Manual Setting help

[CBass]

Ok this weekend i will be shooting a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tourny in a middle school gym. Since my new camera isn't in yet i will be using a friends D40 (not the X) and using his 18-55 and 55-200 lens. I tried to rent some better ones but didn't get the chance to so im stuck with these two.

Now im new still to photography and for sure to DSLR's i have been using P&S for some time. Now i don't know a thing about what setting i should be using with the 55-200 f4.5 in a middle school gym. The good news is that the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu matchs are more like wrestling matchs so there isnt a lot of fast action. I do however need to have a fast enough shutter to freeze frame the subjects.

I would like some help on what i should set the ISO at, or the AP or Shutter speed. Also you got Metering Mode, AF-area mode, focus mode and WB. All of this is so new to me so any help would be great. I dont want just set it in a preset mode or on auto cause im sure i won't get the shots i really want. Thanks for any and all help.

[taygull]

Wow,

Basically you are wanting to understand the exposure triangle all at once, add to that you want to understand white balance and how to adjust it. Not an easy task.

Remember the reason to raise the ISO is so you can get faster shutters speeds(really is is to let in more light, but you get the idea). Your image quality typically goes down as your ISO goes up. If it were me I'd shoot at an ISO of 1600 and see what happens. You need to determine the shutter speed and aperture setting you want. Then just keep dialing up the ISO to see if you can get that. Do you know how to read a histogram? If not you need to understand how to read this and it will tell you if you are getting a good exposure. Set your metering to the setting that looks at most of the image and watch the light meter built into the camera. You can then adjust your shutter speed, aperture or ISO so you get what you want.

You might be best shooting in TV mode and let the camera adjust the aperture. Keep bumping the ISO until you get an aperture that works with the shutter speed you have dialed in. I'd also use a single point focus and re-frame the shot, this way you know what you want to be in focus is in focus. I never use all the focus points on my bodies.

I'm guessing you are going to have a tough time if the fastest glass you have is a f4.5. You will also need to remember that your minimum shutter speed will be the same as the focal length of your camera. So if you are shooting at 200mm you better have a shutter speed of at least 1/200. Since you are new I'd probably want it double the focal length as my shutter speed setting, this may not be possible given the lighting.

If you are not using flash then I'd set the white balance to tungsten, shoot raw and you can adjust it in post processing.

[CaptainTom]

ISO 1600
smallest f-stop number for your lens
1/250 sec
white balance Auto
RAW mode ( you must have a post processing program )

If the histogram looks bad, try 1/125sec
use a tripod or monopod for stability

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
But, a broken digital clock is never right.

i.e. shoot in manual mode