What is your setting for long exposure land/city/nightscape


snipshot

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Jun 27, 2011
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Hi! I want to seek your advise for the settings you usually use for nightscape like shooting MBS in esplande..i am using d90+tamron17-55mm i am shooting same composition as stated(mbs) I use f/16, shutter:30secs, isoL1.0, wB: tungsten and clouds.. To get crisp and sharp pics shud i stick to f/16, 30secs or f/11,30secs, which settings is better f/16,13,11 or 18? Shutter: 30s, 25s, or bulb? I want to get sharp land/city/nightscape.. Thanks
 

1: there is no magic setting

the settings will be determined by what type of effects you want to capture.

Make the skies/water silky? Long Exposure
Freeze the people walking? Fast Shutter Speeds

once you learn the basics (Shutter/ISO/Aperture), you'll realize that the shooting parameters are just numbers.
 

Thanks... But i wanna know given that i used d90+tammy17-55, and shoot long exposures using f/16, 30s, iso L1.0, is this enuf to get sharp pics or shud i used f/11, same shutter and iso or use f/1, bulb mode, same iso, or which is most usual setting for tammy for nighscape.. Thanks
 

Please get the basics right and understand what these basics do. No point asking whether ISO 100 or ISO whatnot if you don't know what it means. Same goes for aperture, f/1 just shows that you need to learn a lot ...
Most important is a tripod. Some pointers: select the aperture for large DOF area, read about hyperfocal distance. Whether you need bulb or 15s exposure time depends on the light situation and the way you want to have the result. With knowledge you can judge your shots and change accordingly.
 

for long exposure,
you need to have a very stable tripod,
just use the base ISO don't use lower than this,
if there is not foreground object, f11 is more than enough,

btw, whether is Tamron lens, Sigma lens, Tokina lens, Nikon lens, Canon lens or whatever lens, the exposure should be all the same. even there is slight different, it also should be within very small margin.
 

i think the best bet would be to go and try it out yourself. if the settings work for you, and you like the shot then they're the right settings. experiment with different settings and see the different effects you can achieve. it'll probably help if you post up your photos here then others can give you advice based on that particular scenario. as mentioned, there are no hard and fast rules but i do think a low ISO is quite essential (but you have to have a tripod/support) because at long exposures, there tends to be a lot more noise as compared to short ones (and especially so because most of the photo will be dark/black)
 

snipshot said:
Thanks... But i wanna know given that i used d90+tammy17-55, and shoot long exposures using f/16, 30s, iso L1.0, is this enuf to get sharp pics or shud i used f/11, same shutter and iso or use f/1, bulb mode, same iso, or which is most usual setting for tammy for nighscape.. Thanks

Well how much Aperture to use also depends on how much you wanna show. Getting everything sharp doesn't means it's good. It means the viewer will ponder for a while on which part of the photo to focus on. If you use a slow shutter, moving subjects like water (I suppose landscape doesn't comprises of moving-living-beings) will look silky, dreamy, a little like cotton wool. Low ISO is always nice, but will your shutter take too long? Long exposure also results in noise. There's no miracle value. I know you shoot MBS, but from where? What time? Which month (though month doesn't matters much in SG)? There isn't a circle on the ground stating "all photos of MBS must be shot here".
 

Im sure you have time when u do the shooting. Go try diff shutter speed (10s, 20s... Bulb) with same settings. Do another setting and do it all over again. Then go home and compare which one u like (or suit) most for the lighting situation. By asking, the answers you get may vary and thus, gonna confuse you more. By exposing ourselves to different exposures is the best i guess. At least for myself.
Anyway, happy shooting!! ;)
 

Here is the scenario.. I am using sturdy tripod, i am shooting at the middle of the bridge in front of fullerton hotel facing mbs,shoot from 8-10pm the weather was fair, my initial setting is f/16, 30s, iso L1.0, remote release shutter, wb cloud and tungsten, then i shoot and also cover the viewfinder so as no light will enter from there. I get nice pics( will post later) but looks soft.. I tried using f/16,20s,15s and f/13, 30s,20s,15s and played wif wb:auto,clouds,flourescent4..but i see not much diffrence unless you really zoom the pics. I feel like not satisfied wif the results.. I haven't tried f/11 and base iso200.. though thats why i ask given the scenario maybe you encounter before..like you tried bof f/11,13,16 match with certain shutterspeed what was the reusult.. but i will go there again this frinight to try again.. Thanks alot..
 

