In Reply to: Photo question posted by seahunt on August 01, 2008 at 15:00:45:

Bumping the ASA in digital can generate noise (white specks in the picture.) You're just telling the electronics to "over amplify" the signal - like cranking an audio amp to the stop. That said, most cameras handle 400 without any problems. Nikon advises against using 800 and up. Open the aperture really wide (f2.8 or better, f12 is pretty small) and focus manually as your depth of field gets tight as the aperture opens. A 4 second shutter speed requires a fixed camera and an immobile subject. Or you could buy a REALLY BIG flash...

Gerry