Originally posted by timmijo Hello.
I will be shooting with my new K-30 in dimly-lit situations this fall and during the halftime performance under stadium lighting at night. Suggestions for settings would be awesome. The last time I went to the stadium at night, I was all over the dial, even using bracketing and scene modes for night shooting just to get some keepers. My goal is to get somewhere in the ballpark of proper exposure without terrible grain. I do not mind underexposing a little to avoid grain.
My budget lenses consist of the DA 55-300 and/or Pentax F70--210, the DA 18-55 AL, the Pentax FA 35-80. I sometimes bring along a Sears 50mm 1.7 just for fun.
Without buying better lenses more suited to this type of shooting, can anyone help with suggestions? Thanks so much.
Another vote from me on paying close attention to white balance, especially if shooting JPEGs. Is there anyone you ask about color temperature of the lighting? Regardless, you might want to take a few test shots before the performance where you vary color temperature manually. When you find the best one, just set the color temperature to that figure and stick with it.
Assuming you're not trying to get the band at once in a shot, the DA 55-300 is probably the best lens to start with (as was mentioned earlier). Maybe set the Auto ISO upper limit to 3200 unless you think it's too dark on the field. The camera will tell you. The K-30 will take good shots a high ISO so don't worry about that. Subject movement is likely to be your bigger concern.