Flamedude707 From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 235 posts, RR: 0 Posted (6 years 9 months 1 day 3 hours ago) and read 2886 times:
I have always been amazed by some of the fantastic shots that come to this website that are taken inthe late eveing and at night. What settings are optimal, say for shots like this one here, which by the way is excellent.
Aero145 From Iceland, joined Jan 2005, 3070 posts, RR: 23 Reply 1, posted (6 years 9 months 1 day 1 hour ago) and read 2854 times:
When I shoot at night, I tend to put the aperture to 7.1 or 8, and use mirror lockup and a remote control, in Av mode. Then I shoot, and hope for luck.
Maybe that's not the right way, but it is the way I use, and it works for me...
JumboJim747 From Australia, joined Oct 2004, 2462 posts, RR: 50 Reply 2, posted (6 years 9 months 1 day 1 hour ago) and read 2849 times:
Quoting Flamedude707 (Thread starter): What settings are optimal, say for shots like this one here, which by the way is excellent.
They are achieved in the way of Timed exposures for instance 10-20-30 second exposures.
With a tripod and very low ISO settings to help reduce the grain and noise.
Cheers
NicolasRubio From Argentina, joined Sep 2005, 583 posts, RR: 8 Reply 3, posted (6 years 9 months 20 hours ago) and read 2817 times:
In my case, I only shot two photos at night with my SLR (see my signature)...
The first time, I used f/8 and 6 seconds of exposure, and the second time I used f/11 or f/13 (I can't remember) and an exposure of 30 seconds... No mirror lockup, no remote control and M mode (all manual)...
Gripped 7D + Sigma 10-20mm + 17-40L + 50mm f/1.8 II + 70-200mm f/4L IS + EF 400mm f/5.6L + 580EX II
Flamedude707 From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 235 posts, RR: 0 Reply 4, posted (6 years 8 months 4 weeks 1 day 22 hours ago) and read 2754 times:
dumb question, i know, but I'm still not very knowledgable w/ all this stuff. How do you setthe exposure. Is that the same thing as the shutter speed?
Lanas From Argentina, joined Aug 2006, 977 posts, RR: 14 Reply 5, posted (6 years 8 months 4 weeks 1 day 21 hours ago) and read 2736 times:
Quoting Flamedude707 (Reply 4): How do you setthe exposure. Is that the same thing as the shutter speed?
No, shutter speed indicates how long the shutter remains open for capturing the image. Together with the aperture they are the variables that you have to control in order to set the exposure to your requirements. The aperture represents the diameter of the light that reaches the sensor. The bigger the diameter, the more light that you get in your pic. The slower the shutter speed, the more light you allow to feed your capture.
The aperture values are measured using the f numbers (f2.8, f4, f5.6, and so on...). By increasing the f number the diameter gets smaller. The shutter speed is measured in seconds.
You can also increase the ISO level for a better lighting configuration, but doing so might decrease the quality of the picture.
My two cents. Hope it helps.
Cheers!
Lanas.-
"Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens." J.R.R. Tolkien
Maiznblu_757 From United States of America, joined Mar 2002, 5112 posts, RR: 52 Reply 6, posted (6 years 8 months 4 weeks 1 day 19 hours ago) and read 2723 times:
Flamedude707 From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 235 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (6 years 8 months 4 weeks 1 day ago) and read 2675 times:
question... when my camera says 30'' on the screen under Tv (shutter priority) is that a 30 secnd exposure?
Also, people have said that when I am in Tv mode, the camera adjusts the aperture automatically. How do I change that to allow mysef to use a certain aperture say f8 or f11?
Thanks
Lanas From Argentina, joined Aug 2006, 977 posts, RR: 14 Reply 8, posted (6 years 8 months 4 weeks 23 hours ago) and read 2671 times:
30" means 30 second exposure.
Shutter priority lets you program the shutter speed and the camera then compensates the exposure with the aperture value.
If you want a specific aperture value you should switch to Aperture Priority or Manual function.
Cheers!
