Shooting in REALLY low light - how?!

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iaminneedofhelp

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Hi,

Recently I was in Santiago in Chile where there was a gathering that the police had to disperse - pretty cool stuff really. I only had my iPhone 6S with me on the time and took a few shots (including the couple I've attached below) but it got me thinking, if I were to have my camera on me, how do you go about shooting usable photos in such low light? Would a really fast prime be able to handle it?

Here are some of the shots:

IMG_1481250615.565680.jpg

IMG_1481250639.438881.jpg

IMG_1481250668.074728.jpg

P.S. I'm not sharing these photos for criticism. Just to show you the light level and how cool it was! :)
 
The easy answer is large apertures, high ISO and slower shutter speeds.

But it all depends on the body and lens you're using. Plenty of light there to get usable shots.
 
Yeah I understand that but there's always limitations to the systems. I do wonder why my iPhone is using ISO's of only around 400 and 1/17s shutter. I guess the sensor is just so bad that the noise is too much. A lot of noise/ weird artefacts at ISO 400!
 
iaminneedofhelp said:
Yeah I understand that but there's always limitations to the systems. I do wonder why my iPhone is using ISO's of only around 400 and 1/17s shutter. I guess the sensor is just so bad that the noise is too much. A lot of noise/ weird artefacts at ISO 400!
Click to expand...

Yes it might not go any higher, not sure. Guess that is something like f/2 aperture?

If that's the case it wouldn't be all that challenging for most dslr's with a modest prime. ISO 1600 and 1/80 ish at f/2.
 
You're right your iPhone will top out at ISO400 because the sensor is tiny and the noise above that would be horrific.

As per the above, but I'd be aiming for higher shutter speeds at the cost of noise on a large sensor, you can sell a noisy image but you can't sell a blurry one.
 
Some of the older iPhones go to higher ISO than some of the newer ones if I remember correctly. I have a 6S plus that maxes out at 500 I believe and relies on IS and longer shutter speeds in low light. I think some of the earlier models go to 1000 or so but don't have IS, it was a while ago that I read the article but I'm sure that was the case!
 
Really high ISO, largest aperture you can get to and at times manual focus. Focussing is usually struggling in the dark as it tries edges between light and dark.
It also depends on what you call acceptable. Getting a shot to record the moment no matter what?

So here's one, on a breakwater, pitch dark with the only lighting from distant street lights. I was walking down to see if the town and lights looked good from a distance and came across a fisherman feeding a friendly seal his fishing bait.

Canon 5D mk4, i/50s f4, Highest ISO 130,000

150116085.jpg


Grainy as anything, but got the pic in almost pitch darkness. Turned out the guy was a local vet so loved the image. He could show it to friends who hadn't believed him.
 
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Byker28i said:
Really high ISO, largest aperture you can get to and at times manual focus. Focussing is usually struggling in the dark as it tries edges between light and dark.
It also depends on what you call acceptable. Getting a shot to record the moment no matter what?

So here's one, on a breakwater, pitch dark with the only lighting from distant street lights. I was walking down to see if the town and lights looked good from a distance and came across a fisherman feeding a friendly seal his fishing bait.

Canon 5D mk4, i/50s f4, Highest ISO 130,000

150116085.jpg


Grainy as anything, but got the pic in almost pitch darkness. Turned out the guy was a local vet so loved the image. He could show it to friends who hadn't believed him.
Click to expand...

Excellent advice and photo, what a moment to capture :thumbs:
 
TBH, in a strange (as in unfamiliar rather than odd!) country such as Chile, I'd be a little wary of using a bigger camera in a situation like that. Not so much because of the protestors as the possible (over)reaction of the police to people recording the incident. Full riot gear and armoured vehicles sort of hint at a bit more than a few students out on the lash!

To answer the question, yup, a bigger camera with a fast lens. As Byker's pointed out, a super high ISO will be fairly grainy but will get you a useable shot in fairly "challenging" light levels.
 
Phil V said:
As per the above, but I'd be aiming for higher shutter speeds at the cost of noise on a large sensor, you can sell a noisy image but you can't sell a blurry one.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I wish I had my a6000 with me at the time. Maybe I could have got some usable RAWs :(

Byker28i said:
It also depends on what you call acceptable. Getting a shot to record the moment no matter what?
Click to expand...

I would definitely prefer to have a few darker, noisy images than none but I wouldn't call the JPEGs I got usable or something I'm proud of. A memory, yes. Some good photos, not so much. A shame when you see the potential (the dog and the army truck could have been a stunner, for example).

Byker28i said:
Canon 5D mk4, i/50s f4, Highest ISO 130,000
Click to expand...

130,000 [emoji33] Nice example!

Nod said:
TBH, in a strange (as in unfamiliar rather than odd!) country such as Chile, I'd be a little wary of using a bigger camera in a situation like that. Not so much because of the protestors as the possible (over)reaction of the police to people recording the incident. Full riot gear and armoured vehicles sort of hint at a bit more than a few students out on the lash!
Click to expand...

It's always something to think about in a place like this although I did feel pretty safe at the time. My a6000 is pretty discreet as well. Doesn't help my case being an obvious gringo however :)

Trust me, this was Les Miserables level with people riding the horse statue and waving their flags... Chileans and their football, eh?
 
Nod said:
TBH, in a strange (as in unfamiliar rather than odd!) country such as Chile, I'd be a little wary of using a bigger camera in a situation like that. Not so much because of the protestors as the possible (over)reaction of the police to people recording the incident. Full riot gear and armoured vehicles sort of hint at a bit more than a few students out on the lash!

To answer the question, yup, a bigger camera with a fast lens. As Byker's pointed out, a super high ISO will be fairly grainy but will get you a useable shot in fairly "challenging" light levels.
Click to expand...

I was in Thailand during the protests in 2015. Lots of emotion running around, especially near protest square in Bangkok but still possible to shoot. Some were easier to shoot from the hip, others were after I engaged people for conversation, found out the details.
Slightly more difficult when you went up country as they were predominately on the other side, but as a foreigner, showing interest, people were very keen to put their side.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/byker28i/albums/72157644854908843


Have to say mostly it was the politest, friendliest protest I've been to, occasionally interspersed with some scarey moments.
 
Byker28i said:
Have to say mostly it was the politest, friendliest protest I've been to, occasionally interspersed with some scarey moments.
Click to expand...

Looks very peaceful, nice photos. I often feel that moments like these are best caught quickly and with sensitivity rather than not at all; Napalm Girl seems like a good example.
 
A really fast wide-angle prime, e.g. 24mm f1.4. You'd be able to shoot with that wide open but still have a reasonable range of focus for a scene like what's shown above.
 
Karen Julia said:
A really fast wide-angle prime, e.g. 24mm f1.4. You'd be able to shoot with that wide open but still have a reasonable range of focus for a scene like what's shown above.
Click to expand...

Thinking of getting the Sigma 30mm f1.4 but heard it hunts a bit wide open. Still, if you've got the light you can always manual focus. Is there any difference between light gathering and focus of the 24 and 30 really?
 
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