Black (light) box
As noted previously, Swapping out the light colored backgrounds for the black yielded some weird results. With the camera in aperture priority and Auto ISO set to full auto, the ISO skyrocketed with just that change.
Later I realized I was still operating with matrix metering, where the camera takes in the light from the entire frame. That's fine for most instances, but I'm doing this...
The camera wants to account for everything outside of the box as well as Akane here.
So now I've switched to spot metering, where the camera will meter from just a selected spot in the middle of the frame. I've dropped to a strict 100 ISO. D600, 50mm f/1.8D lens at f/8.
Uh huh. The camera wanted to do 1/5 sec. I'm on a tripod, but not on a timer. Thus the shake.
Let's see what happens when I use the shutter speeds *I* want to use. 1/60...
1/100
1/125
1/150
1/200
And finally 1/250
The box is plenty bright with a light colored background, but it's obvious a little help is needed.
I KNOW!
An LED bulb from the studio kit, dangled from the arm of a desk lamp and pointing through the top flap of the box. That gives plenty of light and then some.
Same f/8 and ISO 100, but with the big bulb only, the camera now asks for 1/30 sec.
And for comparison, 1/50
And 1/60.
And now let's turn on the box lights as well. It's powered by a mere 5V via USB, so it's not really a powerhouse. This time the camera recommends 1/40 sec.
And once more at 1/50
And 1/60
I was about ready to give up on the black backdrop, as the results up to now were basically crap. It took some literal outside-the-box thinking to bring it back from the brink.
And boopenings to @sirfrogsworth. I've been busy the last few days, as you can see. The figure family is continuing to grow as I recruit more victims, er, test subjects, I mean models.
