Exposure compensation but more blur

jonbeeza

jonbeeza

Suspended / Banned
Messages
9,388
Name
Jon
Edit My Images
Yes
I did a few street shots last night hand held, this was with the 50mm 1.8D wide open. This was just as a test, I wanted to see what it was like at night.

I was on aperture priority and I tried adding a little exposure compensation, this was to try and get more light in the picture. But as I was doing hand held, the images came out blurred.

I was just wondering, seings though the exposure Comp just changes the speed, would I have been better just using manual and tweaking the speed there?

The only benefit I can think is the camera will make a better calculation than I would :thinking: I think this is the answer ! Am I right ?
 
If you're on aperture priority and add some exposure compensation the camera will change the shutter speed for you. If you want more light in and add positive compensation the camera will drop the shutter speed for you. If you're already at a high shutter speed (1/1000th or so) then the dropped shutter speed won't be a problem. If you're already quite slow (1/30th or so) then the lenghtened shutter speed will tip you beyond the point you can handhold the camera without camera shake making it blurred.

A general rule is the focal length as a guide to shutter speed, so if you're shooting at 50mm try and keep it above 1/50th of a second to be on the safe side. That said it is not cast in stone, I was once an international level rifle shooter so am used to holding things steady, on Tuesday I shot handheld at 400mm at 1/30th of a second and got sharp shots, you'll need to see how steady you are.

When your camera wants a longer shutter speed, as Dez said, turn the ISO up to give a shorter shutter speed, a grainy noisy shot which is sharp is much better than a less noisy but blurred shot.
 
Nikonite said:
Did you have a decent ISO range plugged in?
Click to expand...
I had the ISO right up to maximum, HI. I had the ISO right up as I was doing hand held. I know I would have been better using a tripod, but I was on a night stroll with my dog :)
 
If there's low light there's low light. In Av mode the camera will set the best shutter speed it can, for the other settings, and dialling any exposure compensation will affect the shutter speed further.

So if the camera thinks that to get a properly exposed image at f1.8 it needs 3 seconds, and you dial in +/- compensation you'll be +/- shutter-speed.

Given the lighting conditions at night it's unlikely that you'll be able to achieve a shutter speed fast enough to eliminate camera shake (1/50 ish) without upping the ISO considerably which introduces it's own IQ issues with varying degrees of severity depending on camera.

What sort of shutter speeds did you end up with?

Duh - as already pointed out while I was still typing.....
 
markmullen said:
If you're on aperture priority and add some exposure compensation the camera will change the shutter speed for you. If you want more light in and add positive compensation the camera will drop the shutter speed for you. If you're already at a high shutter speed (1/1000th or so) then the dropped shutter speed won't be a problem. If you're already quite slow (1/30th or so) then the lenghtened shutter speed will tip you beyond the point you can handhold the camera without camera shake making it blurred.

A general rule is the focal length as a guide to shutter speed, so if you're shooting at 50mm try and keep it above 1/50th of a second to be on the safe side. That said it is not cast in stone, I was once an international level rifle shooter so am used to holding things steady, on Tuesday I shot handheld at 400mm at 1/30th of a second and got sharp shots, you'll need to see how steady you are.

When your camera wants a longer shutter speed, as Dez said, turn the ISO up to give a shorter shutter speed, a grainy noisy shot which is sharp is much better than a less noisy but blurred shot.
Click to expand...
Even with the ISO up and lens wide open, the speed did drop below 1/50th of a second. Standing really still with camera pressed against my body, then I was able to get some decent results.

My main aim is doing night candids, this is proving a little harder than I thought. The only other option is flash, but this will ruin any candid captures!
 
jonbeeza said:
Somewhere in the region of 1/30th of a second
Click to expand...

With practice you'll be able to handheld 50mm at that, keep your elbows tucked in, feet shoulder width apart, slow your breathing down (but don't hold your breath, you only have around 6-8 seconds before your eyesight deteriorates) and squeeze the shutter rather than press it, then follow through keeping the camera steady after the shot for a second before you move it from your eye.
 
The problem here is that you're fighting the limits of your available technology.

The idea of night candids sounds fine but you need to remember that even if you get good enough at handheld low shutter speeds, 1/30 requires a still subject too, I'd say for candids a minimum of 1/100 unless they're participating in some activity that requires them to be still.

I think you need to refine your idea to candids where the subject is in a pool of light, bear in mind that quality rather than quantity of light is what makes a better picture anyway.

Learn how light source size and direction will alter the image, this will give you better pictures. But you'll have to experiment with metering patterns to get your exposures consistent. Firstly I'd get a grey card in the light source and use the settings from that in manual for your people.
 
markmullen said:
With practice you'll be able to handheld 50mm at that, keep your elbows tucked in, feet shoulder width apart, slow your breathing down (but don't hold your breath, you only have around 6-8 seconds before your eyesight deteriorates) and squeeze the shutter rather than press it, then follow through keeping the camera steady after the shot for a second before you move it from your eye.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip :)



Phil V said:
The problem here is that you're fighting the limits of your available technology.

The idea of night candids sounds fine but you need to remember that even if you get good enough at handheld low shutter speeds, 1/30 requires a still subject too, I'd say for candids a minimum of 1/100 unless they're participating in some activity that requires them to be still.

I think you need to refine your idea to candids where the subject is in a pool of light, bear in mind that quality rather than quantity of light is what makes a better picture anyway.

Learn how light source size and direction will alter the image, this will give you better pictures. But you'll have to experiment with metering patterns to get your exposures consistent. Firstly I'd get a grey card in the light source and use the settings from that in manual for your people.
Click to expand...
Ok thanks, i am going to have a read up on the subject :thumbs:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top