Canyons... New territory (DSLR)

zx6r1033 · Oct 13, 2008

I have an olympus E-510 DSLR. On Nov 1, I will be moving from Maine to FL with two friends. On the way down (Assuming they are still open), we are planning to stop off at Luray Caverns. I don't remember much about that place on my first trip there 22 years ago, but I remember it being rather dark. I would love to get some pointers on shooting in that kind of lighting. The tour guides recommend high speed film and a flash, but it seems to me that I would get better shots without the flash. I want to capture the scene with the available lighting... not a flash.

chrisburke · Oct 13, 2008

wide aperture i believe is good with low light.. someone correct me if i'm wrong

Overread · Oct 13, 2008

if you are allowed take a tripod - that can help you with longer exposures in the darker conditions. As for available lighting that will depend greatly on how well the place is lit - be prepared to use your flash if lighting is poor. Also chris is right - a wide aperture will help with getting light into the camera.
Past that I can't help much more since I am a digital shooter with no traditional experience - though you could go for a slower ISO film if you could get longer exposures with a tripod

tirediron · Oct 13, 2008

Take a tripod if at all possible, failing that a monopod. You'll need to keep your ISO fairly high, and probably be shooting close to wide open; bring your fastest glass. Also, if you can, do some on-line research ahead of time, and look at other images of the area to get an idea of what the conditions are like (esp. at this time of year). A flash may help, but depending on how large an area you're photographing, it may also get lost.

zx6r1033 · Oct 13, 2008

Overread said:
Past that I can't help much more since I am a digital shooter with no traditional experience - though you could go for a slower ISO film if you could get longer exposures with a tripod

DSLR = Digital single lens reflex. I shoot digital, too... so I bet you could help more than you knew.

This is my camera

tirediron said:
Take a tripod if at all possible, failing that a monopod. You'll need to keep your ISO fairly high, and probably be shooting close to wide open; bring your fastest glass. Also, if you can, do some on-line research ahead of time, and look at other images of the area to get an idea of what the conditions are like (esp. at this time of year). A flash may help, but depending on how large an area you're photographing, it may also get lost.

It is a new camera, so the only glass I have is what came with it for the time being. It came with two Zuiko lenses. One is a 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 and the other is a 40-150mm f/4.0-5.6.

It says pictures are encourages, so I would assume a tripod is completely feasible.

These are the caverns. I'm not overly impressed with the pictures on their website, which was the basis of my conclusion that their recommendation of high speed film and flashes wasn't good.

maulrat · Oct 13, 2008

Tripod + remote trigger. This way, you can take a long shutter shot and not worry about jitter blur from touching the camera.

Overread · Oct 13, 2008

ahh it was when you said highspeed film that I started thinking you were on traditional

Taking a look at you kit I would say use your 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 first if you can, since at 14mm you can get the widest aperture. After that you are freer to alter ISO as you wish - so you can check for noise as you shoot. Tripods may or may not be allowed - most caverns have small pathways and, like at galleries, tripods are not allowed as it stops the flow of people traffic - its all very dependent.
Take and use your flash if you can, lighting in these places can be a bit dim for a camera, and longer exposures tend to give you a very strong lightbulb colour to everything

zx6r1033 · Oct 13, 2008

Overread said:
ahh it was when you said highspeed film that I started thinking you were on traditional
Taking a look at you kit I would say use your 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 first if you can, since at 14mm you can get the widest aperture. After that you are freer to alter ISO as you wish - so you can check for noise as you shoot. Tripods may or may not be allowed - most caverns have small pathways and, like at galleries, tripods are not allowed as it stops the flow of people traffic - its all very dependent.
Take and use your flash if you can, lighting in these places can be a bit dim for a camera, and longer exposures tend to give you a very strong lightbulb colour to everything

Okay, I will email them again and ask about tripods. Taking my flash is no problem... I will have every last one of my possessions with me, since it will be a stop on the way from where I live now to where I'll be living next month. lol.

As for the lightbulb color... are we talking overall (can be fixed with a photo editor) or just plain ruined pictures?

Overread · Oct 13, 2008

varies - I have only done cave shooting once and I was still new to using my flash head. Sometimes the colours work and othertimes they don't - I just found that without a tripod I could not get enough light to get details without using my flash. Altering the white balance (ie shooting in RAW mode) would probably help you restore most colour problems

flying_kiwiruit · Oct 13, 2008

I use a E500 so I know a bit about the E models. One thing is that I'm fairly sure that on your camera there should be a shutter delay, this means that you can press the button and anywhere between 1 - 4 seconds later the photo will be taken. I would definatly use the 14-42mm lense and the widest aperture with a tripos if possible. I hvae found that with olympus camera they are horrible for noise at a high ISO so I would try and keep that low as possible, I would also not be afraid to use your flash.