Kit Lenses

[OzzyDevil]

I have a D5200 that came with 2 kit lenses AF-S DX 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G VR Lens and aAF-S DX 55 - 300mm f4.5-5.6G ED VR Lens I know there not to bad.. My daughter had a 21th and I used the 55-300mm alot at her party and alot of my pics came out blurry I used auto white balance around F8 and an ISO of around 800..

Should I get at least s better lens or should I keep trying with these lenes ?

Paul

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[ricktas]

Post some of the photos, with the EXIF data intact and we can see from that what the issues are and help you improve your photography. Sounds to me more like photographer issue rather than lens issue. Kit Lenses can perform admirably.

[OzzyDevil]

This was in
A mode
F8
ISO 800
78mm
WB was auto

I know it was a bit blurry and the bit I don't understand is she was abit green too.. Sorry about the crappy pic
Paul

Could my Camera settings be wrong maybe ?

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[ricktas]

The green is probably caused my mixed lighting that the Auto WB could not resolve. Fluorescent tubes cast a green light (our eyes adjust to it and auto-wb it, so to speak) but when we used film you had to get specific film to counter fluoro light. My guess re that is a mix of light, and the autoWB just had no idea how to get it right.

The issue here is motion blur, so a faster shutter speed would be needed. However shutter speed is the one setting you have not listed. The result looks quite clean here (not much noise) so you could likely have increased your ISO up further, also f8 is closing the aperture down more than needed for this sort of photography, I would suggest using a bigger aperture (smaller number).

So all up, increase the ISO more, use a bigger aperture and a faster shutter speed.

[OzzyDevil]

The lights were down lights spaced out.. I should have made the iso go up alittle more and maybe used a more SDF.. What should I have used in WB ?

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[MissionMan]

Issue isn't your lenses although a better lens would help because you could use a larger aperture. I.e. f/2.8 or f/1.4

Realistically, as mentioned above, a higher ISO would have helped, or potentially an external flash to allow you to use a higher shutter speed. F8 is also not ideal for low light. I'd rather go with f/3.5 and use a higher shutter speed.

For these kinds of situations, you have a couple of choices:

1. Ask your subjects to stand still when you're taking a picture of them
2. Use a flash to allow you to use a faster shutter speed
3. Push your ISO up and use a larger aperture so you can up your shutter speed.. I.e. f8 may be difficult for lower light.

[Cage]

I agree that the blur is most likely caused by a too low shutter speed, and possibly also contributed to by how you hold your camera.

If you move your left elbow across, and press it against your body with your palm up, you can then use your hand as a support for the camera.

What Post Processing program do you have? The free download of Nikon View NX 2 gives you all the basic tools to get you started in PP, including White Balance adjustment.

And practice, practice and more practice.

[kevin301]

(IMAGE)


This was in
A mode
F8
ISO 800
78mm
WB was auto

I know it was a bit blurry and the bit I don't understand is she was abit green too.. Sorry about the crappy pic
Paul

Could my Camera settings be wrong maybe ?

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Looks like a result of too slow a shutter speed and not holding the camera steadily enough
I would recommend using as large an aperture value as possible, and you might even need a burst of external flash in order to use a faster shutter speed.

[OzzyDevil]

I agree with all you guys and thx heaps.. I am getting a speed light in a few months time so I hope that will help..

i tried something last night and here are 2 pics with my lens wide open..



A mode
SP 1/4
F/4.5
ISO 1600
55mm

I was just wondering if its meant to be that bright but its better than what I have been taking



This was something I was just practising with too..

A mode
SP 1/20
F/5.6
ISO 3200
210mm

Both pics were in Tungsten..

What can I do to improve here

Paul

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[OzzyDevil]

Looks like a result of too slow a shutter speed and not holding the camera steadily enough
I would recommend using as large an aperture value as possible, and you might even need a burst of external flash in order to use a faster shutter speed.

I agree with all you guys and thx heaps.. I am getting a speed light in a few months time so I hope that will help..

i tried something last night and here are 2 pics with my lens wide open..



A mode
SP 1/4
F/4.5
ISO 1600
55mm

I was just wondering if its meant to be that bright but its better than what I have been taking



This was something I was just practising with too.. And why is it so blue ?

A mode
SP 1/20
F/5.6
ISO 3200
210mm

Both pics were in Tungsten..

