Noob at a loss and wasting time...

I3igcircle · Feb 7, 2013

Have been in Hong Kong now almost 2 weeks, and cannot find settings for my D600 paired with a 16-35mm f4 Nikon lens.

Shooting my kids in day and at aquarium etc no flash allowed and at wide open aperture still wants a flash or is such a long shutter speed everything blurs. ISO up no help, auto ISO same problems.

Auto mode with flash turned off has some decent shots, but is hit or miss dependent of what the camera decides right.

Any advice/guidelines anything would help thanks for your time.

OLaA · Feb 7, 2013

There's really no magic to be done. Only thing you can do is properly expose it it with the light available. I would start by throwing it in manual. Open it up wide as possible, and set it to the slowest shutter speed possible to capture the action you're going for. Once you have that set, turn it to spot metering and point at your kids face, then crank the iso until you have proper exposure. You will have noise but at least some correctly exposed shots of the trip.

cgipson1 · Feb 7, 2013

post some images with the problems please...

Probably need something like F4, 1/125, ISO 1600 / 3200 / 6400.... depending on the ambient light levels. I would put it in manual, at 1/125... and then set ISO to whatever every your meter says is right for exposure.

I would also be using the 50 1.8 probably.. as that is going to be a better choice for low light photography (although you wont have the width obviously)

Overread · Feb 7, 2013

In my experience aquariums are generally quite dark inside, actually from what I recall they are very dark in camera terms. You've only 4 variables under your control

1) aperture - if you're already at your widest aperture then you're letting in the most amount of light the lens will allow

2) ISO - auto ISO won't give you any more (or any less) ISO it just automates the selection. If you need more you go for more as underexposure will show up more noise than shooting on a higher ISO will.

3) Shutter speed - as you're experiencing you'll have to have a base minimum to overcome subject and handshake blurring.

4) Light - well you can't change the lighting at all it seems, the most you could use is a small reflector, but that will only bounce around the light that you already have and would only be any good at filling in a few shadows on the subjects face.

So in short if you can't use flash - can't widen your aperture and can't use a higher ISO -- put the camera down and have some fun with the family because its too dark to get a clear shot. Sadly there are cases like this and the only way to improve is to get a camera with a higher range of usable ISOs and lenses with wider maximum apertures (a 50mm f1.8 is oft recommend as a cheap solution - though the f1.4 are much better built).
In the end what you can expand with will depend upon your budget - also note that just because a lens will shoot f1.8 or f1.4 doesn't mean its a good idea to use it at those apertures as the depth of field becomes very thin - f2.8 is often a very practical solution

o hey tyler · Feb 7, 2013

Use your 50mm a f/2.2.

runnah · Feb 7, 2013

o hey tyler said:
Use your 50mm a f/2.2.

Seconded.

Also plan the shots you want. You can meter for the fish in the tanks and have the kids stand in front to get a silhouette effect or have the kids get really close to the tanks and have the light from those light them up then shoot through the tank.

Example 1
http://urbantitan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Male_whale_shark_at_Georgia_Aquarium.jpg

Example 2
http://www.underwatertimes.com/news3/kids_aquarium.jpg

thunderkyss · Feb 7, 2013

A sample pic that we can scan exif data would be helpful.

DiskoJoe · Feb 7, 2013

I3igcircle said:
Have been in Hong Kong now almost 2 weeks, and cannot find settings for my D600 paired with a 16-35mm f4 Nikon lens.

Shooting my kids in day and at aquarium etc no flash allowed and at wide open aperture still wants a flash or is such a long shutter speed everything blurs. ISO up no help, auto ISO same problems.

Auto mode with flash turned off has some decent shots, but is hit or miss dependent of what the camera decides right.

Any advice/guidelines anything would help thanks for your time.

use the 50

DiskoJoe · Feb 7, 2013

thunderkyss said:
A sample pic that we can scan exif data would be helpful.

Thats not needed. F4 probably just isnt wide enough unless you want to jack the ISO up to 3200 -6400 which should be possible with your motor.

I3igcircle · Feb 8, 2013

Thank you everyone for the replies, I wasn't getting notifications for my thread so had no idea anyone responded.

I have no way to upload photos where I am so sorry.

I agree though and think I will be using the 50mm more, we got the 16-35 so we could get the HK back grounds etc but maybe next time. I know the majority of the problem is user error as the equipment is really good. I will continue to play and use some of the numbers thrown around on here.

Lunar new year (Chinese new year) is in a few days hopefully I can figure things out by then.

greybeard · Feb 9, 2013

Well, f/4 just isn't going to cut it. When you say that you have increased the ISO, did you max it?

goodguy · Feb 9, 2013

I3igcircle said:
Thank you everyone for the replies, I wasn't getting notifications for my thread so had no idea anyone responded.

I have no way to upload photos where I am so sorry.

I agree though and think I will be using the 50mm more, we got the 16-35 so we could get the HK back grounds etc but maybe next time. I know the majority of the problem is user error as the equipment is really good. I will continue to play and use some of the numbers thrown around on here.

Lunar new year (Chinese new year) is in a few days hopefully I can figure things out by then.

You have an amazing camera that is excellent in low ISO so dont be shy on bumping up the ISO and getting that shot.
Better a shot with some noise then no shot at all after all this is a family trip and these pictures will be a memory you will save for the rest of your life.

Enjoy your trip :lol:

djacobox372 · Feb 9, 2013

If your photos are too dark increase exposure.

If your shutter speed us too low increase your shutter speed, and compensate by increasing ISO or widening your aperture.

Problem solved.

Solarflare · Feb 10, 2013

Judging from example pictures in the internet, the D600 shows barely any noise at all with default noise reduction at ISO 6400.

It still shows quite useable results at ISO 25,600 (or HI.2, as Nikon prefers to call it).

DxOMark puts the D600 right below the king of ISO, the Nikon D3s: DxOMark - Camera Sensor Ratings !

So yeah, only f/4 is tough - but if any camera can manage, then the D600.

Also, there is no functional difference between Auto ISO and setting ISO by hand. Auto ISO however can be configured to work in all kinds of ways.