FIrst time with an SB800

[Oz_Beachside]

First time with an SB800, and wish I had more time to prepare, but them's the breaks.

I also had more trouble with focus (AGAIN!!!).

WB was set to flash for most of these, and bounced off the timber ceiling, so most are a little warm.

Please give me constructive comments additional to what I have already mentioned, dont hold back, I need the feedback.

Two soles holding up the bar...



The organisers, and the Bar Manager



Here is a typical example of focus error (think this time I was closer than the minimum focus distance of my 28-70)


It was a charity auction, lots of bidding...


Here are some of our items that were auctioned off to raise funds for the Bornian Orangutans Survival Foundation (BOS)...
http://www.pbase.com/oz_beachside/image/75931576

All other images here...
http://www.pbase.com/oz_beachside/bos_fundraiser_03_2007

[PiroStitch]

Oz,

Some of these photos are fine, however some do suffer from what you've already mentioned. I'm no expert at this but I'll share what I've learned and observed. I'm sure others like Ronza, Matt K, Antsl who are far better PJ-togs than me can help you out some more.

This pic - The lighting is fine however there DOF isn't long enough for. Personally I would have increased the ISO to 800 and taken the shot with f4+.

Last night was quite formulaic with the flash. I manually set the Kelvin to something a bit cooler (~3500K or so) and bounced the flash off the timber roof. Increased the ISO, adjusted aperture and flash compensation to suit. With natural light it was a totally different story as some areas were lit by the sun, others by low wattage bulbs, etc. In those situations I set it to Auto WB and then adjusted during PP.

The way I operate now is to scout the room and observe what's happening around me. I took the opportunity last night when the room wasn't quite as crowded to observe the conversations and dialogue for each group of people. The trick is to observe and wait until you see the emotions.

Obviously at the start of the evening, some people looked a bit gruff (or maybe that's the way they usually look) maybe from a long day at work or just uncomfortable with the environment. After a few minutes they were getting comfortable, they found their friends, started chatting, drinks were flowing, etc. Once that happens, then I aim to capture the emotions.

Also work on the composition to capture the presenters from the best angles. Shots of them from the rear can be boring, so throw it out wide and include the crowd in the pic.

Lose the bracket that you were using last night. At social functions, make use of the environment and bounce the light off ceilings or walls. If you walk around with a bracket sticking up, people do notice you and you miss the candid moments. Another reason why you should have the SB800 on the camera is the IR focus assist. In a low light situation, it helps a lot! My crazy attempts of capturing the crowd as they watched the video was quite difficult as I couldn't really a decent focus at times.

Hope that helps.

[Oz_Beachside]

Thanks Pirostitch

I felt the same with the bracket, it felt like a beacon above the crowd. Dont think I needed it with a suitable ceiling.

THanks for the feedback on my shots, I'm not very happy with them at all, and the focus problem is embarrassing, and I havent nailed the problem.

Just noticed that I "AF-assist" was off, and I think the bracket didnt help focus, with the SB800 so far from the camera.

I'm pissed with the AF, as its spoilted a few nice shots (by a long way).

Agree, my aperture was too wide (think most of it was 2.8 - 4.0).

Lucky you were there to get some keepers

[Alpha_7]

Do you know how much was raised and did all the pieces sell ?

[terminator]

These all look under-exposed to me.
I bet the histograms are all pushed over to the left.
Can be easily fixed in pp though.

[PiroStitch]

Terminator - the histograms that night told diddly squat depending on the composition. Most of the background would have been black, hence pushed to the left

Oz, take it as a learning experience and move on. You now know what you did wrong so move on to the next event

[terminator]

Terminator - the histograms that night told diddly squat depending on the composition. Most of the background would have been black, hence pushed to the left

Don`t agree.
The histogram records ALL information not just shadows.
So you don`t agree that they are under-exposed?
Go into photo shop and play with them (boost exposure) and a much better result can be gained.

[PiroStitch]

Sorry mate, but I don't agree that all the shots were under exposed. apologies if I implied that with all the pics with a dark background that they would be black. I understand how a histogram works but for some shots, it would have told diddly squat - then again Oz and I shot the event with totally different styles.

[Oz_Beachside]

Another reason why you should have the SB800 on the camera is the IR focus assist. In a low light situation, it helps a lot!

Wouldnt the SC29 provide the IR focus asssist? I'm thinking maybe its not as advanced as I thought, and that perhaps my focus problems are partially caused by the distance between the camera (head of SC29) and the flash unit (nearly 500mm), coupled with the flash usually forward of the hotshoe position...

The "brain" in the flash/camera might have got confused?? I know I am... but thats another story

[Oz_Beachside]

Do you know how much was raised and did all the pieces sell ?

The organisers tell me they raised 3 times their expectations, so a big big thanks to all for supporting with the images.

I think about 80% of our images sold under silent auction.

Results are still to come through, but I will certainly let all know as soon as I know.

[Alpha_7]

Excellent stuff, I look forward to the official word, but 3x .. they either had low expectations or the night was a slam dunk success.

[wendellt]

if the camera is set to c- mode continuous focus the camera can search when focus point if on blacks or any surface with not much definition to allow for proper focussing make sure focus point is set on the face in each

also in c mode the camera will take the shot even if there is no focus lock

brings me to third point if your IR flash assist lamp doesnt trigger(AF-C mode) unde rlow lighting conditions the cameras focus will search and you will most likely get a blurry pic

also inadvertantly you can easily flick the focus mode switch to manual focus mode while your taking photos so if you get blurries make sure its set to AF-S

in my press work i have flipped the switch inadvertantly many many times to manual focus, this coudl happen when hastilly changing from AF-s to AF-C or just generally fiddling with the camera too much

[Willy wombat]

Interesting comments in this post. I have also had problems with the focus using SB800 in the dark at parties. Some food for thought.

[PiroStitch]

that's interesting as I don't remember having an issue with AF before on the Nikon. The AF assist on the SB800 and SC29 are a dream compared to the Canon system. I have a feeling you might have been too far for the IR beam to be picked up.