N
Nana
I want to purchase an additional speedlight for my 5700 - which is the best? Thanks for your help -
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Nikon Coolpix 5700 indoors photos too dark
- Thread starter dcaridade
- Start date
Arthur
The bulk of my shooting takes place in low light environments and I get excellent results with the sister camera, the CP5000. The innards of both cameras are identical.
First off, the histogram and Exposure Compensation are your best friends. There never has been a more elegant light-meter than the histogram and it comes installed with every camera. http://www.larry-bolch.com/histogram/
The above URL will at least get you started in using it. Exposure Compensation will allow you to remain in an auto-exposure mode and still have complete control of your exposure. I recommend using Aperture Priority, since you can set the aperture to f-2.8 and the camera will select the appropriate shutter speed. Be aware however, that to hand hold at that focal length, you should be shooting at 1/30th of a second or faster. See below.
Realize that auto-exposure has little or no idea of what you want. For the most part, it simply tries to adjust the scene to an average mid-tone. Therefore, if there are actual light sources in the image, they will depress the overall level of exposure greatly while the camera tries to cope with them. All auto-exposure systems are biased to try to retain highlight detail, which is what you want. Shooting digital is much like shooting Kodachrome. Both are very critical and unforgiving of exposure. With either, a loss of highlight detail is disaster. Skillful processing can often recover some shadow detail, but once base density or a value of 255, 255, 255 is reached, there is nothing more to recover.
Though I cut it pretty close, my images all need a bit of highlight boost in processing. I consciously under-expose a bit, so I have control of where I place my pure whites. Chances are that you too can make fine prints of your dark exposures with adjustments of the highlights using Levels in your image processing program. It is a very useful technique. By underexposing by 1.0EV when set to ISO800, you are in fact exposing at ISO1600. Adjusting the highlights is the digital equivalent of "pushing" film in development.
Since the auto-exposure system lacks intelligence, it must be supplied by the photographer. If there is a predominance of dark values in the image area, the opposite will happen as well. Shoot pictures of a performer in a nightclub, playing against a black backdrop, and the camera will try to boost the backdrop to a middle grey, wiping out the performer.
With the intelligence the photographer brings to the situation, a test shot will be done, the image and histogram are check and Exposure Compensation will be applied. This will be repeated until the exposure is perfect. If the shot requires more than ±2.0EV, switch to Manual exposure mode and you can cope with even the most extreme conditions.
Using the WC-E80, you have astounding depth of field, so can shoot wide open at f-2.8. Since you need a minimum shutter speed in the range of 1/30th of a second, you will have to adjust the ISO value to get this speed. Frame the image area and begin advancing the ISO setting. When the monitor reads at least 1/30th at f-2.8, you have the necessary setting. Understand that increasing the ISO setting also increases the grain, but it is far better to have a nice clear image with grain and noise than a useless image ruined by camera or subject movement. At lower speeds, a tripod, monopod or table-top tripod becomes more and more vital for sharpness.
Another problem with interior photography by ambient light, is a contrast ratio well beyond what photographic materials can record, resulting in great loss of shadow or highlight detail. The CP5700 has a powerful feature - auto-bracketing - that will allow you to shoot a series of shots at intervals from 0.3EV to full 1.0EV. These shots can be easily combined in an image processing program that supports levels, producing outstanding quality. S&les and tutorial at
http://www.larry-bolch.com/layers.htm
These cameras will let you shoot under the most extreme conditions and come back with superb quality images. Shooting under extreme conditions does take some learning and loads of practice, but it pays off handsomely. For more ex&les and descriptions of how they were done, please check
http://www.larry-bolch.com/ephemeral/
larry!
ICQ 76620504
http://www.larry-bolch.com/
The bulk of my shooting takes place in low light environments and I get excellent results with the sister camera, the CP5000. The innards of both cameras are identical.
First off, the histogram and Exposure Compensation are your best friends. There never has been a more elegant light-meter than the histogram and it comes installed with every camera. http://www.larry-bolch.com/histogram/
The above URL will at least get you started in using it. Exposure Compensation will allow you to remain in an auto-exposure mode and still have complete control of your exposure. I recommend using Aperture Priority, since you can set the aperture to f-2.8 and the camera will select the appropriate shutter speed. Be aware however, that to hand hold at that focal length, you should be shooting at 1/30th of a second or faster. See below.
Realize that auto-exposure has little or no idea of what you want. For the most part, it simply tries to adjust the scene to an average mid-tone. Therefore, if there are actual light sources in the image, they will depress the overall level of exposure greatly while the camera tries to cope with them. All auto-exposure systems are biased to try to retain highlight detail, which is what you want. Shooting digital is much like shooting Kodachrome. Both are very critical and unforgiving of exposure. With either, a loss of highlight detail is disaster. Skillful processing can often recover some shadow detail, but once base density or a value of 255, 255, 255 is reached, there is nothing more to recover.
