Best Camera Setting for Photo Shoot At Grand Central Station (Page 4): ...the world is your tripod!

chasgroh Loc: Buena Park, CA

jerryc41 wrote:

Forget the flash.

I've taken some long exposures with the camera resting on the little wall on the Grand Staircase - where the stairs split right and left. It's like a tripod, but you're not in the way. Experiment with aperture and shutter, and you can see the results immediately. No one is going to give exact settings that will work right off the bat.

...the world is your tripod!

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Bullfrog Bill wrote:

People have higher expectations.

They also have better tools - in 1978 I had ISO 100 and no stabilization.

Stephan G

rehess wrote:

They also have better tools - in 1978 I had ISO 100 and no stabilization.

You should have had a couple of Highballs at the lounge prior to shooting. (Do they still serve Highballs there? ["Highball" also has a railroad connotation.] )

Note bene: Family took steam train out of GCT to get over to NJ/Ellis Island in 1955. To "sign in". Smoke got into head and is still there.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

lghicks wrote:

You do know that "Grand Central Station" is the Post Office, and "Grand Central Terminal" is the railway station?

It is used interchangeably as station or terminal. Also is referred to as just Grand Central FYI.

Now for settings I would start out with auto settings. The main space is too big for most flash units. Then try some using aperture priority. A tripod if allowed will come in handy for longer exposures. Keep your ISO at about 200 or less if possible.
Best to experiment while there with combinations of settings.
Finally have fun and ask others with you for their suggestions as there might be somebody with experience in the space and could give invaluable advice on the spot.

Shel B

Having never been there, but having been in several large buildings, I really don't think a flash is of much use...you know, like all those flashes going of at night football games. I'd think you would want to use f11 or 16 for good depth of field and let the camera set the shutter speed. Use a tripod, of course. Concentrate on composition...Make sure you set your white balance...

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Shel B wrote:

Having never been there, but having been in several large buildings, I really don't think a flash is of much use...you know, like all those flashes going of at night football games. I'd think you would want to use f11 or 16 for good depth of field and let the camera set the shutter speed. Use a tripod, of course. Concentrate on composition...Make sure you set your white balance...

The OP has a Canon SX530 camera - which has a 1/2.3"sensor. A sensor that small provides a deep DoF at almost any aperture, and most likely would have diffraction issues at f/11 and above. No, the OP should be operating close to the largest opening available.

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

Wrong. A flash is not your friend. If everything being shot is about ten feet away and you don't mind boring, flat light, use a flash. If I didn't need to fill flash the foreground, maybe shooting a model, I wouldn't even bring it.
..Cam

speters wrote:

A flash is always a good idea at low-light-situations, the camera settings depend on the situation on hand!

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

If you plan on using a tripod at GCT, be sure to get their free tripod permit; I recently read that a permit is necessary for tripods and it was easy to get on their website.

Pilot

Tom G wrote:

Well, I also think we could rename it; because trains also begin trips from Grand Central, how about Grand Central Original (from Originate).

Or maybe, if you're not going all the way to the west coast, it could be named Grand Central Partial.

In the end, most of us know it as Grand Central Station... not Post Office.

Over... and Out

In aviation parlance the word OVER means, "My transmission has ended and I expect a reply from you." The word OUT means, "My transmission has ended
and I expect NO reply from you." Over and Out is somewhat confusing then. You hear a lot of Over and Outs in the old WWII movies.

Stephan G

Pilot wrote:

In aviation parlance the word OVER means, "My transmission has ended and I expect a reply from you." The word OUT means, "My transmission has ended
and I expect NO reply from you." Over and Out is somewhat confusing then. You hear a lot of Over and Outs in the old WWII movies.

Could have been a "party"line.

"It's yours. I'm gone."

Shel B

Sorry, I guess I'm misinformed. Never knew that a sensor, or film, provided depth of field. I thought that was a product of the aperture. And when you say diffraction, I guess you mean he would get a "star" effect from light sources. I'd be ok with that. And if it were objectionable, he could open the lens up a little. When I shoot landscapes, dof is very important to me. Ditto interiors though I rare shoot them. Can't imagine shooting an interior at f5.6 but with that cameras magic sensor, I guess it's ok.

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

You should use quote reply see the rest of us know who and what you are referring too.

Shel B wrote:

Sorry, I guess I'm misinformed. Never knew that a... (show quote)

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

Thinking about Grand Central there is a lot of detail, what are you planning on shooting, The Main Hall, The famous Expensive Clock , the ceiling, the food court, the lower court? the tunnels and ramps? All require different approaches. I usually suffice with an ISO of 800 and adjust the f stop from there, Bob.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Shel B wrote:

Sorry, I guess I'm misinformed. Never knew that a... (show quote)

Nothing 'magical' here - sensors interact with lenses to create several effects; I don't want to get too deep here, because several members went ten rounds over this recently.

When providing the same framing {i.e., having the same '35mm focal length'}, it turns out that a smaller sensor yields a deeper DOF when interacting with a given aperture.

It also turns out that diffraction depends on the size of the sensor pixel, and a small sensor such as the OP has, will almost always have smaller sensor pixels than a larger sensor does. Diffraction means more than how light sources are captured; the same effect that turns a point source into a 'star' also reduces sharpness in general.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

lghicks wrote:

You do know that "Grand Central Station" is the Post Office, and "Grand Central Terminal" is the railway station?

https://www.grandcentralterminal.com/history/

From the link above:

Pennsylvania Station, one of the city’s architectural gems, was demolished in 1963. That loss galvanized a broad-based movement to save Grand Central from a similar fate. But preservationists faced stiff opposition. There were many proposals for replacing or changing Grand Central, including a design by architect Marcel Breuer for a 55-story tower atop the terminal. The railroad, joined by eager developers, tussled with the new Landmarks Preservation Commission and challenged the landmarks law in court. To counter them, former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and architect Philip Johnson founded the Committee to Save Grand Central Station in 1975.In 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Grand Central’s landmark status. The building was saved from destruction, but not from neglect.
“Europe has its cathedrals, and we have Grand Central Station. Europe wouldn’t put a tower on a cathedral.”
Phillip Johnson, The New York Times, January 31, 1975