Shooting inside without flash

[kundalini]

What is the difference between a monopod and a tripod other than two extra legs? The VR works the same with a ground of stability. It may not be quite so apparent, but someone tell me I'm thinking wrong.

From page 20 of the 70-200 VRII user's manual:

However, it is recommended that the switch be set to ON when using the camera on an unsecured tripod head or with monopod.

I had to open my big mouth didn't I? :blushing:

 

[Trever1t]

it's all part of the learning experience


SO, any other feedback, suggestions, experiences to share about low light shooting with D700 or similar?

 

[MTVision]

Leave VR ON on a monopod. It will correct for the usual vibration on a monopod.....

I looked it up on one of kenrockwell.com lens reviews where he says to turn off for tripod and on for monopod


Sorry - don't know where I got tripod from!! LOL!

Why would you use a monopod that had "unusual vibration"? Doesn't that defeat the whole reason behind using a monopod...?

IMO - if you need VR/IS on a monopod, you need a better monopod...

Nikon 18-200mm

What I wrote was a quote from this website...

 

[Josh66]

Ken Rockwell isn't always the best person to take advice from, lol. Half of what he says is a joke, and the other half is sometimes questionable.
(He is fun to read though.)

Even though the manual apparently says to leave it on when using a monopod, it still seems wrong to me... Not necessarily that it wouldn't work, just that it isn't needed.

 

[daarksun]

If the lighting is decent you can play with the iso between 800 to 1600, don't jump to 1600 immediately if you want to minimize the noise. If it's a lot of movement the the shutter speed around 250 or higher. Not sure what the wide open end of your lens is but using a lens that opens to around f2.0 or so makes things soooo much better. With that awesome D700 you don't have to panic about iso settings to get the shot and there is software to work away noise too.

Get there early and start shooting and sampling the lighting conditions, get your settings for the best shot and where you want to be for the best area during the event.

As for the "monopod" or tripod. If the action is heavy or tons of movement dump the tri or mono and shoot free hand. If the event lets you set up stationary with set shots then the pod is a definite and use a remote to keep the camera as still as possible. I usually shoot freehand on any event and up the iso.

good luck and have fun.

 

[pixilstudio]

auto ISO???? never. take control of your images. and shoot as slow as you are comfortable with

 

[Patrice]

auto ISO???? never. take control of your images. and shoot as slow as you are comfortable with

I see a lot of responses denigrating some of automatic controls that can be found on modern consumer and professional camera bodies. These are tools to be used. Being 'in control' does not mean always shooting manual, it means learning how your tools work and when to use them appropriately.

There is absolutely nothing wrong in using aperture priority, shutter priority, auto iso or even variable program. All of these have a particular function and operate in very predictable manners, the trick is to learn when and how to use them. Telling all and sundry that 'shooting in manual' is the only way to go is not an indication of greater skill and understanding but of a misunderstanding of the full gamete of the possibilities in controlling the camera.

As for using auto iso with a d700. The camera is near the pinnacle of technology, there is no reason to not make your task a little easier by tapping into its capabilities. The 70-200 VR-II can be used handheld down to about 1/30 sec with care. So, with auto ISO limit the lower shutter speed to what is comfortable, limit iso to a max of 3200 or 6400 (there might be some noise but that is better than no image at all), set shooting iso to about 1600 for d700, shoot in aperture priority to control your depth of field, shoot as wide as possible while having enough dof for the scene, set your high iso noise reduction appropriately, watch your histogram and adjust ec as needed for the first few shots. For any set aperture the d700 will shoot at selected iso and reduce shutter speed until the lower limit is reached at which point it will start to increase iso past the shooting iso. Set your auto exposure increments in 1/3 stops. As long as you have some light to work with the camera will perform. Expend your energy on the creative framing of images and in setting scenes as required. Set the camera up appropriately and let it do its job.

Try it at home a few times to see how it goes.

 

[pixilstudio]

auto ISO???? never. take control of your images. and shoot as slow as you are comfortable with

I see a lot of responses denigrating some of automatic controls that can be found on modern consumer and professional camera bodies. These are tools to be used. Being 'in control' does not mean always shooting manual, it means learning how your tools work and when to use them appropriately.

There is absolutely nothing wrong in using aperture priority, shutter priority, auto iso or even variable program. All of these have a particular function and operate in very predictable manners, the trick is to learn when and how to use them. Telling all and sundry that 'shooting in manual' is the only way to go is not an indication of greater skill and understanding but of a misunderstanding of the full gamete of the possibilities in controlling the camera.

As for using auto iso with a d700. The camera is near the pinnacle of technology, there is no reason to not make your task a little easier by tapping into its capabilities. The 70-200 VR-II can be used handheld down to about 1/30 sec with care. So, with auto ISO limit the lower shutter speed to what is comfortable, limit iso to a max of 3200 or 6400 (there might be some noise but that is better than no image at all), set shooting iso to about 1600 for d700, shoot in aperture priority to control your depth of field, shoot as wide as possible while having enough dof for the scene, set your high iso noise reduction appropriately, watch your histogram and adjust ec as needed for the first few shots. For any set aperture the d700 will shoot at selected iso and reduce shutter speed until the lower limit is reached at which point it will start to increase iso past the shooting iso. Set your auto exposure increments in 1/3 stops. As long as you have some light to work with the camera will perform. Expend your energy on the creative framing of images and in setting scenes as required. Set the camera up appropriately and let it do its job.

Try it at home a few times to see how it goes.

ok let me qualify what i said I use shutter priority and aperture priority but i still dont see a reason for auto iso. choose the appropriate ISO for the situation at hand taking in consideration image quality and then adjust your other variable around the ISO. and I dont always shoot M i usually use shutter priority. Back in the day with film ISO was the first consideration and i still believe that is the case today

 

[Trever1t]

Shooting in Auto ISO will allow me to use a selected shutter speed and aperture while maintaining a consistant exposure. Sure I can set my ISO to a constant but then I will need to play with the speed or aperture with slightly variable light.

 

[DiskoJoe]

This should be no problem with the iso capabilities of the d700.

 

[bennielou]

DBJ I said I was considering shooting in manual with a set shutter speed and controlling my aperture for desired DOF. I can easily limit the Auto ISO to 6400 or less.

I haven't seen the location yet, shoot is next month but like mentioned it will probably have enough lighting to require less ISO.

By the way, have you seen the quality you can get at ISO 6400 with the D700? It's amazing

6400 is really high. Are you sure you need that much?

 

[Trever1t]

no but I can just as easily set max ISO to 3200 or any other within the camera's limits.

I haven't seen the location yet and really have no idea what light conditions I will be faced with, just looking at all my options

 

[cnutco]

What type of event are you shooting? I have looked, but unless I missed it, I do not see it.

 

[Trever1t]

A wedding ceremony.

 

[cnutco]

I side shoot weddings with no flash during the ceremony. I do use OCF for the setup shots before and after when OCF is needed.

I shoot weddings in manual with manual OCF when needed.

Your D700 is far more advanced than mine. You just nead to learn what you and your camera are capable of.