I am fairly new to the digital camera world and I was wondering what kind of settings (ISO, shutter speed, etc.) people use for the outdoors (at night and during the day) and indoors. I know every situation calls for a specific setting but what I am looking for are some general settings. I don't want to use the AUTO mode since I find most of the pictures don't come out very well.
- Thread starter Shot
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Lan-Lord
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Shot, did you just get a new cam? if so congrats! what kind of camera do you have? you asked a good fundamental question.
There are few absolutes to this question. But there are a few boundaries that I like to follow. My basic rules of thumb are below.
-shoot ISO100 unless it is extremely low light. (eg first light, shadows, etc)
-maintain a shutter speed no slower than 1/125 sec when shooting freehand. faster than that is preferred. I sometimes shoot in shutter priority mode and force the cam at 1/125 when in low light.
-if it is bright and sunny, or I am shooting straight into the sun (like for a silhouette shot) I like to set the aperature to f8 (the highest my cam goes). Thats just me, I like large Depth of Field usually.
Also here are a few general guidelines on how cameras work. Not that you specifically need to know, but this is a good question and a good time to outline some of the basics.
setting the ISO:
1.) the higher your ISO, the more sensitive your camera sensor is to light. eg you need less light coming into the camera to get correct exposure and therefore you have a faster shutter speed at high ISOs rather than low ISOs. (note higher ISOs introduce grain on most non-pro camera systems, that is why I try to avoid it)
setting the aperature:
2.) the lower the f-value (eg f2) the FASTER the shutter speed. (eg the camera needs less light). On the other hand, the higher the f-value (eg f8) the slower the shutter speed. The camera shutter has to stay open longer (SLOWER) to gather enough light to properly expose the photograph.
setting the shutter speed:
3.) obviously setting the shutter speed will control the aperature (f-value). If you set the shutter speed to a slow value, the f-value will need to be smaller than if you had the shutter at a faster speed.
Most mid-high end cameras allow you to shoot in shutter priority, aperature priority, and full manual. I like the priority modes because I know that if I am photographing wildlife, I need to have a shutter faster than 1/125, otherwise the movement of the animal will blurr the photo (or my hand shake will blurr it). So I can force the camera to shoot at 1/125 sec and it will determine the proper f-value for me. obviously if it is really bright and sunny outside, I will shoot at a faster shutter speed, but most wildlife is seen in the low-light hours..
the best way to understand these concepts is to play around with it.. the nice thing about digital is that the learning curve is more easily accomplished.
this stuff was tough for me to swallow and I always had questions but didnt know what to ask, or would feel too stupid to ask basic questions, but I would encourage anyone to ask anything they dont understand here in this thread. It is alot easier and alot nicer to shoot photos without having to think about what you are doing and you can command settings on the camera without thinking.
There are few absolutes to this question. But there are a few boundaries that I like to follow. My basic rules of thumb are below.
-shoot ISO100 unless it is extremely low light. (eg first light, shadows, etc)
-maintain a shutter speed no slower than 1/125 sec when shooting freehand. faster than that is preferred. I sometimes shoot in shutter priority mode and force the cam at 1/125 when in low light.
-if it is bright and sunny, or I am shooting straight into the sun (like for a silhouette shot) I like to set the aperature to f8 (the highest my cam goes). Thats just me, I like large Depth of Field usually.
Also here are a few general guidelines on how cameras work. Not that you specifically need to know, but this is a good question and a good time to outline some of the basics.
setting the ISO:
1.) the higher your ISO, the more sensitive your camera sensor is to light. eg you need less light coming into the camera to get correct exposure and therefore you have a faster shutter speed at high ISOs rather than low ISOs. (note higher ISOs introduce grain on most non-pro camera systems, that is why I try to avoid it)
setting the aperature:
2.) the lower the f-value (eg f2) the FASTER the shutter speed. (eg the camera needs less light). On the other hand, the higher the f-value (eg f8) the slower the shutter speed. The camera shutter has to stay open longer (SLOWER) to gather enough light to properly expose the photograph.
setting the shutter speed:
3.) obviously setting the shutter speed will control the aperature (f-value). If you set the shutter speed to a slow value, the f-value will need to be smaller than if you had the shutter at a faster speed.
Most mid-high end cameras allow you to shoot in shutter priority, aperature priority, and full manual. I like the priority modes because I know that if I am photographing wildlife, I need to have a shutter faster than 1/125, otherwise the movement of the animal will blurr the photo (or my hand shake will blurr it). So I can force the camera to shoot at 1/125 sec and it will determine the proper f-value for me. obviously if it is really bright and sunny outside, I will shoot at a faster shutter speed, but most wildlife is seen in the low-light hours..
the best way to understand these concepts is to play around with it.. the nice thing about digital is that the learning curve is more easily accomplished.
this stuff was tough for me to swallow and I always had questions but didnt know what to ask, or would feel too stupid to ask basic questions, but I would encourage anyone to ask anything they dont understand here in this thread. It is alot easier and alot nicer to shoot photos without having to think about what you are doing and you can command settings on the camera without thinking.
