settings in cloudy weather

(ladythump) · (ladythump) **Join Date: Jul 2004** 06-13-2005, 10:02 AM

I have an idea of what I should set my SLR for sunny skies. But what do you photo pro's suggest for cloudier days?

I just hooked up with a digital Rebel XT with a 75/300 zoom. There's a lot to learn with the camera so any tips would be greatly appreciated.

(richd) · (richd) **Join Date: Oct 2003** 06-13-2005, 6:11 PM

You need to be more specific, are you shooting sports where you need faster shutter speeds to freeze action or landscapes where you may want max depth of field. Or maybe you're asking about what white balance setting to use?

(ladythump) · (ladythump) **Join Date: Jul 2004** 06-14-2005, 6:19 AM

oh sorry. Talking about shooting a wakeboarder when the weather is cloudy. 1/2000 f4 is what I heard you should try using for sunny weather, but what if its' cloudy??
I know a lot will be trial and error, but I was looking for an idea of where to start.

(richd) · (richd) **Join Date: Oct 2003** 06-14-2005, 6:46 AM

Set your camera on manual. Anywhere from f4 to f5.6 are good apertures and will give you good background blur. 1000th of a second is fast enough and will freeze the rider. If you can't get enough exposure at 1000th and f4 on a cloudy day then increase your ISO until you're exposed properly. The Rebel XT will handle up to ISO 1600 with relatively little noise.

(ladythump) · (ladythump) **Join Date: Jul 2004** 06-14-2005, 7:17 AM

Nice! Thank you!

(ladythump) · (ladythump) **Join Date: Jul 2004** 06-14-2005, 12:46 PM

when you say exposed properly ... do you mean on my meter level when setting the manual for aperture and speed, that mark should be in the middle of the line?

(toolfan) · (toolfan) **Join Date: Jul 2003** 06-14-2005, 1:43 PM

knowing Rich, he probably means shirtless.

(richd) · (richd) **Join Date: Oct 2003** 06-14-2005, 5:54 PM

Tool, you just couldn't resist could you? Get that ISO exposed huh!

Ronia,

Sorry, allow me to get this thread back out of the gutter. Yes the needle is your exposure meter. Anything to the left of center is underexposed, to the right over-exposed. The big ticks represent a stop of under/over exposure and the samll ones 1/2 to 1/3rd stop depending how you set your camera up. If you're shooting all manual and as an example the needle shows 1 full stop under-exposed you could do one of three things:

1) Decrease your shutter speed by 1 full stop (ie 2000th to 1000th)
2) Increase your aperture (ie f5.6 to f4)
3) increase your ISO (ie 100 to 200)

These are just arbitrary examples, you need to know what all 3 of those are set at and then adjust accordingly depending on what your scene is metering at.