What settings are best?

TYOsborn · 08-08-2008, 08:21 PM

Hello... I'm a newbie to Digital SLR. I have a Pentax K200D and the DA 18-250 lens. I also have the Tamron AF70-300. I also have a Shar Pei puppy that won't hold still for long.

My question is, what are the best settings for the camera to "freeze" her? Thanks in advance!

JJJPhoto · 08-08-2008, 08:27 PM

You need fast shutter speeds to freeze motion. Of course, the laws of photography dictate that as shutter speed increases you have to use wider apertures (smaller f-stop numbers) or higher ISO ... or flash to compensate for the faster shutter speed.

The 18-250mm and 70-300mm lenses you have are technically "slow" lenses (high f-stop values) so you have to use higher ISO and/or flash if you want to get your shutter speeds high enough to freeze motion.

Translation: get an external flash, put the flash in the camera's hot shoe, set the mode dial on the camera to Manual and set the shutter speed to 1/180 and the aperture to f/5.6. Make sure your flash is either in P-TTL mode or the Auto mode setting with f/5.6. Now take blur-free photos of your puppy.

*Clicker* · 08-08-2008, 08:38 PM

You could use the "sports" preset and try and shoot her? coming towards you other wise start practicing your panning

weaponx525 · 08-08-2008, 08:50 PM

I think the best tool to "freeze" her is to get some doggy treats that she loves and then plant them somewhere with good lighting and then snap away!

TYOsborn · 08-09-2008, 08:42 AM

Originally Posted by JJJPhoto

You need fast shutter speeds to freeze motion. Of course, the laws of photography dictate that as shutter speed increases you have to use wider apertures (smaller f-stop numbers) or higher ISO ... or flash to compensate for the faster shutter speed.

The 18-250mm and 70-300mm lenses you have are technically "slow" lenses (high f-stop values) so you have to use higher ISO and/or flash if you want to get your shutter speeds high enough to freeze motion.

Translation: get an external flash, put the flash in the camera's hot shoe, set the mode dial on the camera to Manual and set the shutter speed to 1/180 and the aperture to f/5.6. Make sure your flash is either in P-TTL mode or the Auto mode setting with f/5.6. Now take blur-free photos of your puppy.

Thanks so much! Exactly the info I was looking for. Probably the wrong forum for this, but could you recommend a reasonably priced faster lens with a great zoom?

Originally Posted by Clicker

You could use the "sports" preset and try and shoot her? coming towards you other wise start practicing your panning

I'm not finding the sports mode on this camera doing much for me. I still get blur.

Originally Posted by weaponx525

I think the best tool to "freeze" her is to get some doggy treats that she loves and then plant them somewhere with good lighting and then snap away!

Haha now that would work too, except that I would like to get some shots of her running. She looks so cute!

mkishphoto · 08-09-2008, 09:08 AM

I have a question not on the subject though?? I'm looking to add the DA* 50-135 to my bag. Has anyone had any issues with the 50-135 and the lack of a tripod collar? Seems like a lot weight to put on the lens mount when using a monopod or tripod??

Wheatfield · 08-09-2008, 11:04 AM

Originally Posted by TYOsborn

Hello... I'm a newbie to Digital SLR. I have a Pentax K200D and the DA 18-250 lens. I also have the Tamron AF70-300. I also have a Shar Pei puppy that won't hold still for long. My question is, what are the best settings for the camera to "freeze" her? Thanks in advance!

First, you need good light, bright but with the sun not really high in the sky. I like mid to late afternoon light. Don't be afraid to bump the ISO to perhaps 800 (any higher and the noise becomes objectionable) to make up for your somewhat slower lenses.
I'm not familiar with the K200. If it has shooting modes, try the action or sports mode. If it doesn't, try shutter preferred automatic.
You want to try for a shutter speed of at least 1/250th of a second. Higher is nicer, but don't sweat it to much if it isn't possible.
Here's some action stuff I shot with my K10 a while back, to give you some idea of what is possible.

A Gallery of Fun

Don't be afraid to shoot lots of pictures. Puppies don't hold still for long, and they do very cute things.

TYOsborn · 08-09-2008, 11:59 AM

Originally Posted by Wheatfield

First, you need good light, bright but with the sun not really high in the sky. I like mid to late afternoon light. Don't be afraid to bump the ISO to perhaps 800 (any higher and the noise becomes objectionable) to make up for your somewhat slower lenses.
I'm not familiar with the K200. If it has shooting modes, try the action or sports mode. If it doesn't, try shutter preferred automatic.
You want to try for a shutter speed of at least 1/250th of a second. Higher is nicer, but don't sweat it to much if it isn't possible.
Here's some action stuff I shot with my K10 a while back, to give you some idea of what is possible.

A Gallery of Fun

Don't be afraid to shoot lots of pictures. Puppies don't hold still for long, and they do very cute things.

Thanks so much. I'll try that. Awesome shots by the way. EXACTLY what I'm trying to achieve.

Marc Sabatella · 08-09-2008, 12:26 PM

Originally Posted by TYOsborn

Thanks so much! Exactly the info I was looking for. Probably the wrong forum for this, but could you recommend a reasonably priced faster lens with a great zoom?

That's pretty much a contradiction. You can have fast, or you can have great zoom, or you can have reasonably priced - pick two (at *most*; often you really only get one per lens). The fastest lenses are not zooms at all - eg, a 50mm lens with a maximum aperture of f/1.4 is reaosnably priced at $200. There are zooms that can do f/2.8, which is not nearly as fast as f/1.4, but considerably better than what you have. But instead of being 18-250, we're talking 16-50 only, or 50-135 only, and either alone one costs quite a bit more than your 18-250.

I'm not finding the sports mode on this camera doing much for me. I still get blur.

Realistically, you need to learn about exposure and how and why to control ISO, shutter speed, and aperture yourself. Many people recommend "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson, although I haven't read it. Really, any basic book on SLR photography will explain to you what you need to know, as will any of a zillion online tutorials you could probably find. The bottom line is, to stop motion, you need the fastest shutter speed you can get, and you get that by increasing light, increasing ISO, and/or increasing the aperture (which is to say, a lower f-stop). The camera provides many different controls for achieving this, but you need to start by understanding what these parameters really are, how they relate, and what the tradeoffs are.

TYOsborn · 08-09-2008, 12:40 PM

Thanks Marc. You're definitely right. I do need to learn and I do have a great book on learning the parameters which I have been reading. I've also been experiementing. I also learn from your experience as well as everyone else's in this forum. Thanks so much for your help. Hopefully I'll be back with some great "frozen" shots soon.