What's a good setting to use outside at night? or indoors?

Question

e.g. 100, 200, 500, 1000 etc

Answer 1

setting for what?

Answer 2

For successful night photography, perhaps a city skyline after dark, you need:

1) A camera that allows full Manual Mode operation, a "T" or "B" setting on the shutter speed or a minimum 15 second setting and accepts a cable release if there is no setting for long exposure times

2) A tripod and a cable release

To photograph the night city skyline in the distance (across a river or lake works really well) we'll use my FotoSharp (fotosharp.com) Day & Night Exposure Guide.

ISO 100

f2.8 @ 4 seconds
f4 @ 8 seconds
f5.6 @ 15 seconds
f8 @ 30 seconds
f11 @ 60 seconds

ISO 200

f2.8 @ 2 seconds
f4 @ 4 seconds
f5.6 @ 8 seconds
f8 @ 15 seconds
f11 @ 30 seconds

ISO 400

f2.8 @ 1 second
f4 @ 2 seconds
f5.6 @ 4 seconds
f8 @ 8 seconds
f11 @ 15 seconds

Since all lenses perform at their very best at between f5.6 to f11 our exposures can be lengthy.

Suppose we want to shoot after dark downtown on a brightly lit street corner.

ISO 100

f2.8 @ 1/15 second
f4 @ 1/8 second
f5.6 @ 1/4 second
f8 @ 1/2 second
f11 @ 1 second

ISO 200

f2.8 @ 1/30 second
f4 @ 1/15 second
f5.6 @ 1/8 second
f8 @ 1/4 second
f11 @ 1/2 second

ISO 400

f2.8 @ 1/60 second
f4 @ 1/30 second
f5.6 @ 1/15 second
f8 @ 1/8 second
f11 @ 1/4 second

ISO 800

f2.8 @ 1/125 second
f4 @ 1/60 second
f5.6 @ 1/30 second
f8 @ 1/15 second
f11 @ 1/8 second

ISO 1600

f2.8 @ 1/250 second
f4 @ 1/125 second
f5.6 @ 1/60 second
f8 @ 1/30 second
f11 @ 1/15 second

With Image Stabilization we should be capable of hand-holding the camera at f2.8 & f4 at ISO 400; at f2.8, f4 & f5.6 at ISO 800; and at f2.8, f4, f5.6 and f8 at ISO 1600.

For brightly lit interiors:

ISO 800

f2.8 @ 1/60 second
f4 @ 1/30 second
f5.6 @ 1/15 second

ISO 1600

f2.8 @ 1/125 second
f4 @ 1/60 second
f5.6 @ 1/30 second

As you can easily see, what we might consider a brightly lit room isn't so bright to our camera. The human brain compensates for light levels.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

When you want to take pictures in indoor or low-light situations without a flash, there are two things you can do. The first is use a tripod and set the shutter to stay open longer. The problem with that is you may need to have the shutter open for 1/4 of a second or longer, and having the shutter open for more than 1/60 of a second will cause blur if anything moves. The alternative is to get a higher speed film, like ISO 800 or higher, and set the camera on automatic. Higher speed film requires less light and gets a proper exposure very quickly. You may have to go to a camera store to get anything over ISO 800, but it's worth it if you want to get clear pictures of fast-moving objects or situations with low light.

Answer 4

Perhaps a bit of time READING a book about the basic concepts of image capture will be your best bet right now.

One night with a book, will reveal the answers to the mysteries you keep asking about.

I'm not trying to be mean, but it would literally take an hour or more of typing to answer the questions you ask. When you ask about exposure, ect. it is such a general topic, with so many variables...

See if you can find a copy of 'National Geographic's Photographers Field Guide' , I think it is a book you will enjoy.
G'Luck and keep shooting

Answer 5

The only answer to that is "the setting that gets a good exposure in conjunction with your apeture and shutter speed".

For a given apeture (f-stop) using a higher ISO means you can use a faster shutter speed for the same exposure, which is handy for things which are moving, however a higher ISO will generally result in more noise in the image.

Answer 6

Using ISO 400 film speeds,Shutter speed at "Bulb" ,aperutre at f /16,without flash for outdoor at night, ISO 400 film speeds,Shutter speed at 1/30 seconds,apertutre at f/3.5 or f/4.5, using Bounce fash with Lightsphere,Amberdome diffuser for Tungsten lighting,like Hotel,Restuarant, street light,etc.chromedome for controlling direct and bounce lighting for higher ceiling.Try to get the best images.

Answer 7

For you, I'd stick to "Auto"