High ISO and Fast Glass

oreo5000

oreo5000

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Hi Guys,
I have a D700, a 24-70 and a 70-200 both 2.8.
I have been asked to shoot an indoor event, just a simple business conference.
I have done this in the past using a D200 with a speedlight and a slower 18-200 vr.

Do you think its now necessary to even bother with a speedlight given the high iso capabilities of my camera and speed of my glass?
I have a couple of SB28's but im considering leaving them in my bag.

What do you think?

Cheers in advance
 
Personally, I'd put the 24-70 on, shoot at f/2.8 or f/4, use Auto ISO with a minimum shutter speed of 1/50 and practice my handholding technique or use a monopod.

(Actually, I'd use a 50mm f/1.4 at f/2. 50mm is an ideal focal length for my indoor people photography.)
 
Interesting times. There's a modern argument - kicked up about the same time as the D3/D700 sensor ability became clear - that fast maximum apertures aren't required for primes and zooms anymore, at least not with this sensor [as long as razor-thin DoF isn't essential for your work.]

Why stop down from f/8 to f/2.8 in low light, when you could just increase your ISO by those same three stops - and get similar final image quality without risking your depth of field?

Anyway, back on topic - take the flash; better to have and not need than need and not have!
 
Ooh yeah auto ISO. I don't have that so I forget that it exists, very handy feature.
 
Totally, I will of course take them with me, I just wondered if the general concensus was dont bother using them with this setup
 
Blapto said:
Personally, I'd put the 24-70 on, shoot at f/2.8 or f/4, use Auto ISO with a minimum shutter speed of 1/50 and practice my handholding technique or use a monopod.

(Actually, I'd use a 50mm f/1.4 at f/2. 50mm is an ideal focal length for my indoor people photography.)
Click to expand...
Thanks Blapto, I forgot to mention I do have a 50 1.4 also :) What would you let your Auto ISO reach max?
Do you think f/2 will be sufficient? obviously 1.4 is out of the question, especially if my subjects are moving around the place.
 
Depends how big you'd be printing but as a sharp shot is almost always better than a noisy shot, I'd favour a higher ISO and a faster shutter speed.

I've taken acceptable shots at 1/30 with a 35mm f/2 and f/2.8 at ISO 3200 on a D300. The D700 should give an extra stop or two, so ISO 6400 would be OK to print at 8x10. My success rate for printable shots was about 75%, (although only 25% were well composed, good background, etc.)

Do some indoor tests and see what you're happy with.
 
If it was me I'd put the camera in manual at shoot at about 1/125, f/4, ISO800 and a flash which is bounced of walls/ceilings etc. Recently I've been using a black version of the betterbounce card to direct the bounced light and to ensure there is no direct flash or light spill on the subject and it appears to be working well, the result is a good, evenly lit shot which is devoid of harsh shadows. The only downside is that it eats batteries!

This is the set-up, you can see the flash is directed to the wall/ceiling behind me...

058-Edit.jpg


And an example:

Service61.jpg
 
the trouble with auto iso is that if you dont keep your eye on it you may end up with the camera being maxed out on the iso front most of the time and ending up with some noisy images!! i know its a great sensor, but it has limits..

Btw, nice pic Colin!! (y)
 
Hacker said:
If it was me I'd put the camera in manual at shoot at about 1/125, f/4, ISO800 and a flash which is bounced of walls/ceilings etc. Recently I've been using a black version of the betterbounce card to direct the bounced light and to ensure there is no direct flash or light spill on the subject and it appears to be working well, the result is a good, evenly lit shot which is devoid of harsh shadows. The only downside is that it eats batteries!
Click to expand...

The only issue with that is that you need to meter for the background anyway, if the context is important. If the background is 4-5 stops darker than you're exposing for with your camera + flash there'll be a pretty big difference and you'll have nicely exposed faces and then nothing in the background, which often makes a party/event photo.

Bear in mind that a flash lets you get away with a slower shutter speed, so you can use the flash to expose the subject, and then shoot at 1/30 or 1/60 to exposure the background, if the background is (for example) two stops slower than you would acceptably like to shoot the subject at.
 
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