Last Supper in Malan Italy: I'm going there in May. Many sites say photography (without flash) is acceptable for private use only. I will be shooting with my Nikon D500. Any ideas...

RayS

I'm going there in May. Many sites say photography (without flash) is acceptable for private use only. I will be shooting with my Nikon D500. Any ideas about exposure including ISO would be welcome. I will also have my IPhone 6s with me as backup.

EJMcD

The obvious answer is Higher ISO's (to a level that you deem acceptable) and/or slow shutter speeds with a VR lens.

Frayud Loc: Bethesda,MD

Why not just turn to "Auto" and just enjoy the immediate beauty of the sights you are visiting? You can touch the photos up later in Post.

tradio Loc: Oxford, Ohio

Maybe a small travel tripod would come in handy..?

EJMcD

Frayud wrote:

Why not just turn to "Auto" and just enjoy the immediate beauty of the sights you are visiting? You can touch the photos up later in Post.

Of course AUTO might choose a shutter speed lower than what can be hand held. Even more so if you don't have a VR lens.

EJMcD

tradio wrote:

Maybe a small travel tripod would come in handy..?

That would certainly help but I don't know of any Museums that allow any form of tripod.

10MPlayer Loc: California

Yes, tripods are most likely out. Maybe a small monopod. Like someone else said, why not just enjoy the beauty. My experience of attempting to capture paintings on a camera has been dissapointing. I think even the best photos of art work come off as pale imitations. You're more likely to get a good image of artwork in the museum brochure or online. We went to the Netherlands and Belgium in 2019 and I tried shooting some of Paul Reubens' paintings when we visited his home in Antwerp. Needless to say the results sucked. I couldn't match the colors and there was a lot of distortion because I couldn't shoot the paintings head on. Better to go online and find a nice photo if you need a reminder of what you saw.

There was a point when my daughter was young where I decided to leave the camera at home. I grew weary of watching her ballet and her softball games through a viewfinder; always jostling to get a good spot to shoot from. Better to enjoy the moment and record it in your memory. Just one man's point of view.

EJMcD

10MPlayer wrote:

Yes, tripods are most likely out. Maybe a small mo... (show quote)

I understand your point of view and am sorry that your experience was disappointing. Personally, I'm addicted to photography and will make every effort to get to the best line of sight when making a photo. With today's digital cameras, I believe it's hard to take a bad photo "and" with editing software (e.g. perspective control, brightness, contrast, color correction) you can improve any image. I don't know what you were shooting with but most modern cameras (like my D5) perform remarkably well in low lighting. And the best digital feature is the delete button. If you're not satisfied with what you get, delete it, adjust your settings and take another shot. Oh and I have 4 daughters, nine grandchildren and some remarkable images of all their sporting events which includes football, baseball, basketball, softball, soccer, volleyball, competition cheerleading, karate, dance class and a few other things that I can't remember. They will all be perfectly preserved indefinitely thanks to digital technology.

RayS

EJMcD wrote:

I understand your point of view and am sorry that ... (show quote)

RayS

Thanks for the input and advice. Maybe my question was too broad but I was hoping for a small idea on how high of ISO I could push my D500 and still get reasonable (not 30 X 40) results. I'd hate to get home and find I'd pushed way too far.

worldcycle Loc: Stateline, Nevada

I may be out of line here, but why? Hundreds if not thousands of photos of practically any masterpiece you may want to view on the internet. Unless of course you want to prove you were there. Then a cell phone selfie does the job quite nicely.

I travel fairly extensively and visit museums where ever I go. It has become very prevalent now that the crowds are at the museum only to appreciate art by taking a photo. You cannot really It is becoming virtually impossible to appreciate great art anymore without hoards of people filing past, pausing only momentarily long enough to take a photo. Why bother going to the museum at all if this what you are going to do when you can sit at home and do a virtual tour?

EJMcD

RayS wrote:

Thanks for the input and advice. Maybe my question was too broad but I was hoping for a small idea on how high of ISO I could push my D500 and still get reasonable (not 30 X 40) results. I'd hate to get home and find I'd pushed way too far.

I do my own custom printing but have never done anything beyond 13" x 19". I'm also shooting with a different camera (D5). I think you need to do some experimenting with yours to determine what is acceptable to YOU and YOUR camera. However, maybe some other members with a D500 can give you some more specific input from their experience.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

RayS wrote:

I'm going there in May. Many sites say photography (without flash) is acceptable for private use only. I will be shooting with my Nikon D500. Any ideas about exposure including ISO would be welcome. I will also have my IPhone 6s with me as backup.

I hate to break it to you, but a full frame camera known for great high ISO/low light performance may be worth renting. It doesn't matter if it is mirrorless or a DSLR. A D500 would not be my first choice, due to it's lack-luster low light/high ISO performance. Fast lenses are not helpful if the intent is to use them wide open. Most are not that great at F1.4 and F1.8 - but if you are using lenses like these at regular apertures of F2.8 and smaller, you'll be rewarded with good, crisp images. ISO advice is not possible - you'll have to follow your gut and work with what you've got. Surprisingly, you should be able to get some decent images with somewhat high ISOs (1600 and higher), but you'll need to use some post processing to reveal the most detail, and remove most of the noise. The best applications work most effectively when using raw files.

EJMcD

worldcycle wrote:

I may be out of line here, but why? Hundreds if n... (show quote)

I don't think you're out of line but those of us with a sincere interest in photography derive a lot of satisfaction from taking and printing our own photos.

Chicago312 Loc: Western suburb, Chicago

RayS wrote:

I'm going there in May. Many sites say photography (without flash) is acceptable for private use only. I will be shooting with my Nikon D500. Any ideas about exposure including ISO would be welcome. I will also have my IPhone 6s with me as backup.

I don’t have a D500, but acceptable ISO is something you can determine yourself. Consider visiting any local art museums and bring what you plan to take on your trip. Make various adjustments and keep pushing the ISO up as high as you can. At home, you will see during post processing what ISO level you can live with. If it’s not acceptable, then, as one person pointed out, consider renting/borrowing a full frame camera. Newer models handle higher ISO better.
Good luck and have a great trip.