One does and learns, the wise men say and I certainly can see their point. As I had pointed out a few days earlier, I have been basically using my Canon EOS 600D DSLR in auto focus mode, letting the camera in effect decide what was good for me. However, after yesterday's talk of ISO and how a higher ISO worked better in relatively low light areas, I decided to try a bit of shooting while Anupama (that's my wife and resident photography wizard) and I were driving down to NOIDA from Delhi.
Now those who know the area will know that there is a large idol of the Hindu god, Lord Shiva, on the opposite side of the Great India Place (GIP) Mall in NOIDA. As luck would have it, our car was stuck in a small traffic jam just about a hundred yards from the idol. We could see the head of the idol quite clearly above the traffic and the city lights. I took out the camera, which was in auto mode, and took a snap. The flash went off pronto and the result was, well, not the greatest. Here, see for yourself (you can click on the image to see a much larger version):
Now, this would clearly not do. So I decided - very bravely - to shift to Program mode (marked by a P on the mode dial) with a higher ISO (800 in this case). I took a deep breath, and snapped - and the result frankly surprised me. There you go: (again, you can click on the image to see a much larger version)
As you can see, the image is much sharper and there are no blurs. All of which teaches me two lessons:
1. When the lights go down, perhaps auto mode is not REALLY the way to go
2. Boy, I do need to look more into this ISO and Program mode thing, especially for shooting at night
And, to use Steve Jobs' immortal expression, one more thing - geez, NOW I know why people are so crazy about DSLR cameras. I have never take a shot of that kind with my Nikon P100, which was a very decent prosumer, but was never capable of things like THIS.
Now those who know the area will know that there is a large idol of the Hindu god, Lord Shiva, on the opposite side of the Great India Place (GIP) Mall in NOIDA. As luck would have it, our car was stuck in a small traffic jam just about a hundred yards from the idol. We could see the head of the idol quite clearly above the traffic and the city lights. I took out the camera, which was in auto mode, and took a snap. The flash went off pronto and the result was, well, not the greatest. Here, see for yourself (you can click on the image to see a much larger version):
Now, this would clearly not do. So I decided - very bravely - to shift to Program mode (marked by a P on the mode dial) with a higher ISO (800 in this case). I took a deep breath, and snapped - and the result frankly surprised me. There you go: (again, you can click on the image to see a much larger version)
As you can see, the image is much sharper and there are no blurs. All of which teaches me two lessons:
1. When the lights go down, perhaps auto mode is not REALLY the way to go
2. Boy, I do need to look more into this ISO and Program mode thing, especially for shooting at night
And, to use Steve Jobs' immortal expression, one more thing - geez, NOW I know why people are so crazy about DSLR cameras. I have never take a shot of that kind with my Nikon P100, which was a very decent prosumer, but was never capable of things like THIS.
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