Focus in the dark and mirror lock

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mintydave

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Dave
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Hi There
Im new to this and have been doing a lot of reading and last night i thought it was about time to get out and have a go. I like low light shooting and have made a start. My problem is (apart from not having a decent tripod) is focussing in the dark. I understand people use torches but what else can you do. I tried Manual but not too successfull. Im not convinced my eyes are right and what i see as being in focus is not what the sensor sees.

also somebody has mentioned mirror locking - would this be a benefit for low light. I use the 2 second delay to minimise shake.

here are my first pics

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=199326

Cheers
Dave

Canon 450D - EOS 18-55IS Lens
 
mirror locking is good, i use it (well nikons automated equivalent).

a laser pointer can be handy.

I intend to mark the infinity focus point on my lens as thats where I'll need it most (was easy on my old manual lens which was marked and had the infinity at the end but oh well).
 
yep mirror lock up stops the slap of the mirror rocking the camera (they can be fairly large)

I use manual focus at night as it saves hassle and tend to be using focus friendly apertures. I also tend to have a head torch/phone/fag lighter to see by.
 
You can use live view on the 450D to bring what the sensor sees to the screen in realtime. With that on the screen you can focus manually, then zoom in on the image to nail the focus even more.
 
Welsh Dan said:
You can use live view on the 450D to bring what the sensor sees to the screen in realtime. With that on the screen you can focus manually, then zoom in on the image to nail the focus even more.
Click to expand...

doesn't work in the dark though ;) (or at least doesn't if its reallllly dark)
 
Take a test shot at high ISO to see how you are set before doing the low iso shot ;)
 
I suppose it does depend how dark, if I half press the shutter on my 40D though it brightens the liveview display so you can see the subject, albeit a very grainy subject.
 
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