[cruiser@0523]

Can anyone tell me how do i use flash to shoot faster than 1/200 shutter speed ? as soon as i turn on the flash in M/Tv mode the speed goes down to 1/200 and does not increase, since shooting anything at 1/1000 is useless without flash.

[s0uljah]

Hmm interesting discussion there Jag! I never had an issue but then again I never had super heavy glass either so it could be an issue when its fully loaded. Yeah I got it fro about 85$...ouch!

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by superamerica

Any suggestions for a DSLR Backpack that can also take in a laptop and provide sufficient safety to the equipment. I am looking for recommendations on brand and place to buy in Blore. I did have a look at Kata but the price seems quite steep.

Try Lowepro. My son has one which can take a lot of stuff. You can choose the model you want on their site, and get it shipped to India. In Delhi you can order your model from camera importers at a slightly higher price..

Originally Posted by Ho0ligaN

Need suggestions for a tripod, I have a 350d right now and the biggest (heaviest) lens I have is the sigma 70-300 apo dg.

It is best to weigh your set up (camera, lense, ball head etc), and add 50% to it. Then go to various tripod sites and choose the model which is rated for the weight. The prices vary from $50 for a basic one to over $600 for high end carbon fibre models. As there are lot of factors to consider - tripod weight, damping/vibration, fully extended height etc, it is better to do some research before investing.

Originally Posted by cruiser@0523

Can anyone tell me how do i use flash to shoot faster than 1/200 shutter speed ? as soon as i turn on the flash in M/Tv mode the speed goes down to 1/200 and does not increase, since shooting anything at 1/1000 is useless without flash.

The flash speed, also called flash synchronisation is dependent on the time taken for the shutter to open fully. Most SLR have focal plane shutters where a slit moves to give high speed. For a flash shot the slit has to be the size of the sensor frame, which is quite slow : 1/50 to 1/250 in most of the case. Some high end DSLR models provide electronic shutter control for the sensor and with a dedicated flash unit you can get higher speed.
Note many professional cameras have leaf shutters where the shutter is in the lense. These enable shutter upper speeds between 1/500 and 1/1000, but then we are talking of $2k-6K lenses.

[navin_bhp]

Originally Posted by cruiser@0523

Can anyone tell me how do i use flash to shoot faster than 1/200 shutter speed ? as soon as i turn on the flash in M/Tv mode the speed goes down to 1/200 and does not increase, since shooting anything at 1/1000 is useless without flash.

Set the flash to High speed sync mode. Usually in canon flashes there is a button like this

[shyamhegde]

Originally Posted by navin_bhp

Set the flash to High speed sync mode. Usually in canon flashes there is a button like this

Yeah, only for those flashes which support the feature (costing 20+ K) . Not on most of the thirdparty flashes (like Nissin, Sunpak, Metz etc. at around) and the camera inbuilt one.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by shyamhegde

Yeah, only for those flashes which support the feature (costing 20+ K) . Not on most of the thirdparty flashes (like Nissin, Sunpak, Metz etc. at around) and the camera inbuilt one.

Do not forget that the camera has to support this feature also!
You can use these features only on the high end camera-flash combos, that is Nikon DSLR with Nikon flash, Canon DSLR with Canon Flash

[cruiser@0523]

So basically i cannot use a fast shutter speed with the inbuilt flash ?

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by cruiser@0523

So basically i cannot use a fast shutter speed with the inbuilt flash ?

No.
Do not be disheartened, soon most of the cameras will be incorporating electronic shutter.
The normal shutter is mechanical and in the focal plane shutter two curtains move. For full flash synchronization the bottom curtain has to travel all the way to expose the sensor/film fully before the flash fires. For higher speeds the first curtain follows the second with a time gap. The slit formed is narrow for high speed and broader for low speeds. That is why if you have a horizontal shutter travel you will see fast moving objects elongated/shortened depending on the relative travel between the object and the shutter.
On the other hand leaf shutter is located in the lense and can be synchronised at all speeds. Shutter (photography) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[hiren.mistry]

Originally Posted by rahulsingh007

Hi all ,
It was my birthday yesterday and I am contemplating to buy a Digital SLR soon .
But sadly Cant decide what to buy of the two .

It was my final decision to buy the 1000D by Canon but just a week (or so ) ago Nikon introduced its tasty D3100 .

This is my first SLR , please help me decide amongst the two .

What I like in Canon 1000D

1. 8k cheaper than the Nikon
2. Tried and Tested
3. Popular

What I like in Nikon D3100

1. HD Video Recording feature
2. VR lens
3. 14 MP vs 10 MP on the Canon

Please Help me decide and suggest if better alternatives are available

Hey Rahul,
Sorry to hijack your post and happy belated b'day to you!

