Same Lens, Different Body, More light?

Would the same lens (50/1.4) on a different body let in more/less light?

 

I'm shooting low light no flash gymnastics. I have a 50/1.4 and 85/1.8. It

doesn't get that much faster than that...i think.

 

The other day, I shot at 3200 iso, 1.4, and got only 1/500 shutter speed at

best. It's not enough to stop the full twisting layout. Would a different

body to stop the action with these lenses?

Incoming light is only controlled by the lens opening, not the body!

You'd get 1/750th with a 50mm f/1.2 or 85mm f/1.2, or 1/1000th with a 50mm f/1.0 - but other than that, you are going to have to wait for a digital body that offers a higher ISO than 3200 unless you underexpose and try to recover the shot from a RAW capture - but that is not likely to produce a good or even half useable result. The best ISO 3200 performance on a DSLR is with the 5D - so if your camera offers a poorer performance you could perhaps stand a slightly better chance with underexposing.

 

Alternatively, you could try pushing a fast B&W film, but be prepared for huge grain. For example Ilford does provide processing guidelines for Delta 3200 up to EI 12800 which would give you 1/2000th at f/1.4.

Ever consider a big flash gun?

 

At high ISO, and depend on how far you are from your subject, a fullpower output of a 580EX should give your some more speed (Manual and high sync)

How about reflectors? They help.

Hi Janis, Just a thought - I have no clue how illuminated the event you're shooting is but if the gymnast is in a spotlight at all, then a longer telephoto (zoom or prime) might help by filling the frame with the (hopefully better illuminated) subject. Good luck!

85mm f1.2:)

Only 1/500 second in low light? That doesn't sound so shabby to me. Maybe you need to try catching what they used to refer to as the "peak of the action" back in the days of slow f/2 lenses and slow ASA400 film, catching a point where the action slows for an instant.

Flash is banned at gymnastic events. In any case, high speed sync is NOT the way to go to freeze action because the flash reach is severely curtailed, and you don't get to benefit from the short flash duration of X sync flash to help freeze the motion. Canon actually advise that HSS on a 580EX is for use in portrait photography, where it allows a wide aperture to be used in backlit conditions even with a brightly lit background at distances of a few feet. See this explanation of HSS:

 

http://www.photozone.de/3Technology/flashtec5.htm

Thanks for the responses! (I figured that body doesn't matter, but I had to try anyway)

 

Unfortunately, I can't quite afford the 1.2/1.0 nor could I afford the ff body just yet. (But I'm still waiting anxiously to see what Canon is releasing soon.)

 

I've been also studying all the other gymnastics shots and noticing that unless the venue has pretty good lighting, no one else stops that full twisting layout too often either. I guess I'll just keep practicing and experimenting.

 

Thanks!

This is an weird proposition but theoretically, if B&W images are ok with you then you could consider using a infrared filter on the flash, with a IF filter on the lens you should be able to use the flash without any problems (the IR filter will block out all the visible light so they won't see the flash burst). If you need color you could do the same but the results may be a little weird. B&W will give you softer skin tones and a sort of glow around the figures.

just a thought

Mark--Interesting. where can you get an IR filter for a flash? Is it a gel thing?

A regular IR filter fitted onto a flash would do, im guessing B&H would sell them - i know they sell the sheets of IR filters that you could cut and form to your flash but an actual adapter might be something you need to come up with yourself. If you use both the filter on the flash and the lens, then you will get a true IR image. If you just put the filter on the flash then youre just boosting the amount of IR light in the image which could be enough to get the results you need.