Camera Labs

Out of my 3 lenses, currently there's only my 50mm f/1.8 that I seem able to use in the living room with all our lights on. The others would be too dark.

My 18-55mm says I need between 1/8 in wide (doable with IS) and 1" in tele (very hard to do even with IS). My 75-300mm can need up to 4" in tele.

Even by boosting the ISO to 1600, I still would need a tripod to use my 75-300mm, and my 18-55mm would be barely shootable hand-held with IS on.

Is this unusual for a typical living room or is this room darker than normal? I'm leaving this place in a month so not looking to invest a lot in lighting, more curious if I should expect the same hardships when visiting friends and such, and also planning what lenses I'll need in the future.

Thanks in advance!

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Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel T2i, Canon S90
Lenses: Tamron: SP70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD, Canon: EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens, 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III, and EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Retired camera: Fujifilm Finepix s700

That is why professionals use 1-4 flashguns and umbrellas when shooting indoors..

Try that.


If you WANT cheap lighting get those 'work' lights they sell for 10-20$ usd at home depot or wallmart or even lowels.

Good Luck

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"If I want a 'snapshot'... i will use my phone.."

My Photos:
http://mistycreek.deviantart.com/

Yep, that's quite normal. Time to start using your 50 1.8

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

Sounds normal to me. Interior lighting is usually a lot dimmer than people realize, until they whip out a camera and try to take a photo.

It's flashgun time if you want to fully illuminate the scene at normal shooting parameters, or high-ISO & fast lens time if you want to use natural light.

I am a natural light lover, so I shoot a lot of 30mm F1.4 and 50mm F1.7 indoors, and a lot of ISO1600-12800. I also have a flash unit for when I need that light for depth of field or corrected color.

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Justin Miller
Sony DSLR-A580 / Sony 18-250mm / Minolta 50mm F1.7 / Sigma 30mm F1.4 / Tamron 10-24mm / Tamron 200-500mm / Tamron 90mm F2.8 macro / Minolta 300mm F4 APO
Sony NEX5N / 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 / 55-210mm F4-6.3 / Pentax K adapter / Konica K/AR adapter / bunches o' Konica & Pentax lenses!

Galleries:
http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

Thanks everyone for the advise.

For my temporary home down south I bought a 500W work light last night, I can easily use the 18-55 lens now, and I can use the 75-300mm at it's widest opening. I still can't go quicker than 1/100 shutter speed, so I still need a tripod for using it at 300mm.

When I go out in the evenings, I guess I'll just have to keep my 99$ lens on. I might consider getting a wider lens with similar aperture in the near future though, kinda hard to capture a full subject with the 50mm when walls limit how far back I can "zoom out with my feet"

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Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel T2i, Canon S90
Lenses: Tamron: SP70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD, Canon: EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens, 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III, and EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Retired camera: Fujifilm Finepix s700

Remember:
Wide primes with a large aperture arent as cheap as your 50mm.
In my opinion youll be best off with a high quality zoom, like the Tamron 17-50 F/2,8. It has F/2,8 on the whole range, and is very flexible in use.

Just my thoughts

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Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

what exactly are you shooting at 300mm at home? o.O

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Always aim higher- Beyond the limit

Journey of light - my blog!
www.anelfoto.blogspot.com

Well, cats are fun to shoot indoors at 300mm, though they require ISOs of 3200 or more with indoor lighting and shady spots:



I'll photograph darn near anything, darn near anywhere! I just enjoy photography. I've even gone as far as 500mm in the house.

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Justin Miller
Sony DSLR-A580 / Sony 18-250mm / Minolta 50mm F1.7 / Sigma 30mm F1.4 / Tamron 10-24mm / Tamron 200-500mm / Tamron 90mm F2.8 macro / Minolta 300mm F4 APO
Sony NEX5N / 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 / 55-210mm F4-6.3 / Pentax K adapter / Konica K/AR adapter / bunches o' Konica & Pentax lenses!

Galleries:
http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg

I haven't been "home" for about 7 months now, but if you meant inside the house, I'll sometimes take out my 50mm f/1.8 to take pictures of scorpions, spiders, etc, but for some stuff I prefer the safety of a 300mm lens. The first time I saw a scorpion, maybe if I had a 2400mm lens I would've risked a photo!

When going out places, I like the 300mm to take pictures of things I can't reach. In the ruins in Yucatan, Mexico, you're not allowed to climb most pyramids nowadays (especially since a tourist died in 2007), so a 300mm lens can bring me closer to the top.

I also like to use the 300mm lens in some more constrained places in order to make a photo stitch. Sure, my 18-55mm can take the whole building in one shot, but the 75-300mm can take 10 pictures to achieve the same, and end up with a 50-75-100 megapixel picture, which I can print however large I want afterwards.

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Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel T2i, Canon S90
Lenses: Tamron: SP70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD, Canon: EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens, 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III, and EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Retired camera: Fujifilm Finepix s700