Nightshot Techniques

[LX-A343]

Apparently the 300D does not have those Customer Functions (Cn.F). I am using this feature for night-photography since I bought my first EOS 30 (not D30!! )

Gerardo

[MaltaAirSpotter]

New One!

Air Algerie 737

Have a look at this...

Nikon D70 on tripod, 210mm zoom. I was very careful with the focussing by taking trial shots and then using the zoom function on the D70's sreen to ensure that the reg etc where legible.

10 seconds shutter speed did the trick...

[pdeboer]

Mark, that is a great shot! I have a D70 myself and I would like to know what settings you used for this picture. Could you give the exif info of that picture?

cheers, Pamela

[bobby]

Same here, I also have a D70, and love it so far!

I'd love to know what settings you used!

[MaltaAirSpotter]

Settings

Hello people,

Thanks for your kind remarks!

So for my settings... I use fully manual, as listed at the thread starter.

To get started with nightshots, I would suggest using the D70 in P mode, then overexposing by 2 stops.

It is important to ake a sequence of preparatory shots, working through different f stop settings and shutter speeds.

Do not wait for the ground clutter to clear the airplane before taking these shots - you only have a brief time windo between the aircraft being clear and its actual startup and taxi.

This one worked out at around f 8 and 15 seconds shutter opening time, with ISO 200. What really helped me that night was that it was a clear night with little dust in the air, no heat haze from the cooling tarmac.

Some important tips:

Use Timer
Use a Sturdy tripod
Hold the camera neckstrap, as this could be moved by a breeze and possibly shake the camera a bit. At 210mm zoom (plus some digital cropping) any shake would be very amplified.

LX 343-3 also suggested mirror lock-up, but I'm a bit wary on using it, as more dust could be attracted towards the sensor - and D70s seem to like dust a lot!

Good luck with your nightshots, and please pos your results on this thread as you go along!

[twr75]

A "must do" for every night photography with SLR/DSLR everybody forgot here is to lock up the mirror.

It's also equally important not to forget to set it back to normal before using the camera again the next morning....

[MaltaAirSpotter]

Very low light conditions

Here we are... finally got it accepted.
This one is diffreent because there was no direct light source on the subject, so I had to use the available light. What's worse, the subject was far away (on the deck of a warship) and I had to use my full 210mm of zoom

Composition: I was careful not to include direct light sources in the pic. This would have otherwise overexposed the picture.

Equipment: D70, on manual setting, set on tripod, 210mm zoom lens

Settings: 20 seconds exposure time, in order to "accumulate" the limited light available - aperture setat f8, mainly to aid sharpness. Shutter release via timer, to reduce camera shake. Mirror lock up not used (dont want more dust to settle on the mirror)

Result:

[photoid=536554]

Tell me what you think

[MaltaAirSpotter]

VR lenses

Hi people, an update...

Just upgraded to a Nikon VR (Vibration Reduction) lens.

For best results, switch off VR when focussing, then switch on the VR and shoot!

This is especially useful in gusty conditions, where even on a tripod you can get some shake!

Screeners permitting, I'll try to post some pics of the result soon!

[MaltaAirSpotter]

Nightshot with VR

Well, the shot got accepted, so this is how I used VR on a tripod for a nightshot.

the subject was an Il-86 - quite a big bird, but it was at quite a distance (200mm focal length + some digital cropping)

[photoid=5707474]

My constraints - ramp lighting pointing towards the camera - I composed the photograph with the aircraft slightly to one side, to eliminate the pole directing light towards the lens. This I corrected later on through cropping to centre the subject again.

It was very windy with strong gusts. Being on an observation platform two metres high didn't help. If I were to give it a long exposure, camera shake from the wind would be inevitable.

I switched off VR and focussed on the plane. Once I was happy with the focussing (2 test shots, then zooming in to check out the letters and numbers for sharpness and readability), I switched off the AF and switched on the VR. A torch comes in handy to read the knobs and buttons on Nikkor lenses.

I used a jacket to shield the camera from the oncoming wind. I clocked the ISO up to 800 to get the good light sensitivity without too long a time exposure.

Shot was then taken by overexposing by two stops, using the Nikon remote control.

[Top_Gun]

very informative thread Mark, this is something I want to try this year. My cheap tripod is holding me back with the 50-500 on my D70. I don't feel comfortable leatting go

[MaltaAirSpotter]

Sigma?

Doesn't the sigma have a tripod mount accessory?
The important thing is using the mouting as close to the centre of gravity as possible.

[Top_Gun]

yeah, that's where I try to have it mounted. It's just a really cheap (Wal-Mart) tripod, only paid $35 for it. Every time I try to tighten down the handle it moves and just has too much play in the plastic head.

Looking on B&H right now for a more reasonable one.

[MaltaAirSpotter]

Tripod Mounting

Don't have much of a beefy tripod myself, to be honest!

Try to open the legs as wide as possible, and extend it the least possible heightwise!