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hi all just wondered how people manage with dull conditions, i live in the uk and its dull here and most of the time im shooting at iso 1600 and higher to get the shutter speeds, i see alot of people using flashes, is there any recomended kit that would help me(d300 + sigma 150-500mm apo dg hsm )
thanks for your time.
f4 lenses and a D700 or D3 with do the trick just fine! :)
i live in Newfoundland, Canada. we get the same deal in the winter months. our sun is ultra low in the sky and does not seem to come out for months on end.
last year i made a leap from a D300 with 300mmf4 nikkor with 1.7X converter (f6.7 max aperture) to a 500mmVR and D700. i have no hesitation to shoot the D700 at ISO 3200 even then and i still find the results as good as the D300's ISO 1200 or so. not only is the noise level lower that the D300, and the detail level higher but there is more dynamic range and better color at the high iso. people say there is a stop difference in noise. but there is much more than noise qualities that make that larger sensor so good. the files are fantastic!
i shot this at iso 2500 and would not hesitate to print at 16X20. :)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2545/...65303df3_o.jpg
sorry your answer has such a price tag attached! the full frame body alone would be a massive help, you just would have to work a little harder to get a little closer.
ps...i do have and use flash with better beamer, but i don't think that is the answer to your question.
cheers scott would love a d700 or d3 or even a 500mm f4, but will have to win the lotto first or save lots,
your shot looks amazing with lots of detail.
For me the key in such situations. Also the image above would be some tad of fill flash. It doesn't solve the slow shutter speed, but will lighten the subject. i.e. in the image above, dark dark belly would go away and the colors would "pop". Again, a flash will only support the look of your image, it will not help you with the shutter speed unless you use it as main light.
I recently wrote an article on my Blog where you can see the advantages of fill flash.
The "problem" with your set up is the lens. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think its a F6.3 @ 500mm. In dark situations that imposes a big Problem. When it's dark I try to shoot wide open. (F4-F5) That will give you better shutter speeds. With F6.3, which possibly even needs to be stopped down to get better sharpness and a body that doesn't take really high ISOs it's hard.
The only thing that could improve the situation would be a lens with a greater aperture.
One more questions. What subjects do you want to shoot and what shutter speed do you want to attain. I get pretty decent results up from 1/125. At these low or even lower ss, the bird's movement becomes the biggest factor of unsharp images.
sorry, can some one remove the picture again please, sorry once again.
Just like Scott of New Foundland, I'll grab the D700 in dull weather days (we already have 22 days of rain this month and still counting). Cameras with good high ISO performance simply allow you shoot longer :) If you're not a bird-only photog, then shoot flower, leaves, etc., macro/close-ups or landscapes. Those are good subjects for dull weather or even rainy days, too, and they don't need fast shutter speeds to get the job done.
scott. In the case of the very dark tern a flash would have improved the image a lot. Especially the eye would have been visible.
Hi Scott
Yes the Uk weather can be a bit grim at times, especially the last few weeks. However, there are always brief moments of sunshine that you can take advantage of as long as you have your camera with you. I try to keep mine close to hand which means, for example, it comes to work with me. If the sun appears in my lunch hour or going to and from work then I can a have a short session.
A good resource to help in the planning is the cloud map on BBC Weather which is usually fairly accurate. I don't ever find the need to use flash or often go above ISO 800 although I am using an F4 lens.
The otherside of course to poor weather is it can also create some interesting and atmospheric photos!
Cheers
Rich
