Indoor events - low light, lots of motion, my worst nightmare...

[Travis]

I looked up your camera (i shoot nikon) it seems pretty good....

you should be able to push your iso up to 800....

a hot shoe flash is a small investment..... it will totally change the quality of your flash pictures... make sure the flash head pivots and bounce it off the ceiling... as mindforge said you can rig up devices for your on camera flash... but it really doesn't have the output for this...

another option is to buy yourself an inexpensive 50mm f1.8 lens (i think canons are $120)... this lens is standard tool and can bail you out of situations like this... with fast moving kids you might need all three..... higher iso, bounce flash, and fast 1.8 glass...

If you feel obtrusive with the flash pump the iso to 800 and get a 50mm, then change the shutter release to burst instead of single and start blasting away... you can usually get one or two good ones out of five...

[Ben H]

a hot shoe flash is a small investment..... it will totally change the quality of your flash pictures... make sure the flash head pivots and bounce it off the ceiling... as mindforge said you can rig up devices for your on camera flash... but it really doesn't have the output for this...

Yep, I think I will certainly go this route. It may be a small investment but when I've already bought the camera, a second lens, a range of accessories, a studio lighting kit, a backdrop system, reflector, stands etc, every couple of hundred quid starts adding up real quick!

another option is to buy yourself an inexpensive 50mm f1.8 lens (i think canons are $120)... this lens is standard tool and can bail you out of situations like this... with fast moving kids you might need all three..... higher iso, bounce flash, and fast 1.8 glass...

Interesting, I hadn't thought of that - thanks for the tip.

If you feel obtrusive with the flash pump the iso to 800 and get a 50mm, then change the shutter release to burst instead of single and start blasting away... you can usually get one or two good ones out of five...

Yep, I was doing that anyway and trying it out - however it doesn't work too well with the inbuilt flash because it takes so long to charge. With a semi-decent external flash, can you feasibly use burst mode and have the flash respond quickly enough?

[Travis]

Yep, I was doing that anyway and trying it out - however it doesn't work too well with the inbuilt flash because it takes so long to charge. With a semi-decent external flash, can you feasibly use burst mode and have the flash respond quickly enough?

I meant no flash with rapid fire shutter.... just the 50mm prime wide open and high iso...

flash will usually slow down or halt your FPS until it has recycled....

[Ben H]

I meant no flash with rapid fire shutter.... just the 50mm prime wide open and high iso...

flash will usually slow down or halt your FPS until it has recycled....

Ah ok, gotcha. Thanks again...

[Marko]

Quote:
Originally Posted by marko
Posting the actual shots will get you even better and more precise advice.

I'm sure - at this stage though, the general advice is enough to point me in the right direction - when I've put much of this stuff into practice and I feel I'm achieving closer to my best, *then* I'll put the shots up for more focused critique.

It's up to you of course, but if we see the photo and make suggestions - you will learn faster AND you can go back to the thread with your picture as a reference to apply and reapply what you've learned.

[mindforge]

You know, if you want to test out low light shooting situation it is pretty easy. Just do it indoors, close the blinds and maybe use a dark sheet on a window or two... don't kill all the light, just create a low light situation.

To get things moving around, you can do a couple things. Use a kid's toy. I have a three year old and he has a few radio controlled cars, a walking dinosaur robot, and all kinds of automatic moving stuff. Try to freeze these things and jot down some notes. I like to just sit on the couch and keep track of where I am headed on a piece of paper.

I hate going past 400 ISO. I will but only after I have exhausted other options.

[Ben H]

Yeah - I think I can probably press my cat into service as test apparatus..