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New user needs help!

StaciesMom15
Contributor

All my photos are coming out underexposed. The settings are 400 ISO, F5.0, 1/60. All of the pictures are almost completely black. 

It comes out bright if I put my ISO at 3200, but it's super noisy, or my shutter speed at 2", but it's super blurry. Putting my F5.0 up all the way to F30 just makes the photo completely black, like I have the lens cap one. I don't btw, I checked. 

Please help. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

11 REPLIES 11

StaciesMom15
Contributor
Ooh ok. I have the Canon EFS 18-55mm.

Yes, that is the most common lens and the lens most people have.  It is good at what it does and offers. However, the  main most factor with that lens, and any kit lens, is price.  Canon has to keep the cost down for this segment of the market.  For most people it does the job very well. Inexpensive and provides decent photos.  It is when you ask it to do things that live on the outer limits of its ability.  There is one fact you need to understand, some accomplished photographers don't know or perhaps realize this fact. All cameras, all lenses have their limits.  No matter how expensive it is, all have a limit to what they can do.

Your lens, the 18-55mm zoom is a varibile aperture.  That means it is only f3.5 for one millimeter. At 19mm its f-ratio is already going down.  Because of this, the 18-55mm kit zoom is what we call a slow lens. Canon does make a lens very similar, it is the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens.  You might say, well at f2.8, it is not even a full stop faster so why do you say it is a faster lens? Because it is a constant f2.8 aperture lens.  It is f2.8 at 19mm and it is f2.8 at 55mm and everything in between. However, it isn't as cheap to make a constant f2.8 lens so its price is more than twice as much as the kit lens.

 

Another lens I am keen on right now is the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art Lens for Canon.  It is a constant f1.8 which is almost unheard of in this type of zoom lens. Again, the price goes up as the quality goes up. One nice thing is these lenses almost never wear out. They can last and go through many camera bodies.  They are more of a one time purchase.

 

I mentioned the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens before.  It is a prime lens which means it doesn't zoom.  But it offers a very fast lens at f1.8 and a significantly sharper picture.  It is very reasonably priced around $125 bucks. Besides you can "zoom" with your feet like we did in the (g)olden days!Smiley Happy

EB
EOS 1D, EOS 1D MK IIn, EOS 1D MK III, EOS 1Ds MK III, EOS 1D MK IV and EOS 1DX and many lenses.
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