Digital cameras 101

[marazipan]

I'm fairly new to photography, but I'm trying to build a portfolio to apply to college. One of my main subjects are my sister's roller derby bouts. These take place in arenas smothered in fluorescent lighting. I have a Nikon d60. My problem is that I need a fast shutter speed to catch the action, but for the speed I need, the aperture needs to be all the way open and then the photos turn black. I've tried using the auto or sports setting but then the photos become very grainy or shadowy. Is there anything I can do to fix this?

[bdery]

Hello,

what lens are you using and what camera mode are you using? can you tell us the exact shooting parameters you selected?

If you want to develop your skills, I would stay away from the automatic modes that your camera offers.

If the images turn too dark, I suspect that you selected a shutter speed that is much too fast for the amount of light you have available. Are you sure that you opened, and not closed, the aperture? A small aperture number means a large opening (just to make sure you did not think it was the other way around).

I suggest you set your camera in A mode (aperture priority) and select the widest aperture available. The camera will set the shutter speed accordingly, to ensure a proper exposure. You will probably have to increase the ISO significantly, however. An inside room might look bright to our eyes, but it can be quite dark in absolute. Our eyes are much better than any camera at "gaining up" in low light...

[marazipan]

I am using the standard lens that came with my Nikon D60. I had tried using the shutter speed setting but because of the lighting in the arena I could only set the speed up to 1/200 which still left the pictures blurred because of the speed. I tried working with the manual setting to control both shutter and aperture (and yes I had it open not closed, not only did i take a basics class in highschool, but my camera has a nifty visual showing the aperture opening )
I'm assuming my main problem is that fluorescent lighting, as you said is much darker than it appears and it flickers.
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by ISO though :S or adjusting it... it has been awhile since I took that class..

[bdery]

Hello again,

let's start with ISO, it will help you. ISO is the equivalent of "volume" on your stero, it increases the gain on your sensor so even when light levels are low, the output will look bright. The tradeoff is that noise (sort of like grain on film, but less beautiful) will increase. With the kind of sensor you have, using a value up to 1600 should give good results, but test it to see what looks good to your eyes. A higher ISO value means more gain, each time you double the number, you double the gain. Look here for more information:

http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-features/advanced-settings/iso/

http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-features/advanced-settings/iso/

Now, about adjusting shutter speed and aperture... Three parameters work together to delivering a prope exposure : shutter speed, aperture and ISO. These three must be matched for an image to be properly exposed. So while it is worthwhile to set an appropriate shutter speed, and opening the aperture, if your shutter speed is too low for the ambiant light the image will still be dark. That is why I suggested A (aperture) mode. In that mode, the camera will calculate the proper shutter speed while you set the apeture (and ISO).

You have to understand that your lens is good, but might not be the best choice for indoors sports photography... a lens with a wider aperture would help you tremendously. A slolution could be to get nearer and "zoom" less. Your lens has a wider aperture when set at a wider angle.

I hope this makes things clearer.