NTP Challenge : High ISO and Fast Shutter

[ricktas]

It has been a while since we had a new challenge. So here goes. Up till now each challenge has focused on one camera feature at a time, well now we want you to combine them.

Set your camera to a high ISO (over 1000), and we want you to also get your shutter speed up to over 1/1000th of a second. So put your camera in shutter speed mode (S) and dial it up to over 1/1000th of a second. You can adjust your shutter speed to achieve a good exposure, so if you need to go lower than 1/1000th of a second, do so, but do not adjust your ISO.

Now you challenge is to use these settings to freeze action. Whatever action you want. Read the New To Photography Learning Centre Guides on ISO and Shutter speed to help you.

Place your photo in this thread and tell us what you learnt about using high ISO combined with faster shutter speeds.

[tanz]

I had a go at this today but not sure if I should have waited because it was quite overcast. I set my ISO at 1600 and shutter speed at 1/800 and probably should have gone a bit lower because it is still underexposed according to the histogram. My aperture was set to auto and set itself at f/4. If it had been better light then I would have expected this to be smaller (higher number). I have been going round in circles thinking about this but in my situation I think it comes down to that the high ISO allowed me to still maintain a high shutter speed in low light. I think I might have to try this in better light because I just don't know, my head is spinning and I need a lie down. :confused013

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4138/4753558869_5781dbb004.jpg

[Steve Axford]

It is nearly always best to take people in overcast conditions rather than bright sunlight. The downside is the slow shutter speed, but if you get it right it is good. The above photo needs to be cropped and made a bit bigger so we can see the little girl.

[ricktas]

Now, we wanted you to get your shutter speed over 1/1000th of a second. What can you do with your aperture setting to help achieve that, and get a good exposure?

[tanz]

Thanks for your comments Steve.

Rick, ok so to get a faster shutter speed I would need to make the aperture wider to let more light in because the faster shutter speed is going to reduce the amount of light let in. But with my kit lens f/4 is the lowest/widest it will go and it was already at that, so the other thing I could do is increase my ISO which makes the sensor more sensitive to light.

:umm: Is that right??

[ricktas]

good answer! which also leads to explaining why Pro lenses generally go to f2.8. So in your case, increasing the ISO is the only option. I hope all this is helping you understand your gear more.

[tanz]

:efelant:

It certainly is helping. I have learnt an amazing amount in just one week on this forum, which could explain why my head is spinning every night when I go to bed. :)

[barrythelizard]

Thanks Rick, for the challenges, this one is keeping me challenged for quite some time :)

ISO 1250
shutter speed 1/1250 sec
f/3.5

I tried a number of shutter speeds, however the faster ones seemed to turn out more grainy. I had actually been trying to achieve this type of effect a few weeks ago without really knowing how to go about it. So I've figured out that if you want to take a photo of something moving in very dark conditions, or in low light, with as little blur as possible then a high ISO will help a huge amount, it will bring down the shutter speed while still allowing enough light in.

http://barrythelizard.jalbum.net/Clair%27s%20Pics/slides/candle1.jpg

Thanks :)