How to take Photos in Low Light?

[attap seed]

Hi night photography experts,
I just got myself a new Canon DSLR with lense kit EFS 18-55mm, f/3.5-5.6IS. I was trying to take some candid shots in a restaurant at night. I dont want to use flash as the ambience of warm light will be lost. As such, I choose to use aperture priority and set it to max opening of f/3.5 and increase the ISO to 800, shutter speed is auto based on the aperture size for enough exposure. The ambience is there but the moving subjects in the photos are blurred since they are not posing and not keeping still.
As such, what is the best way to settle this? Use a prime lens with bigger aperture of f/1.2 so that the shutter speed is increased?

how often do u shoot under low light, and in addition, using a tripod and/or flash is not an option?

if the answer is yes, by all means, get a fast lens.

else, u will find that that fast lens will sit in the dry box most of the time, after u dun shoot so often in a restaurant where the light is low.

also, a fast aperture creates its own problem, namely, very shallow DOF.

 

[zoossh]

how often do u shoot under low light, and in addition, using a tripod and/or flash is not an option?

if the answer is yes, by all means, get a fast lens.

else, u will find that that fast lens will sit in the dry box most of the time, after u dun shoot so often in a restaurant where the light is low.

also, a fast aperture creates its own problem, namely, very shallow DOF.

but fast lens are "downward" compatible for other situations too, as long as the focal length is appropriate, isn't it?

 

[bedrock]

a fast lens is always good to have but not cheap. Personally I wont buy a fast lens just to take candid shots in a low light. If the photo is of portraits, then I would go ahead and use flash. If the photo is of the environment, then a tripod would be useful.

 

[attap seed]

but fast lens are "downward" compatible for other situations too, as long as the focal length is appropriate, isn't it?

correct.

actually, i ve thought of buying a 50 1.8 for low light photography too.

but, this focal length has already been covered by my kit lens, 18-55. stevenc also owns a similar lens.

my other hobby is fishing. how this relates to photography is that many elements are beyond our control, and buying specific equipment to deal w specific and/or rare situations dun normally make economic sense. learning to compromise and adapt usually works out fine.

attached are 2 photos taken under low light, w/o flash.

观音堂was shot under mixed artificial lighting, at nite, handheld.

the other was under shade, natural light, tripod.

 

[night86mare]

correct.

actually, i ve thought of buying a 50 1.8 for low light photography too.

well a fast 50mm lens isn't just used purely for low light photography, some people enjoy having the DOF, and to be fair, it *is* sharper when stopped down compared to most kit lenses - most decent 50mm fast primes anyways.

that said, buying it for pure low light photography seems quite silly.. it probably means that you'd end up getting a lot of shallow dof photographs.. then you have another problem.. getting the focus right.