raising ISO levels is the only way?

[mediyoga]

HI all
I have a xt with the IS 17-85 lens the outdoor quality of which I am very happy with. However , indoors the max aperture being 5.6 at the full tele (and program auto) end even if I increase the flash output I cannot get a bright pic. I upped the iso to 400 and got a great pic. F5.6 seems to be a useless aperture indoors! I am not a pro nor an advanced amateur but am in the process of understanding and reading all posts.

I then realised the value of the 2.8 lens L series. For my second lens I will defnitely buy a 2.8 all the way. However the weight and cumbersome length makes me hesitate. I also read the post on concerns about the manner of hanlding the canon 70-200 IS L 2.8 lens. Between the sigma and the canon which would be recommended? I am particular about 2.8 all the way in which case I have to learn to live with the weight and size? Or should I wait for canon or sigma to come with a 2.8 of smaller length and weight with new technology owing to research?
thanks to all
regds
Krishna Raman

[cdifoto]

There is nothing wrong with ISO400 on the XT. f/5.6 isn't a fast aperture but if you only need to go to ISO400, you're doing pretty good.

If you're going to get one of the 70-200mm lenses, you might find it's use frustrating indoors. The minimum focus distance on the Sigma is 5.9 feet, and the Canon is a little better at 4.9 feet.

There's two metering modes occuring concurrently. The flash for the XT operates on E-TTL metering...meaning that it meters and exposes for your subject, not your background. The camera settings meter & expose for the background. Flash Exposure Compensation is for when the flash metering isn't quite getting it right.

HI all
I have a xt with the IS 17-85 lens the outdoor quality of which I am very happy with. However , indoors the max aperture being 5.6 at the full tele (and program auto) end even if I increase the flash output I cannot get a bright pic. I upped the iso to 400 and got a great pic. F5.6 seems to be a useless aperture indoors! I am not a pro nor an advanced amateur but am in the process of understanding and reading all posts.

I then realised the value of the 2.8 lens L series. For my second lens I will defnitely buy a 2.8 all the way. However the weight and cumbersome length makes me hesitate. I also read the post on concerns about the manner of hanlding the canon 70-200 IS L 2.8 lens. Between the sigma and the canon which would be recommended? I am particular about 2.8 all the way in which case I have to learn to live with the weight and size? Or should I wait for canon or sigma to come with a 2.8 of smaller length and weight with new technology owing to research?
thanks to all
regds
Krishna Raman

[TheObiJuan]

Get a fast prime like the sigma 30mm or canon 50mm.
This will allow you to shoot at f/2 indoors and get properly exposed pics.

[mediyoga]

Thanks a lot. Could I have a little more clarification on
what cdi-buy.com says below

"There's two metering modes occuring concurrently. The flash for the XT operates on E-TTL metering...meaning that it meters and exposes for your subject, not your background. The camera settings meter & expose for the background. Flash Exposure Compensation is for when the flash metering isn't quite getting it right".

I understand the individual uses of the flash/ camera metering system . But how does it translate to a specific situation say as not getting a bright pic which is due to a limited 5.6 aperture? Even If I overexposed the setting of the camera by 1-2 stops the pic was not bright at all at the tele end.
also with this lens I have do I need to raise the iso for the tele end on cloudy days for outdoor shots? Of course If I have a 2.8 I dont need to bother on this cloudy aspect.
thanks
Krishna Raman

[coldrain]

Get a fast prime like the sigma 30mm or canon 50mm.
This will allow you to shoot at f/2 indoors and get properly exposed pics.
Or get ridiculously and delisiously overboard and find yourself a Canon EF 50mm f1.0 and make ISO 200 pics handheld at night :P

OOOOPS... did I just now awaken cdi-buy's never ending lens lust again?

[TheObiJuan]

Or get ridiculously and delisiously overboard and find yourself a Canon EF 50mm f1.0 and make ISO 200 pics handheld at night :P

OOOOPS... did I just now awaken cdi-buy's never ending lens lust again?

LOL, I could see him buy one.
It's a gem of a lens because of it's rarity rather than performance.

[cdifoto]

Or get ridiculously and delisiously overboard and find yourself a Canon EF 50mm f1.0 and make ISO 200 pics handheld at night :P

OOOOPS... did I just now awaken cdi-buy's never ending lens lust again?

Hey now! I'm not THAT bad! :eek: :D

[Alnath]

There's two metering modes occuring concurrently. The flash for the XT operates on E-TTL metering...meaning that it meters and exposes for your subject, not your background. The camera settings meter & expose for the background. Flash Exposure Compensation is for when the flash metering isn't quite getting it right.

Thats wrong, it depends what mode you have the camera in, http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/index2.html#confusion

[cdifoto]

Thats wrong, it depends what mode you have the camera in, http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/index2.html#confusion

Regardless of the mode itself, the flash is metering for the subject and the camera is metering the background. The mode of the camera only determines the settings used to handle the background/subjects.

[timmciglobal]

To answer your question, I use ISO 400 and 800 indoors without any issue. Buying a fast prime is great for indoors when flash isn't practical/wanted. The 50 F1.8 is cheap and fast.

F2.8 glass is nice in some situations I wouldn't mind a 24>70 F 2.8

Tim

[cdifoto]

To answer your question, I use ISO 400 and 800 indoors without any issue. Buying a fast prime is great for indoors when flash isn't practical/wanted. The 50 F1.8 is cheap and fast.