Here is the scenario.. I am using sturdy tripod, i am shooting at the middle of the bridge in front of fullerton hotel facing mbs,shoot from 8-10pm the weather was fair, my initial setting is f/16, 30s, iso L1.0, remote release shutter, wb cloud and tungsten, then i shoot and also cover the viewfinder so as no light will enter from there. I get nice pics( will post later) but looks soft.. I tried using f/16,20s,15s and f/13, 30s,20s,15s and played wif wb:auto,clouds,flourescent4..but i see not much diffrence unless you really zoom the pics. I feel like not satisfied wif the results.. I haven't tried f/11 and base iso200.. though thats why i ask given the scenario maybe you encounter before..like you tried bof f/11,13,16 match with certain shutterspeed what was the reusult.. but i will go there again this frinight to try again.. Thanks alot..

Think what u need is to learn hyperfocal dist. That how to make a shoot sharp. I am newbie oso ( I don't know how this hyperfocal work still learning it) bt always read that if u want the whole pic to be shape need to learn the hyperfocal thing. Hope it help.
 

Here is the scenario.. I am using sturdy tripod, i am shooting at the middle of the bridge in front of fullerton hotel facing mbs,shoot from 8-10pm the weather was fair, my initial setting is f/16, 30s, iso L1.0, remote release shutter, wb cloud and tungsten, then i shoot and also cover the viewfinder so as no light will enter from there. I get nice pics( will post later) but looks soft.. I tried using f/16,20s,15s and f/13, 30s,20s,15s and played wif wb:auto,clouds,flourescent4..but i see not much diffrence unless you really zoom the pics. I feel like not satisfied wif the results.. I haven't tried f/11 and base iso200.. though thats why i ask given the scenario maybe you encounter before..like you tried bof f/11,13,16 match with certain shutterspeed what was the reusult.. but i will go there again this frinight to try again.. Thanks alot..

I noticed the bridge can shake if someone is running on the bridge. Take note if u are using long exposure.
 

f16 is too much, dwelling on the brink of diffraction. f9 - f11 will be just nice.

as mentioned by others, use your base ISO which i guess is 200 for D90.

shoot raw and disregard the WB, get your exposure right first.
 

I noticed the bridge can shake if someone is running on the bridge. Take note if u are using long exposure.

That's right, shooting long exposure on a bridge is actually a very bad idea as when vehicles pass by the bridge will vibrate. So find a solid ground and shoot from there instead, e.g. One Fullerton or Merlion Park. Other tricks are: weigh down your tripod by hanging your camera bag on it's hook, and to use mirror lock up (MLU) if your camera has it.
 

Here is the scenario.. I am using sturdy tripod, i am shooting at the middle of the bridge in front of fullerton hotel facing mbs,shoot from 8-10pm the weather was fair, my initial setting is f/16, 30s, iso L1.0, remote release shutter, wb cloud and tungsten, then i shoot and also cover the viewfinder so as no light will enter from there. I get nice pics( will post later) but looks soft.. I tried using f/16,20s,15s and f/13, 30s,20s,15s and played wif wb:auto,clouds,flourescent4..but i see not much diffrence unless you really zoom the pics. I feel like not satisfied wif the results.. I haven't tried f/11 and base iso200.. though thats why i ask given the scenario maybe you encounter before..like you tried bof f/11,13,16 match with certain shutterspeed what was the reusult.. but i will go there again this frinight to try again.. Thanks alot..

I noticed the bridge can shake if someone is running on the bridge. Take note if u are using long exposure.
the Cavenagh Bridge is design as a drawbridge originally, but later found that it only suitable as a fixed structure, so it became a suspension bridge, I will not try shooting long exposure on the bridge.
 

Thanks.. I have started reading hyperfocal dist too.. Hopefully someone can teach us actual.. I will try f/9 and f/11. By the way, i use jpeg because i dont know yet how to do photoshop but learning a bit.. I shoot jpeg then just put my watermark only..thanks a lot..
 

the Cavenagh Bridge is design as a drawbridge originally, but later found that it only suitable as a fixed structure, so it became a suspension bridge, I will not try shooting long exposure on the bridge.

I'm referring to Helix Bridge. :)
 

Thanks.. I have started reading hyperfocal dist too.. Hopefully someone can teach us actual.. I will try f/9 and f/11. By the way, i use jpeg because i dont know yet how to do photoshop but learning a bit.. I shoot jpeg then just put my watermark only..thanks a lot..

A good read on this article is recommended: http://darthbertz.blogspot.com/2010/07/getting-everything-into-focus.html

btw, shoot raw instead of jpeg if you are going to do post processing...raw can help "save" quite some details when all is lost.
 

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Actually all bridges are equally bad, as the concete beams are resting on dampers. The vibrations are generated by vehicles crossing from one section of the beam to the next. Just get on to Sears Bridge and you can feel it for yourself. Small vibrations for small cars, MEGA vibrations for big trucks. :)
 

Actually you can try reading some books in the library. For tips, I like Scott Kelby's "how to make your photos look like a pro" or something like that. For in-depth technical details, I like Tom Ang's books like Fundamentals of Photography: the essential hand. Trust me. Books in the library can provide a lot more information than the Internet. It's quite ironic