dance recital which focus

[bucknoff]

I will be using my nikon d700 and 85 1.8 lens with no flash from say 30 to 40 feet back in low light. Think I have ides for iso (1600ish), shutter (250 to 500ish), and aperture (2.8 ish). Need to know best way to focus... contiuous or with focus lock? Multi point focus or single center?

[Hill Country Hack]

Howdy.

I like your starting point. If it were me, I would AI Serv the focus and change to single center focus point. See if you have a "back button" focus option. I find it easier to use my thumb on a back button to maintain continous focus and press the shutter release when ready instead of holding a "half press" on the shutter release.

The age of the dancers will dictate the needed shutter speed. Adult/teen contemporary dancers move faster than 6 year olds trying to do a tap routine. You may be able to get away with a slower shutter as to decrease the ISO.

Experiment with differing metering. Evaluative metering may leave your subjects too dark if not spot lit.

Good luck. Come back and tell us how it went, how you adjusted, what you did well and what you need to do next time to do better. Inquiring minds want to know. And post some pics.

[bucknoff]

So here are my results. What I ended up with was nothing up to my standards. I am use to people that stand still in good lighting! The lighting was so uneven and odd colors it was a nightmare even in post. And nothing was as sharp as I would like. I will try to get a 70-200 2.8 for the spring recital.



Nikon d700
85mm 1.8
taken at
1/80
2.2
iso 500
Aperture priority
auto ISO
continuous focus
dynamic range focus
spot meter
AWB
PP exposure and sharpening





Nikon d700
85mm 1.8
taken at
1/250
4.5
iso 6400
Manual mode
auto ISO
continuous focus
dynamic range focus
spot meter
AWB
PP exposure and sharpening



Nikon d700
85mm 1.8
taken at
1/250
4.5
iso 6400
Manual mode
auto ISO
continuous focus
dynamic range focus
spot meter
AWB
PP exposure and sharpening

[ik631]

A couple of quick questions based on your results, I have a similar situation coming up as well and I am very inexperienced at this.

Did auto ISO produce better results?

Was spot metering the way to go?

Thanks

[RichardTaylor]

They look very good to me, especially considering the light.

[bucknoff]

I wouldn't use auto iso next time. I used spot metering, but the stage lighting was crazy. Each side of the stage had a different color light and the intensity varied greatly.
Thanks everyone, but I had way more unacceptable shots than keepers in my opinion.

[ErikUngerPhotography]

Originally Posted by bucknoff

Thanks everyone, but I had way more unacceptable shots than keepers in my opinion.

This is perfectly normal. Even professionals feel lucky when they get away with a few good shots in uncontrollable situations like this.