ISO 400 is good for some things

[SeaYoda]

I've been trying to get a good picture of the entrance to the lower cavern at Morrison Spring here in Florida. Until today I got black, snowy, or blurry pics at best. It's very dark looking down the funnel to the opening (see the first pic below). I decided to go against the digital tide and use ISO 400 to lighten things up. I still had to leave the shutter open for 1/2 second at F4.0. I placed both hands on a rock ledge and secured the camera between them. The lines you see in the second pic are particles floating in the spring's flow. I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome of this experiment and thought I'd share my results.

 

[fpoole]

Whoa.. very nice... and at 400 too... not grainy as one would think...
and holding it steady for that long, it came out sharp..

Good show... Tripod next?? with the auto timer... heheh.. threre's always the next level...

people actually go in there.. Yikes... no waaaay...

Great shots...

 

[pete340]

I decided to go against the digital tide and use ISO 400 to lighten things up.

The only way to know whether something works is to try it. And when you're looking for the right setting, keep pushing it until it breaks, then back off. Try ISO 800, 1600, ...

 

[fpoole]

The only way to know whether something works is to try it.

Heheh... I hear that...
I've had pretty good luck with "Natural Light" shots.. only due to a short in the wiring to the strobes... sometimes on a dive it'd work, sometimes it wouldn't.
Out of frustration, I just turned the Buggars off an shot with Natural light.
ISO was on automatic so not sure where it ended up, but I think I've gotten so kewl shots... as best you can in green waters eh??? so I shoot natural light a lot... that's why I got the 5050... although haven't used it as much... heheh.. still like the colors...

But Yeah, push it.... what's the worst that can happen... it's deleted?? or better, Stain Glassed with PS?

On to the next one...

 

[SeaYoda]

...people actually go in there.. Yikes... no waaaay...

There is a huge room just inside that crack at the bottom of the picture. I have no desire to cave dive or get in dangerous caverns. This place has a direct line of sight to the opening and doesn't silt up due to the strong flow / sandy bottom. Rumor has it that the cave was dynamited long ago due to diver deaths - you can't go further than the cavern now.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Great pics, I haven't had much luck with getting those shots either.

 

[andrea31419]

Look'in good to me. It's time I did a tour of the Florida Springs.

 

[boydski]

I decided to go against the digital tide and use ISO 400 to lighten things up. I still had to leave the shutter open for 1/2 second at F4.0. I placed both hands on a rock ledge and secured the camera between them. The lines you see in the second pic are particles floating in the spring's flow. I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome of this experiment and thought I'd share my results.

Great Pictures SeaYoda!

I almost always shoot ISO 400 in caves and caverns, as even with my strobes set on FULL Power, the caves seem to just swallow the light. I've had reasonably good luck shooting 1/60th with the lens wide open and strobes on high when shooting in "white" walled caverns.

Cavern Photos

 

[fpoole]

bski,
Great shots... and nooooo backscatter... almost wants me to try it... heheh.. ALMOST, but not quite....
Kewl photos...

 

[SeaYoda]

...I almost always shoot ISO 400 in caves and caverns...[/URL]

Great pictures you've got there. I don't use an external strobe so ISO 400 will be used in an even larger experiment on my next cavern dive!