A shot in the dark.

[Kayleigh]

Can any one give me any advice on how to take fungi shots in dark places I used the flash and it blurred the image and it was over exposed.
How do you get decent shots in the woods.
Some fungi I pick and take to a lighter location for filming others are stuck fast in logs and cant be moved without obliterating them..
I have a small tripod and thought about strapping a small torch on to this to give a little extra illumination..

Cheers Elaine.

[htcdude]

Can't say it's something I do too often, but I would either take a torch like you say, or whack the ISO up. It speeds up the shutter speed but might give you some 'noise' in the photo.

I'm sure others will take a more expert approach, but that's what I do

Nige

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by htcdude

Can't say it's something I do too often, but I would either take a torch like you say, or whack the ISO up. It speeds up the shutter speed but might give you some 'noise' in the photo.

I'm sure others will take a more expert approach, but that's what I do

Nige

I put the ISO on about 400 then play with the settings till the shutter is fast I tend to use TV and AV on the Canon then take a few test shots but the last lot came out blurred and some were really dark..

[htcdude]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

I put the ISO on about 400 then play with the settings till the shutter is fast I tend to use TV and AV on the Canon then take a few test shots but the last lot came out blurred and some were really dark..

OK, what I normally do (just so you know I'm very amateur so this might not work!!) what I normally do is chose the 'P' setting put the ISO on 800 or 1600, then adjust the exposure levels of light accordingly.

Nige

[Kayleigh]

Exhibit A



Exhibit B

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by htcdude

OK, what I normally do (just so you know I'm very amateur so this might not work!!) what I normally do is chose the 'P' setting put the ISO on 800 or 1600, then adjust the exposure levels of light accordingly.

Nige

I have never used the P setting, I will have a play around see what results I get on that.
I am still learning what does what and its easy in the garden but when out out and about I have trouble remembering all the settings and selecting the right ones it is not second nature yet.

[Geoff F]

It should be quite simple, Elaine.

Just use negative exposure compensation and experiment until the exposure becomes correct. Probably -2 or a little more.

This is what I do for all my insect shots.

Work on Manual settings and choose suitable settings to match the scene, ignoring the lack of light. For example 1/160, F11 to F14 (for plenty of depth) and ISO 200 (400 if necessary).

It should work with the camera pop up flash although an external larger, and more expensive, unit is best. You may need to remove the lens hood if it causes shadow problems.

With my Speedlite, I use ETTL setting so the flash unit automatically adjusts it's strength to suit the scene. But will adjust for the very darkest areas which is why you get over exposure without some reduction by way of flash compensation.

Some people like to also use one of the many forms of flash diffusion. But let's not worry about that for now.

I normally use this procedure for all my macro shots, even in sunlight.

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

Exhibit A



Exhibit B

There seems to be a problem with your flash settings. The EXIF data says that on both the photo's "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode".

Also, why are you using spot _metering_ (rather than spot focussing)? Spot metering can give unpredictable results (I don't think I've ever felt the need to use it).

Jim

[Lancashire Lad]

Hi Kayleigh,

I never use flash, and very regularly have exposure times in excess of 10 seconds.

All you need to do is set the camera on the tripod, making sure that it is on firm ground and that it won't move during multi-second exposures.

Then, set the camera on aperture priority.

You then determine the f-number (for general fungi shots I'd recommend something like f8 or f11, but f16 or more may be needed to get wide/deep fruitbodies fully in focus).

The camera itself then works out how many seconds exposure is needed.

Set the camera's built-in self timer to 2 seconds, (to delay the start of the exposure and prevent camera shake affecting the image when you press the button), and then press the shutter button.

If your camera/tripod are steady enough, it doesn't matter at all whether the exposure is 1 second or 30 seconds - and, assuming that your camera's metering system is accurate, you should get a properly exposed image.

Regards,
Mike.

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by Jim Ford

There seems to be a problem with your flash settings. The EXIF data says that on both the photo's "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode".

Also, why are you using spot _metering_ (rather than spot focussing)? Spot metering can give unpredictable results (I don't think I've ever felt the need to use it).

Jim

Not sure what the metering setting is supposed to be on, I didn't know there was a "spot focussing setting"..
The flash didn't fire because I didn't press the flash pop up button.
Can you select the flash mode, maybe its not set properly it never fires never has/does if the flash is not popped up manually.


Geoff, I am not sure where to find the negative exposure compensation.
I do play about with the manual settings but the darker it is the more it don;t seem to work.
I don't want to take lots of kit as I like to walk the dog as well as get some shots.
I will have a look at the setting on the camera.