Not my real forte, but try these:

Taken from Shirley Hills toward Canary Wharf at about 22:00 in August...



And at my daughter's school firework display...



Both taken with a Fuji Finepix S2Pro and reduced to fit from the original 12 million pixels. Top one on a Manfrotto mini tripod resting on a wall, bottom one handheld (!)

SB

 

Blimey, you think you're doing OK, then the woodwork opens up and you get totally outclassed

Some cracking pictures in this thread

 

How the hell do you take photos like some of these??

Lol, i'm no camera expert, some of these pics are most impressive very

 

Dr_Ming, are the Canon IS lenses the ones with a gyro stabiliser in them? If so, do you know if anyone does a Nikon fit version? Only I'm b*ggered if I can find one...

SB

 

TBMeech

you use a tripod and the shutter is set to "bulb",this keeps the shutter open for as long as you want.The laws of reciprocity fall apart at this point,ie the relationship between shutter speed and aperture,so its all down to experience.Its different for every film and the colour can shift,so its best to bracket beyond 4 seconds,i do,and my pics are always crap so i dont bother anymore

 

SBradley, IIRC, the stabiliser in the Canon IS lenses use accelerometers, not gyros, which control a magnetically suspended lense element(s) that can shift the image in any direction. The only IS lenses available for Canon are made by Canon, and I think the same is true of Nikon. IMHO, the technology and interface with the camera is too advanced for 3rd party lens manufacturers at the moment.

The Nikon stabilised lenses are called 'Vibration Reduction' and have VR in their description. Nikon's range of stabilised lenses is not as wide as Canon's, but there's no reason to suppose that the ones they do have aren't every bit as good. Nikon do a 24-120mm, 70-200mm and 80-400mm VR lenses. Prices are comparable to the Canon lenses. I think there are a few people who post here that have these lenses, and like them a lot.

[Edited by dr_ming - 11/26/2003 11:19:57 AM]

 

What I want to know is how to get a good shot of a city at night - ie from the top of the Eifel Tower - all I tend to get is a black photo with very fuzzy lights?

 

A tripod and a cable release (or maybe self timer, if your camera will do suitably long shutter speeds).

 

Mr Watkins

Cracking shot, fabulous clear sky, see you got the Pleiades in

What camera and settings did you use for that?

Sal

[Edited by scoobychick - 11/26/2003 11:37:53 AM]

 

Thanks Sal,

Yeah, Seven Sisters have always been my favorite.

Camera is a Canon 10D fitted with a 17-35mm Sigma lens set to 20mm. It was setup on a tripod, mirror locked up, and exposure was 30 seconds at f3.5, ISO100.

But I usually have slightly better results on my standard setup of 30 seconds at f4 and ISO200. I always try that first before changing anything. I just reduce the exposure length if there is any light pollution and leave everything else the same.

Cheers

Ian

 

Will a Canon EOS700 be any good for this type of stuff?

 

Some clever chappies on here.

May I be so bold as to ask a question:

How do I take detailed photos of watches, Ive tried and they are not good enough. They are either blurred, or the light gets deflected all over the watch.

The camera is a Kodak DC4800 3.1 MP digital effort.
Any help would be appreciated.

Later Yoza(Bailey)

 

Dr_Ming, thanks for the information.

I've just bitten the bullet and ordered an 80-400mm Nikon VR from Dabs Online. 12 months interest free

I'll let you know what it's like when it arrives...

SB

 

SBradley - Good for you, you won't regret it I'm sure. There's nothing more pleaseing than when a new Toy arrives

Yoza - Ideally, with a macro lens and a ring-flash (circular flash tube that surrounds your lens). However, these items are more applicable to an SLR than a digital compact.

Here's how you might be able to achieve what you want:

You should try to arrange more than one light source, which need to be as diffused as possible (a couple of desk lamps, with graseproof paper as diffusers might do it). Don't even think about using the camera's on-board flash, it will over-expose at this kind of range, and as you have already said, causes all sorts of shadows and reflections.

Unless your camera can focus really close (and/or has a macro setting - usually depicted by a small flower symbol), you will need a close-up adaptor lens. This will screw onto the filter thread on the front of the lens. If there is no filter thread, but you have a tripd thread on the bottom of the camera, you may be able to get an adaptor form here: http://www.srbfilm.co.uk. You will also need to be able to focus the camera manually, as autofocus will be useless at this kind of distance, and probably won't work with the close-up adaptor anyway.

Next, you need to be able to control the camera aperture manually (to get enough depth of field). Usually called Av mode. Dial up the biggest number (smallest aperture) available to give maximum DOF. This will result in a very slow shutter speed (even with relatively bright lighting), so the camera will need to be on a triped, or on some kind of solid surface. Use the self timer or remote controller to trip the shutter, as pressing the button yourself will cause the camera to move.

Scooby96 - It's not ideal. It seems to have a bulb setting for long exposures, but no remote shutter release, which means you will almost certainly move the camera accidentally when pressing the shutter, even if it is on a tripod. Otherwise the maximum shutter speed APPEARS to be 1/4 sec, which is not really long enough. Should be ok for dusk type stuff (with fast film - Fuji Superia 800 is top notch), but not for the stars and traffic trails stuff.

 

another poor attempt at shooting something I actually built.
On the Isle of dogs, backlit with a huuuuuuge security light with a blue/ purple filter placed over it. oh and it was free hand.



[Edited by Fuzz - 11/26/2003 4:54:57 PM]