Question about ISO in dark rooms with certain spots lighted up.?

Question

Hello, I have a question about ISO on a digital camera,

Next week Im going to an amusement park and want to make some pictures in its Ghost castle show. The main show will ofcourse be dark, and diffrent things will happen, whever something happends that spot gets lighted up by spotlight.

Now with higher ISO means more noise, But if i zoom in on those spots thats are lighted, can I use a low ISO like 80 (Lowest my camera has), or will i still need to put up the ISO even when shooting spots that are lighted?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

You are right to see ISO as a way around the difficulty in low light but it is the relationship between this, aperture and shutter speed that will get you the results you want.

High ISO does increase digital noise which is unsightly. However if you don't keep it high you'll have very blurry shots. 80 is way too low, in my opinion but you should also be cautious of speeds like 1600 or even 3200.

I take a lot of shots of theatre shows and the conditions are similar to yours. I try to go no higher in ISO than 800, as the noise would be too much. I set my White Balance to tungsten or daylight to reduce the reddishness you can often get. I also try to keep my shutter above 1/13th Second and my aperture is usually set to the lowest value [5.6/4 etc].

Can you use a tripod or is that daft in the location your going to? It will really help you if you can.

Take lots of shots to try and get 1 decent one out of 10 [they're free after all] and, if your camera does it, allow auto bracketing so you get exposures above and below what you select.

Finally, once you have put them on you computer, use Photo Shop etc to set the levels so that the black areas really are true black- this helps knock the noise down a bit.

Low light photography is tricky but with practice it does get easier and results improve...

Good luck

Answer 2

You'd probably be able to use a lower ISO (between 400-800) but most likely not as low as 80. If you zoom in the lens won't be as fast so you'll get less light (read up on variable aperture zoom). Depending on your camera specifications, how much you zoom, and how much extra light is available you'll either gain a stop or witness no change. It may be wise to leave it on ISO 800 and use the extra stop to increase the shutter speed since the spotlight comes on when action occurs. Just leave it on Auto ISO if you're unsure, the camera will try to use the lowest possible ISO.

Answer 3

No, not at ISO 80.

Click on all sizes to see a larger one.

ISO 3,200

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