Rain drops.

Toofasttotake

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Hi. I would just like to say first i am very new to photography. So, i have lots of questions, but i will start with this one. Is it possible to take a clear picture of raindrops falling using a Canon Rebel XTI? The lens i am using is the orginal lens that came with the camera when i bought it(35-75mm?). The mode i'm trying to take the rain drops on is sports in burst mode. I tried already, but they come out blurry ,and it seems the shutter is not fast enough. In sports mode, i cannot change Aperture or ISO because it is auto only. Does anyone have any advice or help they could give me on this matter?​
 
Welcome to TPF! :)

sports mode is too slow for this I think
What you need is TV mode - that is shutter priority mode - which lets you set the shutter speed and the camera picks an aperture to match for a (what it thinks) good exposure. That would let you get the speed to freeze the action of the falling drop - using the popup flash might also help, though then your speed is maxed at 1/200sec - but rainfall usually means lower light - which means faster shutter speeds might not have enough light for a good exposure.

After that focusing would be an issue - I would suggest setting the camera to MF - manual focusing (little switch on the lens) and twisting it to infinity - 8 on its side on the lens focusing ring.

That is what I would do were I after such shots, though I have never taken them before so others might disagree - but that is where I would start
 
Not something I've tried either, however based on similar things, here's where I'd go: Mount the cameara on a tripod, shutter speed at 1/250, and an apeture somewhere in the middle of your lense's range (adjust ISO to suit), and rather than focusing on infinity, I would said your focus (on manual as overread suggested) quite close to the minimum distance, so that you will be "looking" at drops that are quite close to your camera, with a minimum of interference between the lens and the rain drop.

I'll have to try this when I get home.
 
I think that the only "solution" here would be the use of flash to freeze the drops mid-falling and make them sparkle. Other than that you'll always have too little light to go with really fast shutter speeds. Even if you preset your camera to very fast speeds, the aperture will not have a chance to go wide enough to capture the drops. You'll end with all underexposed photos...

Look at Post 14 in this_thread
 
I'll try each of your alls advice and let you all know what happens. I tried it myself, and the biggest problem seems to be what most all of you said...not enough light. Thanks for the help so far.
 
I have used Sport Mode on my Kodak C330 and they came out beautifuly, but as one of the users suggested you use TV mode that works great to.

Good Luck!
 
maybe you could put in some artifical light? Put your car behind your camera and turn on all the lights?
 
Yeah, LaFoto got it.

You need either a VERY powerful flash and a deep DOF or you need the rain lit (in the light) with a dark BG so you can see the contrasting reflections. Notice how in her 3rd image here http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showpost.php?p=937555&postcount=28 that the streaks show up best against the dark parts of the shrubbery. I saw a shot here of a light tower at night where the rain was illuminated against the night sky by the light tower's lights that looked pretty good too. It's not too hard but it's not real easy either. If the exposure is too long you get nothing but grayness. If it's too short you may be limiting the DOF (too shallow) etc.
 
Well, i tried everything you all advised, and it really helped with faster shots. Unfortunately, it is not raining today, but i practiced on a dripped faucet. I have been experimenting as i take shots and practice, but the good thing is i am getting closer and closer to where i need to be. Maybe later i will post what i have gotten so far. Thanks for all the help.
 

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