Indoor shutter speed. Help!?

Question

When im indoors in a very well lit room with my camera in aperture priority mode and the flash on, the aperture is at 4.0 and the shutter speed between 15/20. Is this normal? Should the shutter speed be so low? How can i ever take an action shot under these conditions? Then when i do snap the pic, the shutter stays open so long that i try to find a way to get it to close just out of aggravation. Same thing outside only opposite. When i raise my ap to something high for a landscape pic, the speed is so low again that it will nver take.

Sorry. My camera is a digital Canon Rebel xti. It's brand new.

Answer 1

very well lit? like 4 x 2000w blonde lights, bounced and gelled to daylight?? theres a big difference between daylight and most house et cetera lighting

yes 20th sounds about right, whats the iso??

try a night course in photography, or use more light, or flash/flashs, higher iso and a tripod

a

Answer 2

Try using a higher film speed (ISO), maybe 800 or higher.

Dont raise your aperture to a higher value - it would sure give out slower speeds, since your indoor lighting is scarce for your camera even though it would look bright to your eyes. Hence your camera would meter out slow speeds like 1/15 or 1/20.

I presume you are using a kit lens (18-55) and its maximum aperture opening would be f4.0 (or f3.5?) - that would be the biggest opening you would get from that lens... so all you need to compensate is your speed and ISO.

Taking action shots indoors is possible with flash... when using flash at f4.0 you can use the flash sync speed (1/60 or 1/125 - depending on your camera, please read manual). You dont need to set it to a slower speed (like 1/15 or 1/20) since you are now using flash - or else it would really give out blurred shots coz slow speeds would tend to emphasize motion in your shots - especially if your subject is moving.

Adjusting your ISO to a higher speed would give you faster speeds to use with just the right exposure to match.

Answer 3

I suggest you read the section "Using Flash" in the Owner's Manual for the camera. Then read the Owner's Manual for the flash.

If your shutter speed is as low as you say the flash and camera aren't communicating. Of course, if your flash isn't a Canon it may not be fully compatible with your camera.

If your flash is TTL compatible with your camera then I think you need to have the camera in Auto Mode. The flash will then set the correct flash synch shutter speed and you can set the f-stop.

Since you are also having problems taking pictures outdoors you must have some settings wrong.

Answer 4

Are you using a digital or film camera? With a film camera, using slow film (with a low ISO number) could cause what you describe, although I don't think it would affect your pictures that bad. Film with an ISO of 200 is good for outdoor pictures, and 400 is good for indoor pictures. Are your pictures turning out too bright when you develop the film? If that's the case, then your light meter is broken. You could buy a separate light meter, or just estimate the light yourself, and adjust the aperture and shutter appropriately.