YISkyDive 0 #1 January 31, 2006 Hey guys- I just got my rebel300D and had some fun at the DZ shoting landings. I have only the kit lens and will only atleast till I make back all my toys this season. Well at the DZ @ 55mm setting I was getting Great detail on the canopy but horrible quality on the person. jumpsuit, tandem pass. and tandem I blured together and overall I wouldnt like the shot that much. Now after some review- the camera had an ISO set at 800 which on a sunny day is plain nonsense. But, I was shoting in sports mode- which I thought set everything automatically, even ISO. I could be wrong. I have a lot to learn about this camera. I saw a lot of threads on landing shots in reference too lenses but none in reference to settings. Thank you for your help- I have a lot to learn about this camera. Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
indyz 1 #2 January 31, 2006 The further you zoom in, the narrower your depth of field. In order to make up for that, you need to get the aperature narrower (bigger f-stop number). Now you are letting less light through the lens, so you need to go to a slower shutter speed, faster "film", or both. The trick is to balance zoom, aperature, shutter speed, and film speed in order to get enough depth of field while minimizing motion blur and graininess. Personally, I would back off the zoom a bit, go manual focus, and try one of the mostly-manual modes (Tv or Av), P, or full manual. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Faber 0 #3 January 31, 2006 on a sunny day try set your ISO at 100 go to TV mode and ask for 1/320-1/500sec as shutter speed It will on auto give the best F point you can get.. Try play whith TV and AV mode genneral. faster shutterspeed= lower F#=things can blur higher F#(like f16) gives shorter shutter speed but greater debth of feild You need to find the ballance.. On action/sports shots rather ask for fast shutter speed. Also bear in mínd that moving the cam whith the object will focus the object and blur up the background(like speed) Keping the cam at the same point as they fly by and get them there will give shap bagground but put speed/blur on the moving object.. As said play whith it,its great fun Stay safe Stefan Faber Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndyMan 7 #4 February 1, 2006 The trick to getting everything in focus is a concept called "Depth of field". "Depth of field" refers to the size of the area that will be in focus for a given focus setting. If you have a large depth of field, you'll have a wide range of bits in focus. If you have a short depth of field, you'll have a short range of bits in focus. Depth of Field is primarily affected by two things: 1) The Lens, and 2) The F-stop of your aperature. 1) Telephoto lenses, and zoom lenses at their telephoto settings tend to have Shorter depths of Field, and wide angle lenses tend to have longer depths of field. That means that shooting with a wide angle lens it's easier to get everything in focus than with a telelphoto lens. 2) You'll notice that a small aperature on your camera corresponds with a large F-stop settings. A large F-stop (small aperature) setting corresponds with a large depth of field. A small F-stop (large aperature) setting corresponds with a small depth of field. Yes, it's confusing. So go get more in focus, you need a larger depth of field, which means you need to make sure your camera is shooting with a large 'F stop. Shooting with a large f-stop means there's a small aperature, so not much light is getting in. Not much light means the camera needs a longer exposure to compensate. Sports mode, on the other hand tells the camera "give me the fastest shutter speed possible for the given conditions". The camera picks a fast shutter speed, which means it'll also pick a larger aperature, which corresponds with a smaller F-stop, which means a smaller depth of field... which ultimate means you get either the pilot, OR the canopy in focus... but not both. Depth of field is a dificult concept to understand... but if you can figure it out you'll be a much better photographer. There are a few websites online that give very good primers... Start here: http://www.google.com/search?q=depth+of+field The key problem here is that you used sportsmode - which is good for freezing fast moving objects, but limits your depth of field. The recomendation is to avoid sports mode, and learn about how your camera works by playing with TV and AV modes. _Am__ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YISkyDive 0 #5 February 2, 2006 How- AndyMan, I can't thank you enough. That helped a lot. I was soo confused on depth of field, f-stop, and the like but though I understand 1/100th of what I should I am far enough now to be able to get more research on. This may be silly- but I guess with this analysis using sports mode for freefall photography is also not the ideal choice with the stock lens. I was planning on using sports mode- but I'll look at the semi and fully manual modes of the camera to get the shots. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndyMan 7 #6 February 2, 2006 Quote This may be silly- but I guess with this analysis using sports mode for freefall photography is also not the ideal choice with the stock lens. Well, sort of. It's not the choice of lens that was causing the problem - just that you were shooting at the telephoto end of it. Zoom out to the wide angle end of it, and you'd get better depth of field. I know of a lot of people who shoot perfectly good freefall shots with the stock lens. It's not ideal, but it works pretty well. Likewise, I know a lot of people who shoot perfectly good freefall shots on full-auto with sports-mode. It's not idea, but sometimes it works pretty well. The factors came to a head when you zoomed out your lens for canopy shots, which tightened the depth of field. I shot this picture with the stock lens - but certainly not on sports mode. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=45507;t=search_engine I put the camera into "AV" mode, which allows me to set the f-stop and it will auto-select a shutter speed. I set a small aperature which gave me a large depth of field, so everything is in focus. Since I had a small aperature, the camera compensated by having a slow shutterspeed - which gives the motion blur. I handled the motion blur by tracking the canopy, so the blur would show up on the ground - not the pilot. I like how the effect gives a real sense of speed. _Am__ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YISkyDive 0 #7 February 2, 2006 My stock lens actually took a shit on me today. So thats a wonderful experince in under a week with this camera . I bought it second hand so now I guess I need a new lens. I've seen a ton of threads about lenses but I keep getting really confused- AndyMan what would you suggest as a replacement lens for free fall? Is there a decent lens that could do freefall and ground shots for landing and not break my neck? Im pretty depressed right now. What cha gonna do. Dave. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndyMan 7 #8 February 3, 2006 Many people shoot the Sigma 15mm in freefall. It's pretty wide, so you need to fly close. It's got a very long depth of field, so it's easy to get everything infocus. [url]http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=47779;[/ur] Most people use a different lens for landings. I use the stock lens off of my film Rebel - a 24 - 85 zoom. It's incredibly innexpensive, and by no means is a great lens. . It's probably comparable to the one you were using. It works for me. Depending on the pilot, I may try to get really close with a 28. _Am__ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
