Newbie Question about F Stops and Apertures

I'm still trying to figure out what this means and how to set it. If I'm
shooting pix at night, with little background light, what do I do? Does the
camera have to be set on the manual setting or auto? Then what? Sorry, but
i'm totally confused. thank you

"Hoover" wrote in message
newsTBxf.114151$oG.16287@dukeread02...
I'm still trying to figure out what this means and how to set it. If I'm
shooting pix at night, with little background light, what do I do? Does
the camera have to be set on the manual setting or auto? Then what?
Sorry, but i'm totally confused. thank you


Some cameras can handle low light on auto mode, others are not so good.
Much depends on what you expect as a result also. Night photography is a
whole subject to spend months of discussion on. Do you want the photo to
look like it was dark and night, or, with enough exposure in bright
moonlight, you can get a soft photo that is as light on the print as
daylight. I've done that with a tripod and 60 to 180 second exposures on
ASA 100 film.

In most cases, you want the F stop (smaller numbers) to be as low as
practical, meaning the aperture (lens opening) to be as wide as possible.
This allows more light in, lets you use a faster shutter speed, but often
sacrifices sharpness of focus. Do a simple experiment and take a few photos
with different settings and look at the differences.

I would add that in many cases specular highlights like lights on streets,
Christmas tree decorations, fireworks are as bright as daylight. If that is
what you want to be exposed correctly then don't use the lower f-stop...use
one appropriate for daylight. For fireworks or moving cars where you want
streaks us a remote button and expose for a few seconds. Now that we have
digital and can check our work its a lot easier.

--
Thanks,
Gene Palmiter
(visit my photo gallery at http://palmiter.dotphoto.com)
freebridge design group

"Hoover" wrote in message
newsTBxf.114151$oG.16287@dukeread02...
I'm still trying to figure out what this means and how to set it. If I'm
shooting pix at night, with little background light, what do I do? Does
the camera have to be set on the manual setting or auto? Then what?
Sorry, but i'm totally confused. thank you

Hoover wrote:
I'm still trying to figure out what this means and how to set it. If
I'm shooting pix at night, with little background light, what do I
do?

There are many variables to consider, and there is no automatic answer.
Honestly, the thing to do is to go to the book store and buy a basic book on
photography.
Do you have a tripod?
What is your subject?
What is your distance to subject.
Is your subject moving?
Do you have an external flash, or are you relying on a built-in?

The most basic answer would be to set your camera on a tripod, and do a long
exposure (assuming you're shooting a still subject). If you're shooting
digital, yoru camera may well expose properly, given a sturdy tripod
(meaning camera shake isn't an issue).

But... There are so many other little considerations, that without a lot
more info from you, a thoughtful answer is pretty tough to give. Are you
taking a picture of a person at close range, with a dark background...or
with a lighted, distant building, or what?

Again... A basic book on photography will get you going on this sort of
thing, and will explain the "whys" and "why nots."

Gene Palmiter

For fireworks or moving cars where you want streaks us a remote button
and expose for a few seconds.

Gene how do I go about doing that? What settings would you use to get
the streaks?

@Hoover: Sorry not trying too hi-jack thread just lookin for info. Ok?

Hoover wrote:
I'm still trying to figure out what this means and how to set it.

Think of them this way...

The aperture is analogous to the iris (hole) in your eyeballs.

The shutter is analogous to your eyelids.

The bigger the hole, the more light can enter during the period your
eyelids - or shutter - are open.

The two working together have many combinations that can let the same
amount of light in...big hole & fast blink (shutter)... smaller hole,
slower blink...etc.

How much light you want to let in depends on how much light there is on
the scene.

Which combination you choose depends on whether you want to stop motion
(fast shutter) or have lots of depth of field (small aperture). Small
apertures have larger numbers than big ones.


--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

On 13 Jan 2006 03:57:04 -0800, "Jaqian" wrote:

Gene Palmiter

For fireworks or moving cars where you want streaks us a remote button
and expose for a few seconds.

Gene how do I go about doing that? What settings would you use to get
the streaks?

@Hoover: Sorry not trying too hi-jack thread just lookin for info. Ok?

If your camera will let you, set the shutter speed to a relatively
high figure, like 1/4 or 1/2 second. Try a few shots, see if this is
what you want. Adjust to a shorter or longer shutter speed as needed.
The key is to just experiment; see what it takes to get what you want.

The need to ask the question says you don't understand what the
inter-relationships of shutter speed, ISO, and aperture are. A basic
photography book or class would probably be a great help here.

--
Bill Funk
Replace "g" with "a"
funktionality.blogspot.com

Bill Funk wrote:
On 13 Jan 2006 03:57:04 -0800, "Jaqian" wrote:

Gene Palmiter

For fireworks or moving cars where you want streaks us a remote button
and expose for a few seconds.

Gene how do I go about doing that? What settings would you use to get
the streaks?

@Hoover: Sorry not trying too hi-jack thread just lookin for info. Ok?


If your camera will let you, set the shutter speed to a relatively
high figure, like 1/4 or 1/2 second. Try a few shots, see if this is
what you want. Adjust to a shorter or longer shutter speed as needed.
The key is to just experiment; see what it takes to get what you want.

The need to ask the question says you don't understand what the
inter-relationships of shutter speed, ISO, and aperture are. A basic
photography book or class would probably be a great help here.

I suggest the book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. It's
clear and logically laid out.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0817463003/

Sorry, guess my question was confusing - I'm such a newbie that I don't even
know how to set the f-stops. Does the camera have to be set on manual?

"Gene Palmiter" wrote in message
news:vXDxf.3220$ID1.2357@trndny01...
I would add that in many cases specular highlights like lights on streets,
Christmas tree decorations, fireworks are as bright as daylight. If that is
what you want to be exposed correctly then don't use the lower f-stop...use
one appropriate for daylight. For fireworks or moving cars where you want
streaks us a remote button and expose for a few seconds. Now that we have
digital and can check our work its a lot easier.

--
Thanks,
Gene Palmiter
(visit my photo gallery at http://palmiter.dotphoto.com)
freebridge design group

"Hoover" wrote in message
newsTBxf.114151$oG.16287@dukeread02...
I'm still trying to figure out what this means and how to set it. If I'm
shooting pix at night, with little background light, what do I do? Does
the camera have to be set on the manual setting or auto? Then what?
Sorry, but i'm totally confused. thank you

"Hoover" wrote in message
news:GqWxf.114241$oG.112084@dukeread02...
Sorry, guess my question was confusing - I'm such a newbie that I don't
even know how to set the f-stops. Does the camera have to be set on
manual?
Manual or Aperature Priority.
Jim

"Gene Palmiter" wrote in message
news:vXDxf.3220$ID1.2357@trndny01...
I would add that in many cases specular highlights like lights on streets,
Christmas tree decorations, fireworks are as bright as daylight. If that
is what you want to be exposed correctly then don't use the lower
f-stop...use one appropriate for daylight. For fireworks or moving cars
where you want streaks us a remote button and expose for a few seconds.
Now that we have digital and can check our work its a lot easier.

--
Thanks,
Gene Palmiter
(visit my photo gallery at http://palmiter.dotphoto.com)
freebridge design group

"Hoover" wrote in message
newsTBxf.114151$oG.16287@dukeread02...
I'm still trying to figure out what this means and how to set it. If
I'm shooting pix at night, with little background light, what do I do?
Does the camera have to be set on the manual setting or auto? Then
what? Sorry, but i'm totally confused. thank you