Beginner Settings advice for shoot

SsSsSsSsSnake

SsSsSsSsSnake

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im going to take photos at the carabean carnival sat.
I would welcome suggestions on what you consider to be a way to set up the camera to get nicely exposed images.
Dont want to use auto so other than that please.
Camera is canon 5d lens canon 50mm 1.8 stm,shoot around 2.30 pm
Thanks for any advice
 
I would suggest manual, f8, 1/125, auto iso will take care of the exposure.
 
blakester said:
I would suggest manual, f8, 1/125, auto iso will take care of the exposure.
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Yes, but I would suggest 1/250s+ as a starting point.
 
Bit of a daft question really, it's impossible to say without knowing a multitude of variables and your creative intent.

Personally I would shoot in a semi-auto mode and adjust exposure comp based on my understanding of how the camera meter system works and the scene in front of me.

Or, if there's constant lighting I might shoot manual.
 
Nawty said:
Bit of a daft question really, it's impossible to say without knowing a multitude of variables and your creative intent.

Personally I would shoot in a semi-auto mode and adjust exposure comp based on my understanding of how the camera meter system works and the scene in front of me.

Or, if there's constant lighting I might shoot manual.
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This
 
Nawty said:
Bit of a daft question really, it's impossible to say without knowing a multitude of variables and your creative intent.

Personally I would shoot in a semi-auto mode and adjust exposure comp based on my understanding of how the camera meter system works and the scene in front of me.

Or, if there's constant lighting I might shoot manual.
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helpful, thanks
 
I think you need to learn the camera Chris and see what works best for you. My preferred mode and what I'd suggest is aperture priority and apertures between f1.8 and f8. I used to use my 5D quite a bit at f5 but whatever I set I'd keep an eye on the shutter speed and ISO and adjust for best effect. If you're shooting people you're going to want to keep the shutter speed up into the 1/xxx's which shouldn't be a problem in daylight but if things drag on into the evening and the light level falls the max ISO of 3200 (I think that's the 5D's max) could need wide apertures to keep the shutter speed up if you want to freeze people.
 
woof woof said:
I think you need to learn the camera Chris and see what works best for you. My preferred mode and what I'd suggest is aperture priority and apertures between f1.8 and f8. I used to use my 5D quite a bit at f5 but whatever I set I'd keep an eye on the shutter speed and ISO and adjust for best effect. If you're shooting people you're going to want to keep the shutter speed up into the 1/xxx's which shouldn't be a problem in daylight but if things drag on into the evening and the light level falls the max ISO of 3200 (I think that's the 5D's max) could need wide apertures to keep the shutter speed up if you want to freeze people.
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Yes i had in mind i need a fastish ss for the movent,a reasonable aperture ,no more than F8 and adjust the iso accordingly,not sure of forcast yet but only be an hours shooting at most
 
SsSsSsSsSnake said:
Good question,perhaps i should
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Auto... I can't remember what Canon camera I had did what but I remember one when in auto shot jpeg at ISO 400, that may have been my 20D, it may have been the 5D, I can't honestly remember so if tempted to use auto I'd run off some shots first to see what the camera did in auto before continuing :D
 
SsSsSsSsSnake said:
Good question,perhaps i should
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From memory the 5D MkI does not allow you to shoot RAW files if you're in full auto. If you're not confident about getting everything right in camera, it would be a very good thing to have RAW files alongside the JPGs.

Personally I would shoot RAW + JPEG, use Av mode to control the aperture, start off with ISO 200 or 400 and see whether the shutter speeds you get are sufficient to freeze whatever motion there is (1/125 or faster is a good speed to aim for as mentioned above). Then use exposure compensation as suggested above if the shot is underexposed or overexposed - check the RGB diagram and blinking highlights to assess if you've blown out one of the channels.

If the shutter speeds you get are too low, increase the ISO. If you get very fast shutter speeds (1/1000 and faster), you can decrease the ISO to 100 or 200.

If this is too much hassle, you can also choose P(rogram) mode, which chooses the aperture and shutter speed for you (but not the ISO - you still have to decide on this yourself).

