Mrblanchard Posted April 18, 2009 Share #1 Posted April 18, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Silly question, but i've never actually shot a long exposure before. There is a fair with rides down the road from me and I wanted to try some shots tonight of the colorful lights on the rides. I've always loved those long exposure images. Im taking my D-Lux 4. Just dont know how to set it up. Im thinking manual mode..f.2 1/2000 or something like that? If anyone could help me out here, i would appreciate it. Will Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 18, 2009 Posted April 18, 2009 Hi Mrblanchard, Take a look here long exposure at night help . I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
russell c. greenberg Posted April 18, 2009 Share #2 Posted April 18, 2009 Silly question, but i've never actually shot a long exposure before. There is a fair with rides down the road from me and I wanted to try some shots tonight of the colorful lights on the rides. I've always loved those long exposure images. Im taking my D-Lux 4. Just dont know how to set it up. Im thinking manual mode..f.2 1/2000 or something like that? If anyone could help me out here, i would appreciate it. Will Will, Long exposures are more than 1 second, not 1/2000 sec. You should use a small tripod to steady the camera, the very least a chest pod. You may encounter "noise" issues also, but don't let this discourage you. Trial and error is the best teacher. Good luck. Russell P.S. you could try 1/30, 1/15, or slower for your first attempt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanG Posted April 18, 2009 Share #3 Posted April 18, 2009 The key to night shots is to not actually shoot them at night. If possible, shoot them at dusk while the sky will reproduce as a vivid dark blue. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Edwards Posted April 18, 2009 Share #4 Posted April 18, 2009 Hi the real easy way to do this is to set the camera on auto, select the self timer, rest the camera on something stable and solid ,compose your shot and then press the shutter, leave the camera alone until the shot has been taken Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overgaard Posted April 18, 2009 Share #5 Posted April 18, 2009 Hi the real easy way to do this is to set the camera on auto, select the self timer, rest the camera on something stable and solid ,compose your shot and then press the shutter, leave the camera alone until the shot has been taken And then, based on that (read the f-stop and shutter time of that exposure) do your own lighter or darker shots manually or by adjusting +/- settings. Always do series of night shots as small motion blur that is bound to occur won't show on the small screen. You can't fell before you download the pictures to your computer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
petewayne Posted April 18, 2009 Share #6 Posted April 18, 2009 Another couple of tips would be to shoot RAW to give you the best opportunity to manage noise and also to bracket your shots to find the optimum image.......good luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystic Posted April 18, 2009 Share #7 Posted April 18, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) If you want to shoot a city skyline at night for example you should use a small aperture - so you just have to set the camera on A mode, choose the smallest aperture and of course a small tripod will be very useful in such a situation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted April 18, 2009 Share #8 Posted April 18, 2009 Will, You'll need to be mindful of how your D-Lux 4 is metering the scene. For example, if you select spot metering and aim towards a bright light the scene will be underexposed. The scenes you want to capture will have a large dynamic range from the shadows that'll be black to the spotlights that'll burn out. It's unlikely that matrix mode will handle the range effectively (but try it out) so you're probably safer going to centre-weighted as a good compromise. If you want to avoid noise, which will be worst in the shadow areas, make sure that you've selected the lowest ISO 80. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
russell c. greenberg Posted April 18, 2009 Share #9 Posted April 18, 2009 Will, You'll need to be mindful of how your D-Lux 4 is metering the scene. For example, if you select spot metering and aim towards a bright light the scene will be underexposed. The scenes you want to capture will have a large dynamic range from the shadows that'll be black to the spotlights that'll burn out. It's unlikely that matrix mode will handle the range effectively (but try it out) so you're probably safer going to centre-weighted as a good compromise. If you want to avoid noise, which will be worst in the shadow areas, make sure that you've selected the lowest ISO 80. Pete. Pete, I agree, lowest iso setting, center weighted reading, the way to go, but, Will, use some kind of rigid support, tripod, chest pod, when doing this. Hand holding not a good idea here (unless Rigor Mortis has set in, only joking) Russell Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
russell c. greenberg Posted April 18, 2009 Share #10 Posted April 18, 2009 Will, Just looked at your festival noir photos, excellent work w/ the D-Lux 4. If there is a way to tone down those bright lights on the right side of these photos, do so, otherwise you definitely have the understanding of long exposures. Russell Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
regedit Posted April 21, 2009 Share #11 Posted April 21, 2009 My quick tips for long exposures with Dlux4 are: - Put camera in M mode and select a slow F (I use even a F 8.0 to have a wide range of focus) - Increase shot speed and check by focus (half press) how your ISO is. Raise up shutter speed until ISO gets below 200 (100 or even 80) is excellent. sometimes you can get even 30 seconds of long exposure. - Switch to manual focus and make sure you focus the right thing (manual is always better - the leica focus quite fast an well even in night by what you do manually is the best) - Set self timer to 2 or 10 seconds (depends how fast you can leave the camera alone with no vibrations) - Place the camera on something stable (I really prefer freestyle rather tripod - but it's your call) - Press the shutter and start admire a piece of work being developed. - After the shutter is closed wait for the same amount of time to have the preview on you display. - Enjoy your long exposure picture done by DLux4 start looking for the next location. - Don't forget to smile. You make pictures with a Leica !!! I'm quite a fan of night shoots so my short tips hope to be useful. I will post some of my night shoots, maybe is something to be learn from them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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