Problem with Canon EOS 500D

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Dave Copp

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Dave
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I bought a canon EOS 500D with the intention of taking estate agency photos but cannot take photos in dimly lit rooms. I use it on Av mode with an F stop of 11 and auto focus. It tries to focus (lens moves) but the aperture light blinks and the shutter doesn't operate. If I point the the camera towards the window (with the blinds shut) the shutter will operate so it seems to be a light issue. I've tried putting the F stop as low as possible and the ISO up to 1600 but it still won't take the photo. If I put it in manual focus mode it operates fine in the same dimly lit room.

The problem exists even in the auto mode (as opposed to Av mode).

I'm a novice photographer so it may be that I'm doing something wrong although someone told me today that this was a problem due to the lens size of 18-55 and I'd need to get a wide angle lens to let more light in.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Hi

Aperture of f/11 is actually reducing how much light will come through the lens. You will need to lower the number to between f3.5 &f5.6 depending on the focal length in use. You will very likely need to bump the ISO to 1600 as a minimum at that aperture unless you can put it on a tripod.

The focus problem will be related to the amount of light available, aswell as the subject you are trying to focus on - something lacking contrast will confuse the AutoFocus i.e. a 'plain' white/coloured wall.

A wide-angle lens technically refers to focal length, what you would need is a wide aperture lens say of f2.8 - probably the Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 (which confusingly is also a wide angle at 11-16 :lol: but will be most useful indoors to 'fit it all in')
 
The focusing is done with the aperture wide open. A faster lens will probably help as it will let in more light during autofocus. You could also try enabling the flash so it fires when auto focusing and then switch the lens to manual focus and the flash off before taking the picture.
 
Many thanks to all who contributed to the thread, your inputs are very much appreciated. As was suggested the answer lies in the lack of contrast. I took note of that and focused on a picture, with the result that the shutter operated. To prove it I then moved the camera slightly so I was focusing on the wall and it refused to work.

Again, many thanks.
 
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