Beginners Daft Questions
Discussion
Hi Guys
I've bought a Nikon D40x and I have NO idea how to use it! What I want to do is take some photos of cars at night in street lighting without a tripod. I have a tripod and can do long exposure shots already but need to take some on the move so to speak. I need to know what settings I need to use and how to programme that in. (M,A,S or P). I have bought a handbook but I don't speak the language, still learning.
Apologies for probably the dumbest question on PH this year!!
Thanks in advance.
I've bought a Nikon D40x and I have NO idea how to use it! What I want to do is take some photos of cars at night in street lighting without a tripod. I have a tripod and can do long exposure shots already but need to take some on the move so to speak. I need to know what settings I need to use and how to programme that in. (M,A,S or P). I have bought a handbook but I don't speak the language, still learning.
Apologies for probably the dumbest question on PH this year!!
Thanks in advance.
Well iv got a D40x aswell, great camera, nearly had mine a year so im no expert but il give this one a shot. You want to be on manual 'M' to get the best out of it. You want to balance between longer shutter speeds and the ISO. A higher ISO will allow you to take faster shutter speeds (so it wont be blurry) but still be a bright picture. Downside is that the picture will be 'grainy'.
So go on manual mode. Press the + button and find ISO. Try going up to like 1600 then playing with the shutter speed (scrolling the wheel across) and see what you can do. Then once you've got it ballenced, see about dropping the ISO down a bit more as you dont want your pictures too grainy.
To be honest, you want to use a tripod as the D40x isnt great at night shots.
Hope that helps.
So go on manual mode. Press the + button and find ISO. Try going up to like 1600 then playing with the shutter speed (scrolling the wheel across) and see what you can do. Then once you've got it ballenced, see about dropping the ISO down a bit more as you dont want your pictures too grainy.
To be honest, you want to use a tripod as the D40x isnt great at night shots.
Hope that helps.
If you need a reasonably fast shutter speed to avoid blurring, you will get the fastest for the light available by setting your ISO as high as it will go, and shoot in A mode, with the aperture set to it's widest i.e. smallest number that your lens is capable of.
Downsides are that the wide aperture will give you a smaller depth of field, so your focussing needs to be spot on, and the high ISO may result in grainy shots.
Downsides are that the wide aperture will give you a smaller depth of field, so your focussing needs to be spot on, and the high ISO may result in grainy shots.
Can you be more specific on exactly what sort of thing you want to do? Shooting cars handheld at night with just the street lighting sounds like you've got something very, very clear in mind.
Bear in mind the rule of thumb that to avoid blurring, you need a shutter speed that correlates to the focal length of your lens, so for a 50mm lens, you're looking at a shutter speed of 1/50th of a sec or faster, whereas at 300mm, it's got to be 1/300th of a second or better. This being the case, whilst you might stand a chance of getting reasonable shots close up with a very wide angle lens, you're going to really struggle with any sort of length on the lens.
Is there a particular reason why you don't want to use a tripod?
Bear in mind the rule of thumb that to avoid blurring, you need a shutter speed that correlates to the focal length of your lens, so for a 50mm lens, you're looking at a shutter speed of 1/50th of a sec or faster, whereas at 300mm, it's got to be 1/300th of a second or better. This being the case, whilst you might stand a chance of getting reasonable shots close up with a very wide angle lens, you're going to really struggle with any sort of length on the lens.
Is there a particular reason why you don't want to use a tripod?
nick_bbb said:
andy-xr said:
nick_bbb said:
A 50mm 1.8 is a good buy for wide aperture.
Let me be the first to say manual focus only with the Nikkor 
It reviews pretty well on photozone.de
Cheers.
Edited by flat-planedCrank on Monday 2nd March 00:30
flat-planedCrank said:
nick_bbb said:
andy-xr said:
nick_bbb said:
A 50mm 1.8 is a good buy for wide aperture.
Let me be the first to say manual focus only with the Nikkor It reviews pretty well on photozone.de
To the OP, concider a monopod if you want mobility, but still a bit of extra stability when shooting in low light.
Edited by Ravell on Monday 2nd March 03:03
Thanks guys.
Yes I do have a specific reason for asking. I will be using a tripod for most of the shots but wanted to take some on the move too. I'll try a few out in the street, hopefully the neighbours won't call the cops!!
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I'm learning.....slowly!!
Yes I do have a specific reason for asking. I will be using a tripod for most of the shots but wanted to take some on the move too. I'll try a few out in the street, hopefully the neighbours won't call the cops!!
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I'm learning.....slowly!!
You want 1/focal length shutter speeds typicaly
Adjust for the crop factor and your ability to hold the camera steady (some technique helps!).
Also make sure the exposure is correct, at night your after a dark image typicaly and the meetering will likely dial the exposure up because its aiming for 18% grey, so if you go by what it says it'll end up too bright.
Adjust for the crop factor and your ability to hold the camera steady (some technique helps!).
Also make sure the exposure is correct, at night your after a dark image typicaly and the meetering will likely dial the exposure up because its aiming for 18% grey, so if you go by what it says it'll end up too bright.
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