture of the white card and adjust the wb to set the camera's value for white to that of the known, calibrated white of the test card ? I'll go read that as well, I need to RTFM more before asking things like this on a forum.

I just adjust post in LR using the eye dropper tool then syncing all the images in a series to the first. Not sure how Gimp works. You should also be able to do a "custom white balance" in camera directly off the card by using the target.

 

[astroNikon]

So far I've been learning how to use the camera by trying to do something, failing, coming home and researching and reading how other people have solved it.

For example, my pictures were too dark on auto, so a friend showed me how to set aperture iso and shutter speed to get a better picture.

Yesterday when af on the lens wouldn't work through glass, I switched to mf and played around until it worked.

I suspect it'll continue until I can take a decent photo.

When I'm more confident with the theory I'll probably swap it out for a different camera (maybe a & 7200) and learn it all again

you can always practice at home.

Shoot through a window at some static subject ... or a moving pet
fill up a vase or pitcher of water and shoot through that to some subject either behind or inside it. Even stir the pitcher with some object inside as it floats around in circles.
And do it with the lights off.

many ways you can simulate this situation. And give you much more practice without going anywhere.

 

[vintagesnaps]

You need a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the movement; sounds like that's what you're adjusting last which you might need to rethink. Yeah, a faster lens would be a help. I've done sports not fish but in some lousy lighting. WB depends on lighting which in an arena can be an educated guess, so maybe do some test shots trying various settings. Where you're standing and which way you're facing in relation to the light can make a difference; try noticing where the light at least looks better even though the way we see it could be different than how a camera may read it.

 

[Derrel]

Awesome, I think the camera tops out at ISO6400, although there are "hi" modes. Apparently, Hi 2 is the equivalent of ISO 25600, but I've not tried it yet.

Entering negotiations with the wife on a Nikon 50 mm F1.4G AF-S Nikkor Lens to hopefully future proof me (just in case I ever win the lotto and buy an FX body)

Thanks again, was really useful to have someone else trying to take pics in an aquarium.

The 50mm 1.8 AF-S G series lens will perform as well, or better, than the 50mm f/1.4 model in the same series! Same with the 85mm f/1.8 versus the f/1.4 model: the less-costly less actually peforms as well, or a sliught bit better, by most performance metrics, as reported by a number of people. So...perhaps a bit of money could be saved. And also, on the D5100, the 50mm lens will give a nice, short-telephoto type of look and effect, and is also of course, compatible with the FX Nikons as well as your DX-format D5100 body.

You could also use a 60mm f/2.8 AF-S G-series Nikkor lens, or the 85mm DX-series macro lens, or an 85mm f/1.8 AF-S G...

All of those lenses would allow you decent shutter speeds in dimmer lighting conditions.

 

[nixgeek]

I just adjust post in LR using the eye dropper tool then syncing all the images in a series to the first. Not sure how Gimp works. You should also be able to do a "custom white balance" in camera directly off the card by using the target.

I've just spotted a deal on PS/ LR for a less than £10 per month. Might be worth investing and learning. Thanks!

 

[nixgeek]

you can always practice at home.

Shoot through a window at some static subject ... or a moving pet
fill up a vase or pitcher of water and shoot through that to some subject either behind or inside it. Even stir the pitcher with some object inside as it floats around in circles.
And do it with the lights off.

many ways you can simulate this situation. And give you much more practice without going anywhere.

That's a great idea. I'll try that out.

It was my first attempt at filming fish, and as you suggest I need to practise. It'll take a while before I understand all of the variables, and hopefully how to tame them.

Thanks!

 

[nixgeek]

You need a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the movement; sounds like that's what you're adjusting last which you might need to rethink.

So I adjust the shutter speed last, purely because I can do it on the wheel, and it can be done while staring through the viewfinder. That doesn't mean I should of course. I seem to change ISO the least, so I'll have a play around and see what works.

 

[nixgeek]

The 50mm 1.8 AF-S G series lens will perform as well, or better, than the 50mm f/1.4 model in the same series! Same with the 85mm f/1.8 versus the f/1.4 model: the less-costly less actually peforms as well, or a sliught bit better, by most performance metrics, as reported by a number of people. So...perhaps a bit of money could be saved. And also, on the D5100, the 50mm lens will give a nice, short-telephoto type of look and effect, and is also of course, compatible with the FX Nikons as well as your DX-format D5100 body.

You could also use a 60mm f/2.8 AF-S G-series Nikkor lens, or the 85mm DX-series macro lens, or an 85mm f/1.8 AF-S G...

All of those lenses would allow you decent shutter speeds in dimmer lighting conditions.

So something like this would be better than the 1.4 ?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-AF-S-NIKKOR-1-8G-Lens/dp/B004Y1AYAC?th=1

I hope it's not against the rules to post links. As soon as I return from holiday/vacation I'll pop into my local camera shop. I'd rather give them the money TBH.

Thanks for your tip, it appears lots of people are saying the 1.4 is over the top for a hobbyist.

 

[nixgeek]

Just as an aside, i've just found this on the Nikon site *facepalm*

Aquarium Photography | How to Take Great Aquarium Photos | Nikon from Nikon

 

[fmw]

Hi All,

I know this topic has been covered before, but I'm still not sure why I can't get enough light into my camera, and I'd really appreciate any advice you may have.

I have a secondhand Nikon D5100 which came bundled with a Tamron 18-270mm F3.5 lens.

Today I was trying to take pictures in an aquarium, which was relatively dark, but whenever I'm indoors I end up having to crank everything up to get a decent exposure.

At the aviation museum, this wasn't a problem, as stationary aircraft don't mind hanging around for a 1-second shutter speed, but fish don't have the same patience

So, I'm wondering if a different (lower mm / f-stop) lens would help me get more light in, and allow me to increase my shutter speed. Something like the Nikkor AF-S DX 35mm or 50mm F1.8G lens.

I was zooming in on a particular fish, so I was pushing it.

The picture had the following settings, and I was lucky he decided to stay still-ish, but he was still a bit blurry.

Any advice would be very welcome

Thanks

Matt

_DSC0266 by my0373, on Flickr

Flash.