~DSLR Camera Settings Advice~

[NJGuy3]

So, I thought this would be the place to come to for some advice from the pro's!...

I'm headed to WDW this Feb. This will be my first time back with my new Canon T1i. I've always had a point & shoot camera and considering that I always come back with 800-1000 pics during every trip, I decided it was time for an upgrade to a DSLR! I received the book 'Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition by Bryan Peterson' and have been reading that lately while getting familiar with my camera.

I'm aware that the camera has some preset modes which will work, but I also know that I can further tweak my photos by using the 'manual mode', which brings me to my question...

Could someone possibly recommend a good setting(s) for taking photos of each of the following:
Main Street Electrical Parade
Wishes
Illuminations
Park Icons (Cinderella Castle, Spaceship Earth, Sorcerer's Hat) at night
General night shots

I'm also heading on the new Disney Dream cruise ship for 4 nights prior to the 3 nights at WDW. If there are any particular camera settings while onboard, I'd appreciate that too.

I figured this was the ideal place to ask for some advice. I would greatly appreciate it...thanks in advance!

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

So, I thought this would be the place to come to for some advice from the pro's!...

I'm headed to WDW this Feb. This will be my first time back with my new Canon T1i. I've always had a point & shoot camera and considering that I always come back with 800-1000 pics during every trip, I decided it was time for an upgrade to a DSLR! I received the book 'Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition by Bryan Peterson' and have been reading that lately while getting familiar with my camera.

I'm aware that the camera has some preset modes which will work, but I also know that I can further tweak my photos by using the 'manual mode', which brings me to my question...

Could someone possibly recommend a good setting(s) for taking photos of each of the following:
Main Street Electrical Parade
Wishes
Illuminations
Park Icons (Cinderella Castle, Spaceship Earth, Sorcerer's Hat) at night
General night shots

I'm also heading on the new Disney Dream cruise ship for 4 nights prior to the 3 nights at WDW. If there are any particular camera settings while onboard, I'd appreciate that too.

I figured this was the ideal place to ask for some advice. I would greatly appreciate it...thanks in advance!

In looking at your list, it appears you will need a tripod. The best and sharpest night pictures you have seen are usually taken that way. With the fireworks, there is a good thread here to explain all this, I usually use f8-f11, my lowest ISO (which is 100) and the bulb mode with a wireless remote. Without using a neutral density filter, my shutter speed can be anywhere from 2-8 seconds. For my icon shots, again I adjust my aperture for the depth of field I'm trying to obtain. The larger the opening (small number 2.8, 3.5 etc) the shorter the depth of field and vice versa. Most of the time I, again, I use my lowest ISO, bulb mode with remote and tripod. I adjust my shutter speed as I go. Because of motion, the parades are a little different. You will need a fast lens (in conjunction with higher ISO) to get the faster shutter speed to reduce blurring. I have shot the parades both handheld and with a tripod. Because I don't have one of the newer higher usable ISO cameras, my success isn't what I would like with my f2.8 lenses. I have seen some very good images using lenses like the Sigma 30 f1.4. I have never taken cruise, so other than the basic rules that apply to all photography, I can't help.

 

[SrisonS]

You might be able to get away with just a standard lens on the cruise. I know that on the Disney Magic, the indoor lighting was pretty decent. I only had a Canon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 with me, and never felt the need to really push ISO or anything like that. In fact, I've been posting some cruise shots recently on Flickr, if you want to check out the pics and the associated EXIF data.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

It would be hard to offer settings for many of these as they will depend upon a lot of things.

My suggestion would be to learn to use the histogram and exposure compensation functions/bars on your camera which will help guide you to proper exposures for any given shot.

As GiannasPapa suggests, a tripod will yield your nicest night and low light scene type shots. Low light shots with movement require more. (See Mark Barbieri's article in Sticky above Why Your Shots Are Blurry.)

Many of your indoor cruise shots will be low light with movement. Dinners, shows, hallways, rooms, even moon shots, etc. You will need to keep the camera as still as possible, yet it won't be practical to always carry a tripod around or set one up, etc. There are some tricks to use in this situation: a "fast" lens (ie large aperture), holding as still as possible yourself or setting the camera down on a hard surface, and trying to shoot when your subjects are as still as possible, to name just a few. Try to practice before you go.

When and if you become completely overwhelmed and befuddled by repeatedly changing settings and your head is about to explode remember you always have your "preset" buttons, the automatic modes that will yield you some basic, preset settings to get the types of shots you want, such as landscape, night portrait, fireworks, etc. There's really no shame in using them, especially as a novice. Trying them might even give you some "hints" as to what settings to try yourself using the manual or semi-auto modes.

Good luck. Remember to have fun and hope we get to see some of your shots and maybe a little novice trip report!

 

[mom2rtk]

My word of advice is this..... if you're not USED to tweaking the settings.... just be sure to check your settings EVERY time you enter a new situation. Or once you tweak it and get your shots....... turn it back to Program or Auto until you're ready to tweak it again. It's all to easy to forget you cranked the ISO up when you were on the Haunted Mansion, then head for the castle and ruin a series of shots. Not that I've ever done this......

There are a series of threads bookmarked here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2603154


Here are a few things just off the top:

Night parades require a high ISO so you can achieve a decent shutter speed and avoid blur (unless that's what you're after).

Still night shots look best with a very low ISO and a tripod with a long shutter speed.

Fireworks require a long shutter speed and are very hard to do without a tripod and shutter release (or at least delayed timer) to avoid camera shake.

