Low light focusing trouble - Nikon D3000

[newphotog84]

I have the Nikon D3000 with an AF-S Nikkor 55-200mm lens. I have been having a horrible time shooting indoors with this lens / camera combo. I don't like to use my flash, so I shoot in S, A, or P mode. Most of the time I either get blurred or even completely dark photos when I am indoors. For example, I was trying to take a photo of my husband last night in our living room with every light turned on, and the camera just wasn't picking anything up. I got dark photos, but the room was far from dark. I have the ISO set to 1600. Can anyone offer some insight into what I am doing wrong?

 

[cgipson1]

post some images.. with exif data intact, so we can see what is happening...

Make sure the AF-Assist is turned on (bright light near the top of the handgrip).

Buy an external flash.. that has a better AF Assist function, and will also provide better flash.. and learn to use flash!

Raise your ISO higher... and learn to use your meter to control your exposures.

Make sure you haven't accidentally set your EC (Exposure Compensation) to a negative setting.

 

[ph0enix]

Chances are that you really needed to use the flash. "Far from dark" doesn't mean much to anyone here. Can you post a sample photo with EXIF data in tact?

 

[KmH]

"Far from dark" to your eyes is likely pitch black to the camera's auto focus module.

Auto focus is not be all to end all and has limitations. Some of those limitations are noted in the Focus section of all Nikon DSLR User's manuals.

When you take a lens off a DLSR camera you see the mirror that directs the light up to the viewfinder.
What isn't readily apparent is that that mirror is only 50% reflective. Half the light goes through that mirror to a smaller secondary mirror that is behind it.
That secondary mirror directs the light down, to the auto focus module that is in the bottom of the camera.

The auto focus module uses Phase Detection to determine when focus has been achieved.
Phase detection separates the incoming light into 2 images and compares them - see the illustration on the right here - Autofocus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
So, the light goes through a lens and a couple of windows.

To let in as much light as possible the lens aperture is always open during auto focus as wide as it can go. If a smaller lens aperture has been set in the camera for use when making the photo, only after focus has been achieved with the lens wide open is the lens aperture then stopped down (gets smaller) to the aperture setting. That happens the instant before the shutter releases

If a scene is dark, there may not be enough light for the AF system to work properly. Nikon DSLR cameras have a AF-Assist light for when that is the case (see your user's manual).

There are many other considerations, like shutter priority or focus priority.
In shutter priority the shutter will release even if focus has not been achieved. In focus priority, the shutter won't release until focus has been achieved.

Not all focus points are equal. There are regular focus points, and more accurate cross-type focus points. You need to know which are which with the camera you are using - see your user's manual.
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tut...-autofocus.htm

 

[Buckster]

Indoors with all the lights on at ISO 1600, you should be able to get photos. That's even without a flash and handheld.

As others are asking for with example photo(s) with EXIF intact, the particular info we need at this point is shutter speed and aperture settings for the shots that didn't turn out.

If your images are too dark at ISO 1600 with all the lights on, it sounds off hand like you need to first open up your aperture as wide as it will go, then slow down shutter speed.

No matter what camera and lens you have, the exposure triangle is the exposure triangle, and that's why light meters work independent of type of camera and lens and film or digital ISO used. A set amount of ISO, shutter speed and aperture provides essentially the same amount of shooting light to work with, no matter what. That means if I can shoot it on one of my cameras at X X X settings, you can shoot it on yours with those same settings. Quality and noise and stuff like that may change from sensor to sensor, but the amount of light that comes into the camera and shows on the photos won't, at least not to a significant degree.

Example: This is my laundry room, which is VERY dark. No additional lights on, just a little light peeking around the corner and a little coming in from behind me. My camera is set to ISO1600, my aperture on this 10-22mm is open all the way to f/3.5, and to get enough light, I'm shooting at just 1/4 of a second on the shutter. Because my shutter speed is so slow, I've braced my shoulder up against the door frame to steady myself, and I'm paying attention to keep the camera as still as possible while I shoot. Result:

 

[Stolarczyk]

It's unwise to use on the on camera flash, unless you know what you're doing. Speedlights are a great way to make indoor, low light shots possible by bouncing the light off the ceiling or a wall, depending on the direction of light you want to achieve. If you don't want to spend a few hundred dollars on a speedlight though, take some tin foil, and put it in front of the on camera flash, and redirect the flashed light toward the ceiling or the wall behind you. Obviously you don't get as much punch as you would from a speedlight, but I have actually made this work in a pinch.