Still confused on aperture...

[Big Mike]

Well, if you are in Av or Tv...there is no reason that your image should be darker or lighter than usual (unless there is a metering issue or you have changed the EC).

Unless of course, you have tried to surpass the limit of the light (in which case, one of the numbers in the viewfinder would probably be flashing). For example, if you were in Tv and chose a shutter speed of 1/60...the light might dictate that you need an aperture of F1.4...but the problem is that your lens might only open to F3.5 at it's max...so in this case the aperture value would flash and your shot would be underexposed.
That's why I prefer to use Av mode...because when it's dark, the shutter speed will just get longer...but you will still get a normal exposure. Avoiding blur with long shutter speeds will still be a problem...but that's another issue.

As you have (or will) find out...sometimes you have to break down and use flash to get sharp, well exposed photo. That's why most cameras have a flash.

 

[Sarah23]

Sounds like you are using the camera in Manual...which is OK. But realize that you don't have to guess...you can still use the meter to know what settings to use.
Yes, when it's dark...you might have to use a combination of high ISO, large aperture and slow shutter speed...there isn't anything you can do about that...except to add light yourself (one way to do that, is to use flash).

Yeah, I needed to just bring in a lamp or something. I hate hate hate the flash on my camera....so I try not to use it, especially inside. In that specific case, I did for 1 shot and everything was so washed out, and the background was so dark, it looked even worse then it had before.

It will just take practice I guess. All of this info did really help me thought!

Im sure I will have lots more questions....thanks for being so patient with me! I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to learn!

 

[Big Mike]

Another thing you have learned is that the flash built into most cameras...will give terrible results. That's where an accessory flash comes in very handy. You have bounce the flash off of walls or ceilings and get much better results.

What lens do you have? Another option would be to buy a 'faster' lens (larger maximum aperture). Something like the 50mm F1.8 is a good starting point because it's cheap. With a lens like that, you could open the aperture quite a bit, which gives you faster shutter speeds (and a more shallow DOF).

 

[compur]

OK...well I won't be using stobes any time soon....I dont even know what it is, really. :lmao:

A strobe is an electronic photo flash.

The real problem I have is in situations where there is less light. I guess this is probably a problem for a lot of beginners from what I have read on other threads, too, though.

Like at my in-laws...their house is very dim. Even during the day. Its been really hard for me to take pictures there....they all come out too dark, even with the aperture open to its max, and taking the ISO to 1600 (which I dont like doing at ALL) I cant seem to get the right exposure unless I lower the shutter speed to like 1/5 or 1' or something like that, which obviously doesnt help at ALL since im trying to take pictures of kids playing. I just end up with a big, dark blur.

In order to get a sharp picture while using a slow shutter speed you need
to put the camera on a tripod or other support. Otherwise you will get
blur from the motion of the camera during the exposure.

Or, in order to use a faster shutter speed (and still have correct exposure
in dim light) you need to use a "faster" lens. A faster lens is one with a
wider maximum aperture. For example a 50mm f/1.4 lens is a fast lens
because you can open it up to f/1.4. With such a lens you should be able to
shoot indoors at acceptable shutter speeds using an ISO of about 400 to 800.
Of course, you will have to set your aperture at one of it's widest positions
such as at 1.4, 2, or 2.8.

Another solution is to have your subject move to a position near a window
(assuming it is day time) but avoid having direct sun shining on him/her.

 

[Tennessee Landscape]

buy this book, read this book, sleep this book, eat this book, get the picture? Get it..............

 

[Sarah23]

Yeah....my next purchases are going to be a faster lens and a accessory flash. I dont know if which order tho...


I will look into that book, too!

 

[JmPhotos]

Sarah, get the book first! I'm just finishing it up and it's the best book I've ever bought.
Also, for what it's worth here are some things I think of before I take a picture.
What am I trying to achieve with this photo?
Am I trying to freeze motion? Ok, I'll use a fast shutter speed, but since my lens will be opening so fast I'll need to use a wider aperture to let more light in
Am I trying to blur motion? Ok, I need a slow shutter speed and a smaller aperture so that I don't overexpose the subject.
Am I taking a group shot? Ok, I need a middle range aperture so that my camera can focus from front to back and not have a soft focus.
Do I want shallow depth of field? Ok, I'll use a low number aperture (wide open like f/1.8 - 3)
Do I want a crisp depth of field? Ok, I'll bump my aperture up to f8 or smaller.
And finally, after I figure out what ap or ss I want to focus on I set my iso according to my lighting trying to stay at the lowest for less grain that i can for my light.
For now, use your AV and TV setting depending on what you want to adjust and let the camera do the other.

 

[Warhawk]

Currently i use the Av setting on my camera the most, I only use P when im shooting with a flash.

As a general rule, I keep my shutter speed at 1/125th of a sec and my f-stop as close to f10 as possible. To keep my Shutterspeed at 1/125th of a sec, i will keep raising my ISO until MAX of ISO 400, if my shutter speed is still slower than 1/125th, then I will lower my f-stop.

If my f-stop reaches f4, i will start raising my ISO to a max of 800 to keep my speed, after ISO 800, i will lower my f-stop to f2.8 and after that, i will raise my ISO again.

The main issue is you have to find a f-stop that you are comfortable with and also the f-stop at which your lens gives the highest quality images.

Currently i have the Canon 24-70mm f2.8 L lens and the Canon EOS 40D and from what ive seen is that i get best results on 35mm zoom and f10.

I read that most lenses gives their best photo quality around f10, so play around that f-stop to begin with and compare the images with each other.