I am in a similar situation as you, I am deciding between Nikon D3100, Canon 550 and Canon 500D.
I am less inclined for the 550d as it is priced too high. D3100 and 500d are both around 30K. There is nothing to chose between them when it comes to feature and video recording.

Looking forward to opinions of the experts here in making me a choice.

Thanks,
Hiren

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by rahulsingh007

Hi all ,
It was my birthday yesterday and I am contemplating to buy a Digital SLR soon .
But sadly Cant decide what to buy of the two .

It was my final decision to buy the 1000D by Canon but just a week (or so ) ago Nikon introduced its tasty D3100 .

This is my first SLR , please help me decide amongst the two .

What I like in Canon 1000D

1. 8k cheaper than the Nikon
2. Tried and Tested
3. Popular

What I like in Nikon D3100

1. HD Video Recording feature
2. VR lens
3. 14 MP vs 10 MP on the Canon

Please Help me decide and suggest if better alternatives are available

Firstly Rahul,belated b'day wishes.

Originally Posted by hiren.mistry

Hey Rahul,
Sorry to hijack your post and happy belated b'day to you!

I am in a similar situation as you, I am deciding between Nikon D3100, Canon 550 and Canon 500D.
I am less inclined for the 550d as it is priced too high. D3100 and 500d are both around 30K. There is nothing to chose between them when it comes to feature and video recording.

Looking forward to opinions of the experts here in making me a choice.

Thanks,
Hiren

@Rahul: You can get a 18-55 IS lens for 1000d as well. Its priced at around 6K. Any shop that sells you the 1000D should take back the kit lens for around 2k and give you a IS lens.

[cruiser@0523]

Originally Posted by Aroy

No.
Do not be disheartened, soon most of the cameras will be incorporating electronic shutter.
The normal shutter is mechanical and in the focal plane shutter two curtains move. For full flash synchronization the bottom curtain has to travel all the way to expose the sensor/film fully before the flash fires. For higher speeds the first curtain follows the second with a time gap. The slit formed is narrow for high speed and broader for low speeds. That is why if you have a horizontal shutter travel you will see fast moving objects elongated/shortened depending on the relative travel between the object and the shutter.
On the other hand leaf shutter is located in the lense and can be synchronised at all speeds. Shutter (photography) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shoot. I was hoping to take some nice water splash shots, will have to look for other jugaad now. Since i wont be able to invest in a speedlight for some time now.

[TaureanBull]

I own a D90 with 18-105mm lens. I have been using it for about 4 months now. Yesterday, I came across a tricky situation. I was to shoot in dim light (orchestra performing in dim colourful lights). The dance movements were pretty fast.

Now,the dim light demands a long exposure/slow shutter speed whereas for fast movements its other way round. I ended up getting shots with motions. When I chose to use the flash, the pics were blend without the light effect.

Anyone who has come across this situation? Can anyone suggest how to shoot in such a situation? If needed I can post pics too.

[Jaguar]

@TaureanBull, what ISO were you shooting at? For low light, you can up the ISO for faster shutter speed.

[a_mukherji]

Originally Posted by TaureanBull

I own a D90 with 18-105mm lens. I have been using it for about 4 months now. Yesterday, I came across a tricky situation. I was to shoot in dim light (orchestra performing in dim colourful lights). The dance movements were pretty fast.

Now,the dim light demands a long exposure/slow shutter speed whereas for fast movements its other way round. I ended up getting shots with motions. When I chose to use the flash, the pics were blend without the light effect.

Anyone who has come across this situation? Can anyone suggest how to shoot in such a situation? If needed I can post pics too.

When light is dim your Lens, I think the maximum aperture for your lens is 3.5-4.5, was operating at largest aperture, 3.5, then it tried to adjust the shutter speed, which came out so less that your sensor is exposed for duration more than speed of dance movement.
If you need to capture this situation effectively, you need a lens which has largest aperture bigger than your current lens. But how big aperture do u need ? As an example lets take a 50mm lens , having maximum aperture of 1.4. lets make a small table :
1. at aperture 4, say you were achieving shutter speed of 1/15 sec.
2. under same light condition, a lens having aperture of 2.8, will give you shutter speed of 1/30sec.
3. a lens operating at aperture of 2, will give you shutter speed of 1/60 sec
4. a lens operating at aperture of 1.4, will give you shutter speed of 1/125 sec.
But the Depth of Field is also a factor that will decrease with aperture.
So, you need a lens having big aperture.

[TaureanBull]

Mukerji and Jaguar thanks.

@Mukerji : I just wanted to know if its possible to shoot with my current equipment.

@Jaguar : ISO 800. I am attaching a pic of the photo properties. Can you suggest change in settings. I am also attaching the pic to which these settings pertain.

Any help from the forum would be highly appreciated.