F2.8 glass is nice in some situations I wouldn't mind a 24>70 F 2.8

Tim

Heck my house is so friggin dark, without flash I need to use ISO1600, f/1.8 and I still barely get 1/60th. I've come to enjoy bounce flash! heh.

[mediyoga]

Great ! I have set off a series of discussions! Still someone please tell me if the we need to increase the ISO to 400 on cloudy days?
thanks

[cdifoto]

Great ! I have set off a series of discussions! Still someone please tell me if the we need to increase the ISO to 400 on cloudy days?
thanks

All depends on what shutter speeds you want, what aperture you want, and whether or not you use flash. There are no specific settings for cloudy days or bright days or nighttime shooting. That's the beauty of photography and using an SLR.

[Rhys]

I have no problems with my f2.8 Tamron 17-35 and Tamron f2.8 28-75 indoors.

Personally, I'm in favour of f2.8 zooms or fast primes.

[aparmley]

Get a fast prime like the sigma 30mm or canon 50mm.
This will allow you to shoot at f/2 indoors and get properly exposed pics.

I second this very strongly. Sigma 30 1.4 - may be my next purchase . . I am going back and forth between that one and the Canon 20 2.8. However, the 50 1.4 would be my next recommendation. I have the 1.8 and its pretty nice for 75 bucks, but its not good enough to keep me from getting the 1.4 eventually.

What you get with a prime is great quality and speed at an affordable price. I know I have taken some photos I have been happy with at ISO 1600 at 1.8 2.8 would have been TOO slow for those circumstances. pick up Neat image - download the free version - set your camera to ISO 1600 if you must and be confident, Neat Image has proved itself very very useful for me.

Good luck

[cdifoto]

I second this very strongly. Sigma 30 1.4 - may be my next purchase . . I am going back and forth between that one and the Canon 20 2.8. However, the 50 1.4 would be my next recommendation. I have the 1.8 and its pretty nice for 75 bucks, but its not good enough to keep me from getting the 1.4 eventually.

What you get with a prime is great quality and speed at an affordable price. I know I have taken some photos I have been happy with at ISO 1600 at 1.8 2.8 would have been TOO slow for those circumstances. pick up Neat image - download the free version - set your camera to ISO 1600 if you must and be confident, Neat Image has proved itself very very useful for me.

Good luck

I actually bought the NeatImage Photoshop Plug-In PLUS Standalone version for $79 (I think) and it was worth every penny. I can run it as an action and batch process ALL my images - even for noise. I figured out how to set up a workflow that I can run from a folder...and walk away. :D

Fortunately there are very few that I need to go back and tweak on and invidual basis...the L glass has naturally excellent color, saturation, and contrast...and getting the exposure smack on from the point of shutter release eliminates levels adjustments.

[aparmley]

I have seriously considered flippin the money for the stand alone version. Just to donate some money to the cause. I like it alot.

[ReF]

Great ! I have set off a series of discussions! Still someone please tell me if the we need to increase the ISO to 400 on cloudy days?
thanks

simply put, get out there and try it! it will depend on your subject/location/aperture/etc., so it's really hard to say for sure.

[suemccartin]

Forget about auto mode when using flash indoors, I just think it is braindead was the rebel 300 and still is on the 20D. I prefer shutter priority to get the speed I need and then I boost flash output on the 550EX or 580EX accordingly--I always find flash a tad underexposed on these cameras, my old G2 always overexposed a bit so canon's always had issues with flash exposures. If the background is underexposed you'll get flashing fstop in the viewfinder, don't worry about it, you can fix it later with photoshop.

[jamison55]

Sue is on the right track here, when using flash indoors always go to Manual. I shoot in very dark locations and prefer to keep my aperture at f5.6 for DOF reasons. So I set my 20D and XT to "M" mode and f5.6. From there I adjust my shutter based upon the amount of ambient light that I want to bring into the scene. Tle slower the shutter, the more ambient light. I regularly shoot at 1/30 and even 1/15, as long as the room is dark enough that those aren't the actual ambient exposures. The key is to look at the built in light meter in your camera. It sits at the bottom of the viewfinder and looks like this: -2..-1..0..+1..+2. As long as your exposure is hovering around the -2 area, you are safe to shoot with a flash at insanely slow shutter speeds without having motion blur (or camera shake). Upping the ISO will also bring more ambient light into the scene.

As others have mentioned, however, Canon is very conservative on flash metering so i usually have the FEC dialed in to +1.

[cdifoto]

Sue is on the right track here, when using flash indoors always go to Manual. I shoot in very dark locations and prefer to keep my aperture at f5.6 for DOF reasons. So I set my 20D and XT to "M" mode and f5.6. From there I adjust my shutter based upon the amount of ambient light that I want to bring into the scene. Tle slower the shutter, the more ambient light. I regularly shoot at 1/30 and even 1/15, as long as the room is dark enough that those aren't the actual ambient exposures. The key is to look at the built in light meter in your camera. It sits at the bottom of the viewfinder and looks like this: -2..-1..0..+1..+2. As long as your exposure is hovering around the -2 area, you are safe to shoot with a flash at insanely slow shutter speeds without having motion blur (or camera shake). Upping the ISO will also bring more ambient light into the scene.

As others have mentioned, however, Canon is very conservative on flash metering so i usually have the FEC dialed in to +1.

Jamison,

How do you handle a scene in which the bride (gown) and groom (tux) are in the same shot? I was thinking FEL for the bride...but then that would underexpose the groom...not to mention there's rarely time to explain to them that there will be two flash bursts...