LeggNets Digital Capture

Monday, December 03, 2007

Amrik at ISO 1600


Today's image is an example of putting image stabilization and high ISO to use when photographing in a dark environment. I made this casual portrait of a restaurant owner in the extremely dim lobby of his Indian restaurant in Provo.

This was shot hand held with a relatively long shutter speed of 1/10 second. Typically, shooting at this speed without a tripod would result in an image too blurred to use. This is where advances in lens technology helped out. My everyday walk-around lens (Canon 24-105 f/4L IS) has image-stabilization built in. While this won't help with moving subjects, it will dramatically assist in reducing camera shake. Using this feature combined with a high ISO (1600) and me bracing myself against a wall, I was able to capture a very usable portrait of Amrik.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/10 second, f/4, ISO 1600

4 Comments:

Blogger Ivan Makarov said...

Rich -

Did you not have flash with you? I'd think you could just bounced it off the wall or the ceiling if you didn't have time.

Also, which restaurant is it? There are at least couple Indian restaurants in Provo.

December 03, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for the comment, Ivan.

I didn't have a strobe with me, just the camera. I was with a friend of mine who just returned from an assignment in India, so we had a great conversation with Amrik. His restaurant is the one on Center Street near 400 West (I don't remember the name).

December 03, 2007  
Blogger t said...

awesome! that's the lens I'm getting, too. I'm happy to see this example of its capabilities.

December 09, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice work! And I'm glad that you didn't use flash...I try to avoid it as much as possible in low-light situations, and it's amazing how little tricks like bracing yourself against an object (or sitting/squatting and bracing your elbows on your knees) help to clear up a shot. Not to mention the lenses with image stabilization...Much better to use it as an actual tool rather than a crutch. Thanks for sharing!

December 21, 2007  

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