Lanas.-
"Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens." J.R.R. Tolkien
Flamedude707 From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 235 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (6 years 8 months 4 weeks 23 hours ago) and read 2670 times:
would the aperture the camera sets give me good results on shots at night like that?
Moose135 From United States of America, joined Oct 2004, 2009 posts, RR: 12 Reply 10, posted (6 years 8 months 4 weeks 23 hours ago) and read 2667 times:
Quote: question... when my camera says 30'' on the screen under Tv (shutter priority) is that a 30 secnd exposure?
Yes, that means the shutter will be open for 30 seconds
Quote: Also, people have said that when I am in Tv mode, the camera adjusts the aperture automatically. How do I change that to allow mysef to use a certain aperture say f8 or f11?
You can shoot in Manual mode - that will allow you to set both shutter speed and aperture.
Lanas From Argentina, joined Aug 2006, 977 posts, RR: 14 Reply 11, posted (6 years 8 months 4 weeks 23 hours ago) and read 2665 times:
Quoting Flamedude707 (Reply 9): would the aperture the camera sets give me good results on shots at night like that?
Yes, I believe it´s better to control the aperture while at night. I´ve never done night shots, but I believe it must be that way. Maybe someone can enlighten you better.
Cheers!
Lanas.-
"Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens." J.R.R. Tolkien
Flamedude707 From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 235 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (6 years 8 months 4 weeks 21 hours ago) and read 2656 times:
I should probably find this out from someone who can see my camera but just wondering, on most Canon film SLR's, I have a EOS Elan 2, howdo you set it to manual mode?
Thanks in advance. You guys have been very helpful.
StealthZ From Australia, joined Feb 2005, 5431 posts, RR: 49 Reply 13, posted (6 years 8 months 4 weeks 21 hours ago) and read 2656 times:
Quoting Flamedude707 (Reply 9): would the aperture the camera sets give me good results on shots at night like that?
NO
Quoting Lanas (Reply 11): Yes, I believe it´s better to control the aperture while at night.
Not quite enough you need to control Aperture AND shutter speed
Quoting Moose135 (Reply 10): You can shoot in Manual mode - that will allow you to set both shutter speed and aperture.
Yes you do need to shoot Manual.
If you shoot in Aperture mode the camera will set a shutterspeed that will result in an average properly exposed picture.
Sample A set at 30sec f22 manual exposure-
Sample B if shot in aperture priority the result would be something like this-
(Disclaimer: Sample B was produced in Photoshop using levels but gives an idea of what the camera would attempt if set Av mode)
Cheers
Chris
If your camera sends text messages, that could explain why your photos are rubbish!
Flamedude707 From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 235 posts, RR: 0 Reply 14, posted (6 years 8 months 4 weeks 21 hours ago) and read 2649 times:
Thank You A ton for all the insight.
One more question? After all of this that I have learned, should I use flash on these? I would be using just the internal built in one.
StealthZ From Australia, joined Feb 2005, 5431 posts, RR: 49 Reply 15, posted (6 years 8 months 4 weeks 21 hours ago) and read 2639 times:
Quoting Flamedude707 (Reply 12): I have a EOS Elan 2, howdo you set it to manual mode?
On the Elan 2 which was called an EOS 50 in the "outside" world the program dial is on the left of the upper body(holding the camera in normal picture taking mode) it has some pictographs and an L in a red square(Lock) then the Creative mode settings. P-Program, Tv- Shutter prority, Av-Aperture priority and M-Manual, just rotate that dial to M and set shutter with the wheel behind to the shutter release and the aperture with the command wheel on the back.
There are some other settings, DEP & CF that are beyond this discussion.
(Note to DSLR users ... damn I love the simple controls on the EOS 100/50 series of film SLRs!!)
No, unless there is something quite close (a few feet) in the foreground that you wish to illuminate but mixed flash/time exposure photography is whole new skill that is best left until you ave some grasp of the basics.
Cheers
If your camera sends text messages, that could explain why your photos are rubbish!