What can I do to improve here

Paul

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[paulheath]

ok i can see your going to get a little frustrated with having to battle with all these settings etc.. so i want you to just try this, set your iso to auto, leave WB on auto open your aperture to its largest ( i think you mentioned f5.6?) and put your camera in aperture priority (A) this will or should make your camera pick the best shutter speed for the correct exposure, now a rule to follow ( but not set in stone) is your shutter speed should be at least your focal length ie : 200mm focal length = at least 1/200 looking at your blue boy you had 210mm at 1/20 which is gonna be a struggle to get a nice sharp pic, so if you check your shutter speed when the camera has worked it all out and its below the focal length...then increase the iso. let me know how things turn out and we can go from there. any questions feel free to message me

[OzzyDevil]

Ok this is what you asked for..
A Mode
SB 1/160
F 4.8
ISO Hi 0.7
100mm

Then my Battery died

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[kevin301]

Ok this is what you asked for..
A Mode
SB 1/160
F 4.8
ISO Hi 0.7
100mm

Then my Battery died

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sharpness looks decent.
White Balance is also more accurate.
the fact that you used "hi 0.7" suggests to me that it was pretty dark indoors. One good way to get sharp photos indoors, especially with non-moving objects, is to use low ISO, slow shutter speed, and mount the camera on a sturdy tripod.


oh yes, and make sure to charge your battery!!

[ricktas]

I reckon once you get your head around the shutter speed/iso/aperture triangle and how they all interact to get a good exposure and shot, the next thing to look at is learning how to read a histogram (see your camera manual). Set your back LCD up so that the histogram shows, then when you take a shot, you can review the photo and the histogram on the LCD and make adjustments based on what the histogram tells you. That should get you well on the path to perfectly exposed photos. Then the task is for you as a photographer to start working on compositions, and taking better photos.

For info on the histogram and how to read it, look here

Get the basics of good exposures, and how to get them, learned and understood, and then you have a lot of the technical of using a camera out of the way, and then you can start the creativity.

[OzzyDevil]

Thx guys.. I have played around the house with it at night all the lights are on too.. I have to have the iso right up to at least 1/120 and above to get a good pic.. Through the day it isn't a problem..

Paul

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[kevin301]

Thx guys.. I have played around the house with it at night all the lights are on too.. I have to have the iso right up to at least 1/120 and above to get a good pic.. Through the day it isn't a problem..

Paul

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The ISO would just be a number, and not a fraction. I suspect you're referring to the "shutter speed"
From your last shot, your ISO was set to "Hi 0.7", which I suspect is ISO 6400 or something even higher.

I would consider that 'dangerous' territory because you would introduce A LOT of noise.

As I mentioned in my previous post, if you are shooting non-moving objects, you can consider using:
Low ISO (100-200)
Reasonably small aperture (e.g. f/8)
Appropriate shutter speed to get good exposure
Camera mounted on sturdy tripod


here's an example photo I took in my mate's new apartment

set to ISO 200, f/13, 2sec shutter speed

[WhoDo]

One more point - for hand held images it is usually better to select a shutter speed of 1/focal length. So, for 210mm your shutter speed should be 1/210 or faster. That helps to cut down on camera shake caused by unsteady hands. Believe me, I know because my arthritic hands make it difficult for me to hold a camera steady for any length of time. Keep at it.

BTW, if you check my signature below this message then you'll see I have those exact same lenses. Nothing wrong with them. Don't spend more money chasing better images until you can confidently use the ones you've got and have an idea what direction you want your photography to take. Hope that helps.

[Cage]

There is a basic rule applying to the ISO/Shutter Speed/Aperture equation that was around long before the digital age but still applies, as digital cameras largely mimic the old film cameras in the way they go about their business.

It's called the 'Sunny 16 Rule'. Google it for a multitude of explanations and handy charts.

The rule states "On a sunny day set aperture to f/16 and shutter speed to the [reciprocal of the] ISO film speed [or ISO setting] for a subject in direct sunlight."

Basically what that means is that if you are shooting in sunlight your 'f' stop is f16 if using ISO100 and 1/100s shutter speed. This is the starting point for all your settings! Now if you change one of these settings you must adjust one or more of the others.

Understand that each standard incremental adjustment of your camera doubles the previous setting. The basic ISO steps are ISO100, ISO200, ISO400, ISO800 and so on and the same scale applies to your shutter speeds ie 1/100s, i/200s, 1/400s etc. Most modern cameras now have 1/2 stops but at this stage it is probably best to stick with 'full' stops to avoid confusion because that will kick in when you look at 'f' stops.

So to summarise ISO200 will accept 1/2 as much light as ISO100 to show the same result, ie it is more sensitive and able to better 'gather' available light.
The shutter speed determines how long that available light is allowed to affect the sensor, so 1/200s will allow 1/2 as much time as 1/100s and so on.

Where I found the most confusion was with 'f' stops because as the 'f' number gets higher, the size of the aperture gets smaller. I think a pic of apertures and associated 'f' numbers may help at this point.

f stop diagram.jpg


As you can see from the chart, as the 'f' number increases the size of the aperture decreases, and consequently so does it's ability to gather light.