Though I cut it pretty close, my images all need a bit of highlight boost in processing. I consciously under-expose a bit, so I have control of where I place my pure whites. Chances are that you too can make fine prints of your dark exposures with adjustments of the highlights using Levels in your image processing program. It is a very useful technique. By underexposing by 1.0EV when set to ISO800, you are in fact exposing at ISO1600. Adjusting the highlights is the digital equivalent of "pushing" film in development.
Since the auto-exposure system lacks intelligence, it must be supplied by the photographer. If there is a predominance of dark values in the image area, the opposite will happen as well. Shoot pictures of a performer in a nightclub, playing against a black backdrop, and the camera will try to boost the backdrop to a middle grey, wiping out the performer.
With the intelligence the photographer brings to the situation, a test shot will be done, the image and histogram are check and Exposure Compensation will be applied. This will be repeated until the exposure is perfect. If the shot requires more than ±2.0EV, switch to Manual exposure mode and you can cope with even the most extreme conditions.
Using the WC-E80, you have astounding depth of field, so can shoot wide open at f-2.8. Since you need a minimum shutter speed in the range of 1/30th of a second, you will have to adjust the ISO value to get this speed. Frame the image area and begin advancing the ISO setting. When the monitor reads at least 1/30th at f-2.8, you have the necessary setting. Understand that increasing the ISO setting also increases the grain, but it is far better to have a nice clear image with grain and noise than a useless image ruined by camera or subject movement. At lower speeds, a tripod, monopod or table-top tripod becomes more and more vital for sharpness.
Another problem with interior photography by ambient light, is a contrast ratio well beyond what photographic materials can record, resulting in great loss of shadow or highlight detail. The CP5700 has a powerful feature - auto-bracketing - that will allow you to shoot a series of shots at intervals from 0.3EV to full 1.0EV. These shots can be easily combined in an image processing program that supports levels, producing outstanding quality. S&les and tutorial at
http://www.larry-bolch.com/layers.htm
These cameras will let you shoot under the most extreme conditions and come back with superb quality images. Shooting under extreme conditions does take some learning and loads of practice, but it pays off handsomely. For more ex&les and descriptions of how they were done, please check
http://www.larry-bolch.com/ephemeral/
larry!
ICQ 76620504
http://www.larry-bolch.com/
Arthur
Ah, you've hit me in my weak spot. I have never had any experience with the Nikon flashes. I have a case of Vivitar 283 units with enough trigger voltage to cook any contemporary digital camera. I carried them for many so years that I felt more like a beast of burden than a photographer.
I have always been in love with the realism of ambient light, but so often having to shoot low speed chrome films for publication, multi-flash was required. Now I am shooting for my own gratification for the first time since I was a kid, and if you looked at my site, you will see that most of my stuff is done without flash.
I do on occasion use the built-in flash for contrast control or for effect, but never for the prime light source. I tested a multi-flash setup, using the built-in flash as a trigger for slave units, but beyond the single test, It did work fine and delivered exactly what I had visualized. I have done nothing with them on an actual shoot, and probably won't.
I have no plans for adding a dedicated Nikon flash any time in the future. I love my ambient light shots. Hopefully someone else will jump in with your solution.
You may be able to find some information on Thom Hogan's site. He is very knowledgeable about Nikon flash and his site is a treasury of information.
http://www.bythom.com/
larry!
ICQ 76620504
http://www.larry-bolch.com/
Ah, you've hit me in my weak spot. I have never had any experience with the Nikon flashes. I have a case of Vivitar 283 units with enough trigger voltage to cook any contemporary digital camera. I carried them for many so years that I felt more like a beast of burden than a photographer.
I have always been in love with the realism of ambient light, but so often having to shoot low speed chrome films for publication, multi-flash was required. Now I am shooting for my own gratification for the first time since I was a kid, and if you looked at my site, you will see that most of my stuff is done without flash.
I do on occasion use the built-in flash for contrast control or for effect, but never for the prime light source. I tested a multi-flash setup, using the built-in flash as a trigger for slave units, but beyond the single test, It did work fine and delivered exactly what I had visualized. I have done nothing with them on an actual shoot, and probably won't.
I have no plans for adding a dedicated Nikon flash any time in the future. I love my ambient light shots. Hopefully someone else will jump in with your solution.
You may be able to find some information on Thom Hogan's site. He is very knowledgeable about Nikon flash and his site is a treasury of information.
http://www.bythom.com/
larry!
ICQ 76620504
http://www.larry-bolch.com/