Camera settings for drains & tunnels

maizniek · 26 Aug 2013, 9:40 pm

Hey

I have a few plans in the next month to explore some darker environments

I have a canon slr camera and iv'e just purchased a new 17-40mm. What settings would you recommend shooting on in low light conditions??

Thanks

Spoz · 26 Aug 2013, 11:43 pm

f/8
30s
ISO200

dougo · 27 Aug 2013, 1:20 am

1) Push the camera icon/app on phone.
2) Put flash on auto.
3) take photo.
4) post
5) make apologetic post about the standard of the pics.

dodger · 27 Aug 2013, 8:57 am

Spoz pretty much hit the nail on the head.

Low ISO.
Small enough aperture to get the DOF that you want.
Shutter speed as long as you need to paint your subject/the background (could be much longer than 30 seconds)

maizniek · 27 Aug 2013, 10:43 pm

dougo wrote:1) Push the camera icon/app on phone.
2) Put flash on auto.
3) take photo.
4) post
5) make apologetic post about the standard of the pics.

Haha I like your style

maizniek · 27 Aug 2013, 10:44 pm

Thanks guys, I shall have a play around with the settings!:)

Nick · 27 Aug 2013, 11:44 pm

Try playing first, before you head down there, while these are great suggestions, each situation is different, you may find you can boost your ISO higher without too much more noise, that f/8 is too high or too low, or that 30 seconds is producing photos that are too dark and you'll either need to boost your ISO or drop your Aperture.

While we can give suggestions, nothing will really compare to using your gear, download the manual, read it. Test it. Your house gets dark, you can test similar light conditions on it to drains / abandonments. (some say my house looks like a mix of both at times)

The other thing that hasn't been mentioned is none of this auto-focus pansy bullshit, it doesn't work in the dark. You'll have to learn to focus manually, with very little light.

Also, if you're shooting in a drain, there's no light, in abandonments there's generally ambient light, spend long enough and that street lamp a few hundred meters away will light up your whole shot. But in a drain. Nothing. You'll have to learn to light paint, evenly distributing light from front to back.

You'll also need a tripod, and to know how to use the shutter timer.

So much to photography, especially low light stuff, but the best way is to play, and remember, ISO low, aperture high and shutter speed as long as possible.

Aydun · 28 Aug 2013, 12:24 pm

With my Canon G12, for long exposure in drains, I generally used the lowest ISO (80), but this could be much higher on an SLR (or CMOS lens camera) without making the photo to noisy.

15s, which I think is its maximum exposure, was usually more than enough time, especially with a decent torch.

And the aperture, I would usually have of 4.0 or so..

maizniek · 06 Oct 2013, 9:34 pm

Thanks everyone, im still experimenting!

great advice and tips