Laser Light Party
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How to reduce blur in low light photos?
I own a Canon Rebel XSI, and I've done well with transitioning and learning about DSLR's vs. Point and Shoots, but the one thing I'm having trouble with is taking photos in low light settings without using a tripod, they always seem to come out blurry no matter what I do.
Example:
I was at a Halloween party and there wasn't much light except for strobe lights, lasers, and other fast moving lights, and I couldn't get any pictures that weren't blurry, usually the people were really blurry and the lights and background weren't as much. I tried many settings, and tried it with AF on and off. I also tried to sit the camera on a flat surface, and use the timer to reduce shake.
I'd like to learn if there is a way to take clear photos in situations like this without a flash, as it tends to ruin the atmosphere.
Successful low-light, non-flash photography requires two things:
1) A very fast lens - a 50mm f1.4
2) A high ISO - 1600 and in some cases 3200
This is especially true when you have subject motion to deal with. In some lighting situations, however, even with an f1.4 lens and ISO 3200 you may still find yourself shooting at 1/60 sec. 1/60 sec. is not going to stop subject movement.
Why an f1.4 lens rather than the f3.5/5.6 zoom that came with the camera? Light gathering. An f1.4 lens is 2 2/3 stops faster than your zoom at f3.5 and 4 stops faster than your zoom at f5.6. What does this mean? Lets look at a hypothetical chart which will show the f-stop/shutter speed/ISO relationship*. We'll be shooting in a living room with average lighting.
ISO 200
f1.4 @ 1/30 sec.
f3.5 @ ~ 1/5 sec.
f5.6 @ 1/8 sec.
ISO 800
f1.4 @ 1/125 sec.
f3.5 @ ~ 1/20 sec.
f5.6 @ 1/8 sec.
ISO 1600
f1.4 @ 1/250 sec.
f3.5 @ ~ 1/40 sec.
f5.6 @ 1/15 sec.
ISO 3200
f1.4 @ 1/500 sec.
f3.5 @ ~ 1/80 sec.
f5.6 @ 1/30 sec.
Now suppose we're in a club with dim lights.
ISO 800
f1.4 @ 1/15 sec.
f3.5 @ ~ 1/3 sec.
f5.6 @ 1 sec.
ISO 1600
f1.4 @ 1/30 sec.
f3.5 @ ~ 1/5 sec.
f5.6 @ 1/2 sec.
ISO 3200
f1.4 @ 1/60 sec.
f3.5 @ ~ 1/11 sec.
f5.6 @ 1/4 sec.
Since our second example probably comes closer to your situation at the Halloween party, you can easily see why your pictures turned out blurry.
A further handicap is your camera only supports ISO 1600**.
* I referred to my trusty FotoSharp (http://www.fotosharp.com) Day & Night Exposure Guide for the chart. There really isn't a definition of what constitutes a room with average light. Perhaps 2 150 watt bulbs in table lamps with translucent shades?
** I took a quick look at a review of your camera and the specs only showed a maximum ISO of 1600.
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