Hi All,

I have an old trusty 350D that I bought from Rexilla (Ben) eons ago. The thing is still going strong.

Anyway, is the old girl capable of doing low light photography (without a tripod) with the correct lens?

I pretty much want to achieve low light hand held shots with a fairly run of the mill zoom range, say 18-35.

I have the old 50mm 1.8 Gerry Gibbs nothing burger canon $80 lens that almost does the job but the photos are very grainy when set at 800 / 1600 iso. Any lower and the shutter is just open way too long.

Is it time to chuck the balaclava on, ram raid a caltex, grab the ATM and head to disco stu for a 1D or can I get reasonable results from the 350?

A 1D? Total overkill.
Another lens isn't going to help you. A newer sensor will. Grab a 60D.

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[I]trolololol[/I]

What setting are you trying to take the photos in? Night-time cityscape? Indoor? Moving or stationary subjects? There are heaps of ways to get decent shots in low light without needing to upgrade the body depending on what you're shooting.

Depending on the setting a small beanbag can be a good stand-in for a tripod, make sure you use the self timer or a cable shutter release.

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Ryan

You're obviously limited by the 350D's sensor, but it sounds like you're on the right track. Open up the aperture as much as you can (lower the number - possibly only goes to down/open to f4.5 on the lens you're using) and crank the iso as high as you can without getting too much noise.
If you've got photoshop, you've got more room to move.
Shoot at even higher iso's and use noiseninja to clean them up, or shoot in raw, underexpose a bit and then use PS to correct the exposure.
Aside from that, it may be time for an upgrade.

EDIT: just read what lens you're using. Ignore what I said about aperture.

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Signarape!

If you've got a 50mm f/1.8 and use that wide open and still can't get good shutter speeds then another lens isn't going to help your situation.

What sort of low light situations are you trying to photograph?

If indoors or close-ish outdoors then look at getting an external flash. Either a 430EX II for the ETTL or the cheaper yongnuo ones if you don't mind going manual mode. If your budget is big enough the 580EX II is also an option.

When looking for a flash myself I read that the ETTL for third party flashes weren't always consistent and they had all been reverse engineered so I would recommend going for a canon.

Once you get use to using the flash (bouncing it/diffusing) then you'll be able to get great low light photos.


edit: and don't under estimate the 50mm nothing burger canon you have, primes are much sharper than zooms and image quality of your lens would be as good as a L-lens zoom. I've taken my best photos with the 50mm f/1.8

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Cw9Kbf-4FT..._6745small.jpg
photo i took with the 50mm

Thanks for the info all.

I own a 430EX, I just hate the unnatural look a flash gives even when bouncing / diffusing.

I am usually doing close up portrait, quick grab the camera, no time for a tripod / remote trigger.

I have my Leica but I just prefer the better quality photos that an SLR Produces.

Turn the lights on in the bedroom?

Get a 50mm 1.2

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[COLOR="Gray"]550Nm off a 2L... Just wish it was in the dak dak...[/COLOR]

Thanks mate, knew I could count on you.

Srs...

How dark?

I found for night stalking shots using the 50mm 1.4 helped out on the 350d.

Only other option is to upgrade the body to something with less noise at high iso.

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[COLOR="Gray"]550Nm off a 2L... Just wish it was in the dak dak...[/COLOR]

Honestly, I think you are silly not using flash. There are ways to diffuse or bounce that don't look that bad. Otherwise you are relying on what ever light is available which isn't always going to be better in all situations. At least using flash the results can be consistent and repeatable.