@jrhoffman75 wrote:
Low light conditions are tough. I use P mode and Auto ISO. If you can't get better lighting you will get grain (digital noise).
Yes, low light conditions are tough. One way around it is to use a faster lens, one with a smaller f/stop number. I would also assume that you're using the standard zoom, kit lens at the shorter focal lengths. If not, you should. And, a well leveled head on a leveled tripod would make your results look better, too. I would suggest a fast, wide angle lens, but not too wide, though.
Depending upon your budget [with a T3i] I would recommend several, starting with the Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM, which is made specifically for a EF-S mount cameras like your Rebel T3i. There is also the 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC CS Lens for Canon EF-S Mount from Rokinon, or its' Bower cousin with the same model number, as a good manually operated lens, which is also made for the EF-S mount camera bodies.
At the moment, I think the best buy for an inexpensive wide angle, fast lens would be the 14mm f/2.8 IF ED UMC Lens for Canon EF from Rokinon. It is currently selling at my favorite online superstore at a deep discount. Besides, the Canon lens, it is currently the least expensive of the lenses that I have suggested. This lens is made for full-frame camera bodies, and it will also work on your T3i. The T3i would crop the images quite nicely.
This lens is also a fully, manually operated lens, which means that there is no auto-focus mechanism built into the lens. You would need to put the camera into "M" mode, set the ISO and f/stop to "Auto", and adjust lens' aperture and focus from the rear LCD screen. Dial in about f/4, or faster, on the lens.
While that may sound difficult, it is actually more than worth the effort. It requires the use of a tripod for focusing, but once you get a good focus set at "infinity", then anything more than a car length away will be in focus.
There are also "cine", short for cinema, versions fo the Rokinon and Bower lenses, which I happen to prefer because of their "declicked" aperture rings.
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"Fooling computers since 1972."
