need help with night time action shots

[wlsmoku]

embarrassed to post these, but I need to learn. I honestly had NO idea what to set it on to try to get "OK" shots at night, so I set it on auto :blushing::blushing::blushing:

can anyone help point me in the right direction to do this better?

Nikon D80 ISO was at 1600 (great for day, but I had no idea what to do for night....and yeah...WAY too much noise!)

lots of pics - def no need to critiqua all - just ones that really bother you or ones that are ok.
1 no polorizer - blown out BAD

2no polorizer - blown out BAD

3no polorizer - blown out BAD

4

5 doesn't do much for me....

6no polorizer - blown out BAD

7no polorizer - blown out BAD

8no polorizer - blown out BAD AND flash....booo.....

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17 (shot in manual mode)

18

19

20

21

22

23

24 (shot in manual mode)

 

[Big Mike]

Firstly, it looks like it was an overcast day...in which case, a polarizer wouldn't help as much as you think it would. Also, a polarizer works on the sky when pointed at 90 degrees to the sun...so that's another reason it wouldn't help as much as you think it would.

It won't help to keep the sky from blowing out...that has to do with the difference in brightness between the sky and the foreground. A grad ND filter would be a better choice.

As for night shots...the shutter speed will determine how motion is recorded. A slower shutter speed will shot moving subjects with blur...and also maybe blur the entire image from movement of the camera.

To get a faster shutter speed, you can open the lens to the max aperture and turn up the ISO. If that's not fast enough, then try a lens with a larger maximum aperture. If that still isn't enough...then there just isn't enough light for sharp photos of moving subjects.
The solution to that, is to add your own light (flash etc).

 

[wlsmoku]

GREEAT tips - MANY thank yous! i didn't even know a filter like that would help - I'll get one ordered ASAP!


any recommendations as to what I should set ISO at for night time action shots like this?

 

[Big Mike]

any recommendations as to what I should set ISO at for night time action shots like this?

The rule is that you want to use as low an ISO as possible. You turn it up when you need to, to get a faster shutter speed for example. In dark scenarios like this, you may need to use 1600 or higher if your camera allows. The shots will be noisy but noisy is usually better than blurry.

I don't know what lens you have, but a faster (larger max aperture) lens would be a good investment.

 

[DragonHeart]

embarrassed to post these, but I need to learn. I honestly had NO idea what to set it on to try to get "OK" shots at night, so I set it on auto :blushing::blushing::blushing:

can anyone help point me in the right direction to do this better?

Nikon D80 ISO was at 1600 (great for day, but I had no idea what to do for night....and yeah...WAY too much noise!)

lots of pics - def no need to critiqua all - just ones that really bother you or ones that are ok.

Exif Sub IFD

* Exposure Time (1 / Shutter Speed) = 150/10 second = 15 second
* Lens F-Number/F-Stop = 56/10 = F5.6
* ISO Speed Ratings = 100
* Original Date/Time = 2008:08:14 10:06:16
* Flash = Flash did not fire
* Focal Length = 340/10 mm = 34 mm
* Image Width = 1001 pixels
* Image Height = 766 pixels

There's the EXIF on that shot, ISO says 100...

 

[wlsmoku]

correct - the 2 manual shots, I set it at 100....all the rest are 1600 (maybe higher on some of the last shots)