 

[boBQuincy]

***One thing I would recommend is not using Manual mode unless there is a very good reason for it (such as the rare occasion when Av or Tv will not give the desired results). One of the other modes can give almost any valid setting required while still providing some amount of auto exposure. Fireworks are my main exception to this plan (where there is a very good reason to use Manual) since the metering can be thrown off by the dark sky vs the fireworks.

Here are some settings I have used for some of your subjects:

Wishes - 2-3 seconds, f/16, ISO 100 (requires tripod)
OR 1/15 second, f/5.6, ISO 400 (bursts but no trails, handheld or monopod)
Illuminations - same as Wishes
Icons
the castle changes brightness often, I use Program mode to set exposure
For the Ice Castle I used 1/45 @ f/4.5, ISO 800, ExpComp -1
SSE - try 1/15 @ f/4.5 ISO 800 to start
Hat - try 1/8 @ f/4, ISO 800 to start

General - Program mode with Evaluative metering
-1 or -2 stops exposure compensation may look more like night

Bracket exposures, it costs nothing but memory card space!

 

[ColleenG]

I also have the T1i. Go into the custom menu and turn on the ISO expansion. It will give you ISO up to 12800. You'll get some noise but with a fast lens you can get some good dark ride shots. I have the Canon 50 mm f/1.8 It's a pretty good lens for not a lot of money. About $100.

 

[ukcatfan]

I also have the T1i. Go into the custom menu and turn on the ISO expansion. It will give you ISO up to 12800. You'll get some noise but with a fast lens you can get some good dark ride shots. I have the Canon 50 mm f/1.8 It's a pretty good lens for not a lot of money. About $100.

At f/1.8, I would not recommend going all the way to 12800. You can do pretty well in a dark ride at 1600. I would say that 6400 is a max that is needed.

 

[NJGuy3]

I appreciate the prompt replies. Thanks everyone for the tips/advice...keep em' coming.

I'll probably print out this thread to take along with me for some quick reference.

And yes, I do intend on posting pics once I get back.

 

[tmoret]

Thanks for all the good ideas on settings everyone!

 

[NJGuy3]

I recently got back from my trip...thanks again everyone for the tips/advice, worked out well. I plan on posting pics soon, once I upload them to my computer.

Unfortunatly, I had some problems choosing the proper settings to take photos in indoor low light, dark attractions such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, etc. What are the best settings for shooting in those attractions and situations?

Thanks in advance!

 

[JimbobJimbo]

Unfortunatly, I had some problems choosing the proper settings to take photos in indoor low light, dark attractions such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, etc. What are the best settings for shooting in those attractions and situations?

Thanks in advance!

For those situations you will need a fast lens, like the 50mm f1.8. Aperture priority mode, use f1.8 and set the ISO to 1600 and bump up the ISO as needed to get a fast enough shutter speed.

 

[NJGuy3]

For those situations you will need a fast lens, like the 50mm f1.8. Aperture priority mode, use f1.8 and set the ISO to 1600 and bump up the ISO as needed to get a fast enough shutter speed.

Would I be able to find a lense that is as fast as you stated (f/1.8) but also a zoom or does such a fast lesne only exist as a fixed lense (50mm). I ask because I've been looking into getting a tamron 18mm-270mm lense, but the lowest 'f' number it goes is 3.5. I'm trying to find the best of both worlds...or does that not exist in one lense? lol

 

[mom2rtk]

Would I be able to find a lense that is as fast as you stated (f/1.8) but also a zoom or does such a fast lesne only exist as a fixed lense (50mm). I ask because I've been looking into getting a tamron 18mm-270mm lense, but the lowest 'f' number it goes is 3.5. I'm trying to find the best of both worlds...or does that not exist in one lense? lol

There ARE 2.8 zooms. Do you play the lottery?

 

[JimbobJimbo]

Would I be able to find a lense that is as fast as you stated (f/1.8) but also a zoom or does such a fast lesne only exist as a fixed lense (50mm). I ask because I've been looking into getting a tamron 18mm-270mm lense, but the lowest 'f' number it goes is 3.5. I'm trying to find the best of both worlds...or does that not exist in one lense? lol

As was said above there are f2.8 zooms, but you will find that that isn't quite fast enough for some of the darker rides. And they are only in the 17-50 or 17-55 range that I know of and can be a little on the $$$ side. The best bet I would say is if you want the 18-270mm all in one lens, at least pick up a 50 1.8. For around $100 you can't beat it if you want to get better shots on dark rides.

 

[ukcatfan]

Would I be able to find a lense that is as fast as you stated (f/1.8) but also a zoom or does such a fast lesne only exist as a fixed lense (50mm). I ask because I've been looking into getting a tamron 18mm-270mm lense, but the lowest 'f' number it goes is 3.5. I'm trying to find the best of both worlds...or does that not exist in one lense? lol

There ARE 2.8 zooms. Do you play the lottery?

As was said above there are f2.8 zooms, but you will find that that isn't quite fast enough for some of the darker rides. And they are only in the 17-50 or 17-55 range that I know of and can be a little on the $$$ side. The best bet I would say is if you want the 18-270mm all in one lens, at least pick up a 50 1.8. For around $100 you can't beat it if you want to get better shots on dark rides.

There are also longer zooms with f/2.8, but those cost even more. Don't expect to pay less than ~$800 for one in the 70-200mm zoom range.

While physically possible, you will never see anything 18-270 or similar in a constant f/2.8 aperture. It would be EXTREMELY expensive and would probably weigh something in the 50 lbs.+ range. Not exactly portable and flexible.

 

[brainblowout]

How I wish I could have an DLSR camera. There are so many good features in that camera right?