New Camera and a couple questions

[UrFavSigma]

Just upgraded from the Nikon D3000 to the Nikon D3100 (because of video)

1) When I'm trying to shoot in Aperture Priority, I get a delayed shutter release when I'm not using a flash. I didn't have the issue with the D3000. How can I correct this?

2) I take quite a bit of pix at dance competitions. As you know, there is alot of movement. What's a "general" setting in Shutter Priority to use when shooting people that are stepping, dancing, etc?

Sorry for the very noobish questions.

 

[beds]

im a noob as well but was reading my manual today!

in AV mode you are only setting the aperture, the camera will then work out the best shutter speed and iso to go with it, so you may need to increase/decrease the aperture depending on the lighting

 

[MTVision]

Just upgraded from the Nikon D3000 to the Nikon D3100 (because of video)

1) When I'm trying to shoot in Aperture Priority, I get a delayed shutter release when I'm not using a flash. I didn't have the issue with the D3000. How can I correct this?

2) I take quite a bit of pix at dance competitions. As you know, there is alot of movement. What's a "general" setting in Shutter Priority to use when shooting people that are stepping, dancing, etc?

Sorry for the very noobish questions.

1. I'm not sure exactly what it is since I don't know what the other settings are but it could be that the camera is choosing a really slow shutter speed

2. A fast shutter speed. Use shutter priority

 

[UrFavSigma]

Just upgraded from the Nikon D3000 to the Nikon D3100 (because of video)

1) When I'm trying to shoot in Aperture Priority, I get a delayed shutter release when I'm not using a flash. I didn't have the issue with the D3000. How can I correct this?

2) I take quite a bit of pix at dance competitions. As you know, there is alot of movement. What's a "general" setting in Shutter Priority to use when shooting people that are stepping, dancing, etc?

Sorry for the very noobish questions.

1. I'm not sure exactly what it is since I don't know what the other settings are but it could be that the camera is choosing a really slow shutter speed

2. A fast shutter speed. Use shutter priority

Yes I know a fast shutter speed but I'm trying to stay away from auto modes and learn the manual modes. Thats why I was asking about a general setting.

 

[MTVision]

There isn't a general setting for anything. Every scenario is different. Shutter priority is a semi-auto mode anyways. Just, set the shutter speed fast and the camera will take care of the rest. I don't know what lenses you have so a fast shutter speed for dancing is the only advice I can give. If its dark, you want the largest aperture your lens is capable of. The largest aperture is the smallest number like 3.5. If its dark, even with a large aperture your shutter speed probably won't be fast enough so you can raise your ISO but be aware that it can cause noise (grain) in the photo if its underexposed and shot at a high ISO. With your pop up flash the highest shutter speed is 1/200 which is fast enough because flash will freeze movement. Pop-up flash doesn't create the most flattering light for photos so if you can keep it down do so. If not, go into your cameras menu and find flash and set it to manual and lower the power. Read your manual it will explain everything. If you can afford it an external flash (speedlight) is highly recommended as well as a fast 50mm lens thats good in low light. Speedlights vary in price but you can get a 50mm af-s 1.8g for about 220.00. The 50 is a lot better than the kit lens - 18-55mm and any of the zooms like 55-200/55-300.

Also, take your ISO off AUTO.

Cambridge in Colour - Photography Tutorials & Learning Community
Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson 3rd Edition

Website has a lot of great tutorials on manual mode, metering, white balance,etc.
The book is really good for beginners and will have you shooting full manual in no time...

 

[MTVision]

Just upgraded from the Nikon D3000 to the Nikon D3100 (because of video)

1) When I'm trying to shoot in Aperture Priority, I get a delayed shutter release when I'm not using a flash. I didn't have the issue with the D3000. How can I correct this?

2) I take quite a bit of pix at dance competitions. As you know, there is alot of movement. What's a "general" setting in Shutter Priority to use when shooting people that are stepping, dancing, etc?

Sorry for the very noobish questions.

1. I'm not sure exactly what it is since I don't know what the other settings are but it could be that the camera is choosing a really slow shutter speed

2. A fast shutter speed. Use shutter priority

Yes I know a fast shutter speed but I'm trying to stay away from auto modes and learn the manual modes. Thats why I was asking about a general setting.

You do know that in shutter priority all you have to do is set the shutter speed and the camera takes care of the rest right?

 

[Sonoma]

Even in Ap(aperture priority) you can take the ISO out of "Auto" so you can increase your ISO and in turn increase your shutter speed. Just a thought.

 

[UrFavSigma]

Even in Ap(aperture priority) you can take the ISO out of "Auto" so you can increase your ISO and in turn increase your shutter speed. Just a thought.

Thank you. That was the problem. I had to increase the ISO.

 

[fjrabon]

Even in Ap(aperture priority) you can take the ISO out of "Auto" so you can increase your ISO and in turn increase your shutter speed. Just a thought.

Thank you. That was the problem. I had to increase the ISO.

quick way to increase/decrease your ISO on the D3100 is this: on the front left of the camera (right next to the D3100 logo) you'll see a button with 'fn' on it. If you haven't changed the default settings, then if you hold this button down and turn the wheel (same master wheel you use to change your aperture in ap priority mode) it will change your ISO.

 

[KmH]

2) I take quite a bit of pix at dance competitions. As you know, there is alot of movement. What's a "general" setting in Shutter Priority to use when shooting people that are stepping, dancing, etc?

At least 1/500 of a second.

In low light it's likely the only way you'll get that fast a shutter speed is to crank up the ISO and open your lens as wide as possible.

If you're using a kit lens it's doubtful you'll be able to open it up wide enough.

At high ISO settings image noise can be an issue if you don't absolutely nail the exposre at image capture, because correcting the exposure post process usually makes image noise very visible.