Try to use the middle focus point as much as possible because this is the most accurate on the 5D MkI.
 
woof woof said:
Auto... I can't remember what Canon camera I had did what but I remember one when in auto shot jpeg at ISO 400, that may have been my 20D, it may have been the 5D, I can't honestly remember so if tempted to use auto I'd run off some shots first to see what the camera did in auto before continuing :D
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Will be shooting raw Alan,that wont eefect the iso will it
Woops didnt see martins post
 
maarten.dhaese said:
From memory the 5D MkI does not allow you to shoot RAW files if you're in full auto. If you're not confident about getting everything right in camera, it would be a very good thing to have RAW files alongside the JPGs.

Personally I would shoot RAW + JPEG, use Av mode to control the aperture, start off with ISO 200 or 400 and see whether the shutter speeds you get are sufficient to freeze whatever motion there is (1/125 or faster is a good speed to aim for as mentioned above). Then use exposure compensation as suggested above if the shot is underexposed or overexposed - check the RGB diagram and blinking highlights to assess if you've blown out one of the channels.

If the shutter speeds you get are too low, increase the ISO. If you get very fast shutter speeds (1/1000 and faster), you can decrease the ISO to 100 or 200.

If this is too much hassle, you can also choose P(rogram) mode, which chooses the aperture and shutter speed for you (but not the ISO - you still have to decide on this yourself).

Try to use the middle focus point as much as possible because this is the most accurate on the 5D MkI.
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Thanks,will takemy cam to work tomorrow and stand where im going to sat,realise light may be diff but give me a chance to try a few settingsout.cheers
 
SsSsSsSsSnake said:
Will be shooting raw Alan,that wont eefect the iso will it
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raw wont affect ISO but note the question marks over what the camera will do in Auto mode. If I were you I'd shoot off a few shots in Auto and check what the camera does and see if you agree or not.
 
If you want to shoot in full manual mode:
Aperture between f/4 (when photographing individual people) and f/6.3 (when photographing groups of people).
Shutter speed will probably need to be between 1/400 & 1/800.
ISO at 200, but increase if shutter speed drops below 1/250s.

In Aperture Priority mode:
Set to f/4. ISO at 200. Keep an eye on your shutter speed. If it drops below 1/250s, bump up your ISO. It should stay between 1/400 and 1/800s at that time of day if outdoors.
 
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With manual check the image previews often and make adjustments if necessary. The previews can tell you valuable information like if the shutter speed is too slow or if your highlights are blowing out badly. If you just take dozens of shots without checking they may be all bad. If you had checked often then you would have seen what was happening and adjusted.
 
I honestly don't see the point of shooting full manual as it just gives you more to keep and eye on and change. Why not just stick to aperture priority and at least then the camera does a bit of the settings juggling for you. If there's a distinct advantage for manual then fair enough but I'd use aperture until the light and shutter speed drop too much for the subject and then switch to manual and dial in the required aperture and a higher shutter speed and adjust from there.
 
Nawty said:
Bit of a daft question really, it's impossible to say without knowing a multitude of variables and your creative intent.

Personally I would shoot in a semi-auto mode and adjust exposure comp based on my understanding of how the camera meter system works and the scene in front of me.

Or, if there's constant lighting I might shoot manual.
Click to expand...
Indeed, if you can say what the light levels will be like....
 
woof woof said:
I think you need to learn the camera Chris and see what works best for you. My preferred mode and what I'd suggest is aperture priority and apertures between f1.8 and f8. I used to use my 5D quite a bit at f5 but whatever I set I'd keep an eye on the shutter speed and ISO and adjust for best effect. If you're shooting people you're going to want to keep the shutter speed up into the 1/xxx's which shouldn't be a problem in daylight but if things drag on into the evening and the light level falls the max ISO of 3200 (I think that's the 5D's max) could need wide apertures to keep the shutter speed up if you want to freeze people.
Click to expand...
I'd like to see him learn a camera also but he never keeps them for more than a few weeks. I can't believe someone who has had d750, 6d, Sony a7,a6000,x100,etc etc needs to post such a simple question in the beginners section. Come on mate you know how to use a camera surely! Hehe
 
Photopaque said:
I'd like to see him learn a camera also but he never keeps them for more than a few weeks. I can't believe someone who has had d750, 6d, Sony a7,a6000,x100,etc etc needs to post such a simple question in the beginners section. Come on mate you know how to use a camera surely! Hehe
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forever a beginner me, just how I like it ,never get bored then lol
 
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