What Really Are The Right Settings?

[pixmedic17]

Why is it that most people don't seem to get fractions?
.........

The same reason sum peeple cant spell correclty or use puncuation or dont know how to use apostrophe's they can't use proper sentence sturcture or even hit the enter key once in a while to create a new paragraph. Its just the way it i's.

What may be natural and intuitive to you doesn't automatically mean it's natural and intuitive to everybody. As an electrician, I can tell you right off the top of my head what color wire I should use for circuit #39 on a 480/277-volt 3-phase system. To me, any 2nd-year apprentice should be able to do this. But most either need to carry a 'cheat sheet', look at the prints or have to count it out manually.

i know the feeling...
I always assume the EMT's on the critical care units know how to calculate proper tidal volume for volume-targeted assist control mechanical ventilation...
sadly, such is not the case.

 

[Designer]

Yup, some people seem to have a real knack for designing the steel reinforcing for a concrete beam, but you would be astonished at the number of newbies who can't get it right.

 

[chuasam]

Damn it! Why can't y'all do something as simple as the LindyHop basic in your sleep?

 

[bratkinson]

Perhaps 5 years ago already, someone on this forum indicated that photography is the art of 'acceptable compromise'. Learning to do that is the key to getting the results you seek.

Unfortunately, in low light situations, 'acceptable compromise' will often force your hand in the necessary trade offs to get an acceptable image. My biggest concern in low-light situations is depth of field...getting everything I want in focus. While f16 or f22 outside on a sunny day will get almost everything in focus, f1.2 of f2.0 in a poorly lit room will get you 99% blurry subjects. Once I've decided on my desired f-stop for depth of field (I think in general terms of 'more' or 'less' DOF, not specific stops), I then decide on shutter speed. Here it gets tricky. People standing/talking need 1/125th and faster shutter speeds to 'freeze' them. Throw in hand held camera with a medium telephoto, the shutter speed has to be faster still. The problem using f8 (for example) and 1/125th may require an ISO speed of 6400 or even faster to get a decent meter reading...which tends to create noisy images.

So then it comes down to 'what am I willing to trade off for what I have to get?' Slowing down the shutter speed to get more light will allow a lower ISO setting for less noise. But the 'cost' is blurred subjects if they move too fast. I've sometimes shot as slow as 1/20th but 24 out of every 25 images are too blurred to be usable...and the keepers often have the speakers' hands blurred. Opening up the aperture to lower f-stop numbers will reduce the depth of field but will also permit lower ISO speeds to reduce noise. But if you are trying to take a 'team picture' at f2.8 from 20 feet away, only the front row of people will be in acceptable focus. Sometimes there's no choice but to shoot at the high ISO speed and do whatever possible during post processing to clean up the noise. A noisy picture is better than no picture sometimes.

Of course, adding light such as a flash will solve countless trade off dilemmas. Mastering a flash is a whole 'nother learning curve...