Help with lowlight photography & Leica D 25mm f1.4

[bbodine9]

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I hope the forum members here can help me out because you are some of the most knowledgeable folks I have seen on any of the various forums. My predicament is learning how to properly use this very nice lens on my Olympus E-1 camera to shoot low light photography of grandchildren. When I have it wide open for maximum aperture say in restaurant lighting I get too much blurred motion. I am wondering if there is a minimum shutter speed I should stay at to stop this from happening. Also does anyone know of a legitimate way to test lens sharpness to make sure it is all it shoud be. I respect the Leica name but just want to make sure before the warranty period runs out. Thanks !

[dpattinson]

I hope the forum members here can help me out because you are some of the most knowledgeable folks I have seen on any of the various forums. My predicament is learning how to properly use this very nice lens on my Olympus E-1 camera to shoot low light photography of grandchildren. When I have it wide open for maximum aperture say in restaurant lighting I get too much blurred motion. I am wondering if there is a minimum shutter speed I should stay at to stop this from happening. Also does anyone know of a legitimate way to test lens sharpness to make sure it is all it shoud be. I respect the Leica name but just want to make sure before the warranty period runs out. Thanks !

 

If things that are not moving are blurred, and specifically if point light sources in the shot are becoming wiggly lines - then the problem is most likely that you are moving the camera a little while taking the shot. To avoid this, you should try to take the photo at a shutterspeed of greater than around 1/45-1/60 with that lens, and be careful about holding it steady.

If the non moving stuff is ok, but the people are blurry, then it's because they are moving while you are taking the shot - to 'stop' movement you really need to be shooting at 1/250 or faster. You may need to boost the iso to allow this kind of shutter speed.

If nothing is clear, and even point sources of light are showing up as symmetric round blurs - then the lens is not focussing properly in the conditions, probably not very likely as you've described motion blur.

 

hope this helps, David.