Camera settings for different conditions...

[Chris Allington]

Well I finally got my Rebel XT at Nebraska Furniture Mart and now i'm waiting on the order to come in... I'm wondering what some of the settings you use for shooting lightning, low-light, sunshine ect. such as the iso or what not...

 

[Andrew Khan]

Lightning, usually 8.0 Aperture....and various shutter speeds, usually in bulb mode, so you can hold it indefinatly. ISO usually is kept around 100-200.

 

[Aaron Kennedy]

Lightning... anywhere from f/2.8 to f/11 depending on distance. It's digital... try it out in the field and adjust as needed. Remember to use the histogram! In general, you want the histogram to be as far right as possible without clipping highlights. If the scene is still too bright, you can adjust in photoshop a stop or two without losing detail.

One last note: I use the rule of 1/(1.6x*focal length) to determine guarenteed sharpness for hand holding. 1.6 is due to the crop factor.

Aaron

 

[Andrew Khan]

Remember, do not be afraid to shoot as many trials as possible...it's digital so it won't cost you a penny. Also, ALWAYS SHOOT RAW, when shooting lightning. You can save an image if you over/under exposed it, if you shoot raw...if you shoot JPEG, you'll just have to throw it in the trash bin.

 

[Ryan McGinnis]

I'd reccomend that you pick up a book on SLR photography. Optimally used, your camera, unlike normal point and shoot consumer cameras, doesn't use predefined settings, it's all up to you. You can put the camera in a "dumb mode" called "Program", where it makes it's best guess at getting a useable picture, but this isn't usually the way to get awesome photos.

Oh, and as everyone else here is saying -- take TONS of pictures and try different things. You'll see in a short order what effects changing different settings has.

 

[Robert Edmonds]

Hey I got a question about bulb shots, do they eat up allot of battery life if you do star shots and similar length exposure shots? I've been trying a few with my new digital and haven't had any problems but it was something I was curious about.

 

[John Diel]

Robert,

"Bulb" shots (long exposures) can eat up your battery depending on the camera. I seem to remember Sony cameras having this issue. Most DSLR cameras will open the shutter and wait for the signal to shut it again. Include in this the mirror flipping up.

The newer DSLR (and probably the other non DSLR's) have better technology for power management and usually do so quite well. I never had issues with the Canon 10D or Olympus E-10. I did run into some issues with an older Olympus C-2100 but that was mostly sensor noise rather than battery issues.

 

[Greg Campbell]

I'm not sure about the Nikon bodies, but Canon uses permanent magnets to hold the shutter open. Since the T series, back in the 80's, there is no power drain during long exposures. I suspect Nikon has a similar design. (Just a SWAG!)

Here are several lightning exposure guides. There are some differences between them, but most agree on the main issues.
http://www.cimms.ou.edu/~doswell/ltgph.html
http://www.inchase.org/outflow/chad/lightn...tningphoto.html
http://www.uscoles.com/howtolightn.htm

In short:
Adjust aperture or film/sensor speed to compensate for lightning distance.
Adjust shutter time to expose background as desired.
Don't get zapped!


-Greg

 

[B Ozanne]

I'm not sure about the Nikon bodies, but Canon uses permanent magnets to hold the shutter open. Since the T series, back in the 80's, there is no power drain during long exposures. I suspect Nikon has a similar design. (Just a SWAG!)

-Greg

Digital has to be different since the sensor is using power the entire time.

I'm not sure if this problem has been fixed in the last year or two, but during long bulb exposures its not uncommon to get "hot pixels." On my Canon you'll get bright green spots when the pixel burns out. I don't want to go into deals, but you should expect this to happen. Its usually not a big deal, just clone out the hot pixels. I think this problem is worse in warm weather than in cold.

 

[Steve Miller]

Since power was discussed above and I have been unable to find the answer elsewhere, how many shots are you getting per charge on your XT's and 20D's?
Thanks!

 

[PaulChambers]

="Robert Edmonds" Hey I got a question about bulb shots, do they eat up allot of battery life if you do star shots and similar length exposure shots? I've been trying a few with my new digital and haven't had any problems but it was something I was curious about.

I took a one hour and 45 minute exposure on a star swirl shot with my Canon Digital Rebel and although it used most of the battery, I still had about one-fourth of the battery left. I do have a second battery, and with the quick charger I have, they only take about 15-30 minutes to charge.

 

[Brett Adair]

I have a Kodak EasyShare Z740 and it has a PASM mode. I don't quite understand what it means nor how to use it. Considering that I am going to try and get some lightning shots with the storms here tomorrow I figured that it might be wise to learn what it is and how to use it in the overnight. Thanks a ton for any information.

 

[Jeff Snyder]

I have a Kodak EasyShare Z740 and it has a PASM mode. I don't quite understand what it means nor how to use it. Considering that I am going to try and get some lightning shots with the storms here tomorrow I figured that it might be wise to learn what it is and how to use it in the overnight. Thanks a ton for any information.

The mode itself is called PASM? Usually, cameras have P, A, S, and M settings (so four seperate modes, not a combined PASM mode). The P usually stands for Program (automatic exposure, where the camera chooses what it feels to be the best shutted speed and aperture combo; the A stands for Aperture-priority (you specify the aperture, the camera chooses the shutter speed needed for proper exposure); the S stands for shutter-speed priority (you specify the shutter speed, the camera chooses the aperture for proper exposure); the M stands for manual, where you choose the shutter speed AND aperture. Perhaps the PASM mode allows you to pick P, A, S, or M somehow.

 

[Brett Adair]

I have a Kodak EasyShare Z740 and it has a PASM mode. I don't quite understand what it means nor how to use it. Considering that I am going to try and get some lightning shots with the storms here tomorrow I figured that it might be wise to learn what it is and how to use it in the overnight. Thanks a ton for any information.

The mode itself is called PASM? Usually, cameras have P, A, S, and M settings (so four seperate modes, not a combined PASM mode). The P usually stands for Program (automatic exposure, where the camera chooses what it feels to be the best shutted speed and aperture combo; the A stands for Aperture-priority (you specify the aperture, the camera chooses the shutter speed needed for proper exposure); the S stands for shutter-speed priority (you specify the shutter speed, the camera chooses the aperture for proper exposure); the M stands for manual, where you choose the shutter speed AND aperture. Perhaps the PASM mode allows you to pick P, A, S, or M somehow.

It is one setting you tune to, but once you get to that setting you can change to P, A, S, and M mode. What would be the best mode for lightning in low light settings? Or daytime lighting? Just curious. I want to learn as much as I can about my camera. I found this site.....still reading through it currently.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/Z740/Z740A.HTM

 

[Ryan McGinnis]

I'm not sure about the Nikon bodies, but Canon uses permanent magnets to hold the shutter open. Since the T series, back in the 80's, there is no power drain during long exposures. I suspect Nikon has a similar design. (Just a SWAG!)

-Greg

Digital has to be different since the sensor is using power the entire time.

I'm not sure if this problem has been fixed in the last year or two, but during long bulb exposures its not uncommon to get "hot pixels." On my Canon you'll get bright green spots when the pixel burns out. I don't want to go into deals, but you should expect this to happen. Its usually not a big deal, just clone out the hot pixels. I think this problem is worse in warm weather than in cold.

BTW, on the 20D model and up, there is a setting that can be enabled on the camera to cancel out the hot pixels on bulb shots. The downside to this is that to do this, it has to take another picture with the shutter closed for the exact amount of time of the original exposure. Which means that after, say, a 5 minute bulb shot, you have to sit there for another 5 minutes before you can take another picture.