OK, lets look at a couple of different scenarios. In the first one we'll assume it's a nice sunny day in the park and you want to take a shot of that interesting statue. You position yourself so the sun is behind you and the statue is well lit, so selecting ISO100, f16 and 1/100s you shoot. When you look at your monitor you realise that the statue has a light pole seemingly growing out of it's head. Whoops, never even saw that. OK, we'll move a bit and take another shot. As you're moving, Murphy's Law kicks in and a pesky cloud moves in front of the sun and the statue in now shaded. You will have to redo your settings.

You will have to adjust one of the three variables. Shutter speed? At 1/50s you may be getting into the zone of camera movement and blur if you are shooting hand-held. And a good rule of thumb to remember is that when shooting hand-held your shutter speed should be greater than the length of the lens, ie if you are using a 300mm lens your shutter speed should be 1/300s or the next speed up.

The other two are the better options. Increase the ISO to ISO200, or open your shutter to the next largest stop, f11. Both will have the same effect on the light gathered. If you check your previous shot on your monitor and see that all of the subject is in good focus, changing the ISO is probably the better way to go, as aperture settings, as well as controlling the amount of light that gets to the sensor, also determine the Depth of Field, the part of the shot that is in sharp focus.

So photography really is all about the light and how you use it. If you can remember the basic equation, and adjust your settings according to the conditions, you are well on your way. Back in the film days a light meter was a very handy tool to determine light intensity. Your DSLR has one built in. Go onto 'A' for Automatic mode with your ISO on 'Auto' and take the shot. When you check the settings the camera used for the shot it will give you a very good guide to the prevailing conditions.

The photographic journey can be frustrating, and even a little daunting at times, but when you look at a shot you have 'nailed', it will all seem worthwhile.

[arthurking83]

I'm going to go slightly against the grain here and suggest that you don't need to follow the 1/focal length rule and hence require high ISO than absolutely necessary.
Both your lenses are VR and as long as VR is enabled, shutter speeds slightly less than 1/focal length can still yield good results. Practice and patience may be required tho!

Many Nikon cameras have an Auto ISO feature that allows you to set an auto minimum shutter speed. D5200 has this feature too.
So, when set up, what this does is that the slowest shutter speed that the camera will allow before ISO is boosted higher, is based on the focal length of the lens.
The is extremely handy if you use a zoom lens.

So look in the Auto ISO menu, and look for the 'minimum shutter speed' setting.
The other options are specific shutter speed values like 1/2000s - 1s, which you don't want.
Setting the Auto shutter speed setting, will also give you a tweaking option of faster and slower, which I'll describe a bit later.

So what the auto shutter speed option does for you is that it will select the lowest ISO setting based on the parameter that the shutter speed is 1/focal length.
What this means is that if you have your 55-300 mounted and this setting enabled, if you've zoomed out to 55mm with the lens, then the shutter speed that auto ISO tries to maintain is about 1/50s-1/60s because you have selected 55mm as the focal length.
If you zoom your lens to 300mm tho, the auto ISO feature will now try to maintain 1/320s as the minimum shutter speed.

But because your lenses are VR types, you can also set the auto shutter speed setting to 'slower' if you like which takes into account the point that VR will assist in maintaining image sharpness as well.
The slower/faster setup has four different settings, two in the slower direction and two in the faster direction. Each of those steps is equivalent to about 1stop.
The idea of all this is to try to keep all parameters to their minimums so it increases the probability of higher IQ in the image.

So as an example of how it all works:
If you set auto iso to auto shutter speed 'slower' by one step. You have the 55-300mm lens mounted and set to 300mm.
When the lens is zoomed to 300mm, auto iso will try to maintain a shutter speed of 1/160s instead of 1/320s which subsequently keeps iso down to a lower value as well.
Assuming that you can get a sharp image on the D5200 at 300mm and 1/160s, this is probably the best way to set the camera up to start with.
If you set the focal length to 55mm now, the minimum shutter speed that the camera will try to maintain will be more like 1/20s-1/25s .. not 1/50s-1/60s as before. Once again the slower shutter speed allows for a lower ISO value.

It may take a bit of testing and tweaking to get it right for your purpose.


NOTE tho, that while this setup can work well(it does for me, and is how I have my D800 setup) you also need to take note of what settings work and what won't work, in some situations.
When doing shots of people at a party, it's almost certain that a shutter speed slower than 1/60s won't get you sharp images. Not because of your movement, but because of the subject movement.
So you need to be aware of this if you try to use these settings where a minimum hard value for shutter speed is required. Otherwise just set the camera to Manual mode and shutter speed to whatever you require.

Also I noted your comment that you need 1/120s to get a good pic. Something doesn't sound right with that.
Make sure that you have VR set to ON on the lens too.
With a semi OK technique, you should be able to use 4/focal length shutter speed(that is 1/4 of 1/focal length) and still get a good image.
So at 300mm you should be able to get away with 1/80s.

[OzzyDevil]

Thx guys for all your advice I will put it into practice

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