Camera settings

[Justin McGinley]

Ok I have my camera which is a Canon powershot psx120 IS. I have also been on mikes Hollingshed's website all day reading about photography. I think I have almost everything figured out about shooting lighting. The only thing I am confused on is the triggering of the camera do I still have to push the button to take the pic or I have heard that some cameras take the pictures by them selves can anyone help me?

 

[Chris Hayes]

I find lightning photography as much fun as going after supercells and tornadoes. I'm not familiar with your camera though. To shoot lightning you need to be able to keep the shutter open. It's not impossible, but is very hard to take a picture of lightning by just taking a single picture. Does your camera have a 'bulb' feature. Bulb keeps the shutter open, and taking a single picture for as long as you want it to be. 2 seconds, 2 minutes, or until the battery is dead. Secondly you need to be able to adjust the aperature, or how much light is let into the camera. Aperature the f number. For nighttime lightning photography I'll use 4.5 aperature, typically, along with an ISO of 100 or 200. Thankfully with digital cameras, you can experiment while taking pictures. Thirdly, have the camera on the tripod, and preferably with a remote switch.

 

[Jeremy Jones]

I think above all else, putting your cam on a tripod is crucial IMO, no matter what kind of camera you have. But, I also agree, having a "Bulb" setting helps a lot...But its not mandatory. I have worn my cable release out, so I haven't been using the Bulb mode lately. So, I have been putting my cam in Manual mode, and setting it to anywhere from F7.1 to F11. and about 10-15 second exposures. You need to experiment, and try to get your cam to take a long exposure. Try going out tonight, and playing with the manual mode. The important part is keeping that shutter open, without having your hands on the cam. Otherwise, if you do get a strike in the frame, it will look as if you shook your cam....Then the shot is no good.

Just keep trying, you'll figure it out eventually!

I have found it's a lot of trial and error! But that first shot will be extremely satisfying! Just my two cents!

 

[Jim Saueressig]

Ok I have my camera which is a Canon powershot psx120 IS. I have also been on mikes Hollingshed's website all day reading about photography. I think I have almost everything figured out about shooting lighting. The only thing I am confused on is the triggering of the camera do I still have to push the button to take the pic or I have heard that some cameras take the pictures by them selves can anyone help me?

I made a blog page about it some time back that might help. Visit it Here!

 

[Justin McGinley]

well i got a tripod for the camera and i can change all the settings but the shutter setting how important is that?

 

[Justin McGinley]

and plus what do u mean by exposure?

 

[Jeremy Jones]

The shutter setting, is basically how long your photograph is "Exposing" or being "Exposed" to the light hitting the sensor. It is harder than hell (And more of luck) to get a lightning strike with a fast shutter speed. During nighttime lightning, you drastically change the odds of capturing a strike with your "Shutter" remaining open for a period of time (Say 30 seconds+) than with your shutter open for lets say 1/16 or 1/100 of a second.

I hope this helps...

 

[Jeremy Jones]

If you take a look at my lightning folder here on ST...http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/album.php?albumid=10

With the exception of the daytime lightning strikes, most of them are between 5 and 20 Second "Exposures"-or the Shutter was open for 5 to 20 Seconds, each.

 

[Justin McGinley]

Well i dont think i can change my shutter settings but i do have a self timer will that do?

 

[Jeremy Jones]

I'm pretty sure, that the self timer gives a 5 or 10 second count down before the cam takes a photo. For lets say, family portraits. You should get your owners manual out and read up on it. It might just answer some questions you have, as well as you might learn some tricks to getting the most out of your cam.

 

[Brandon Jenkins]

Incorrect info for camera model, disregard ; )

 

[Jim Hunt]

Justin - you should be able to shoot some lightning shots with your camera. Lightning photography is some luck even for the best photographers.

You will want to use manual mode and select an aperture of f4 or slightly more. Try a low ISO like 100 or 200. You will want to experiment.

Your camera will shoot manual up to 15 seconds so start at 10 seconds and again experiment. That is the great thing about digital is that you can shoot a lot of photos with no expense.

The key will be to use a tripod (or something else sturdy like a picnic table or fence post) and the self timer. You don't want any camera shake. Set the timer for 10 seconds and then aim at the best area for lightning and press. The camera won't fire right away due to the self timer. This will give it time for the vibration from you pushing the shutter to dissipate. (With A DSLR you would use a shutter release/remote trigger cable and no self timer.)

Just try a few and see how they turn out. Good luck.

 

[Greg Campbell]

Well i dont think i can change my shutter settings but i do have a self timer will that do?

You'll NEED to take control of the shutter speed. Looking at the camera's stats, it appears the shutter maxes out at 15 seconds. This isn't ideal, but is not a terminal flaw. The self timer is irrelevant.

Set ISO to 80 or 100. The lower the better. Make sure any auto-iso nonsense is disabled.

Figure out how to focus the camera. Is there a manual focus option? If not, you may have a hell of a time shooting at night.

Disable any auto-flash.

Place the camera in manual mode. Set the aperture to f 5.6 ~ 6.7 or so. Jim's blog has some good info.

If it's dark, set the shutter to the max of 15 sec.
If it's still twilight (bright enough for the camera's meter to work), use Aperture priority instead (Av); set the aperture to 5.6 or so, and let the camera's meter determine the shutter speed. Or leave the camera in full manual mode and chimp the previous exposure to adjust shutter speed until the scene is correctly lit.

Basic exposure rules: Adjust aperture to match lightning's brightness and distance. If the lightning is blown out, stop down and vice-versa. Adjust shutter speed to alter background (anything non-lightning) exposure.

Mash the shutter. You'll probably want to whip up some device to hold the shutter down. With the camera in continuous shooting mode, it will machine-gun off shot after shot. Eventually, you'll catch some lightning.

If you haven't already done so, get some rechargeable NiMH batteries and a decent charger. Continuous shooting like this will drain the batteries quickly.

Try to include some foreground objects in the picture. Think of it as taking a pretty picture that just happens to have lightning in it. If you shoot at twilight, you'll have enough light to show the terrain, yet it will be dark enough for the lightning to stand out. Your camera is easily capable of taking pictures like this (this shot was a short 3.2 second exposure with the camera in aperture priority autoexposure.) http://www.flickr.com/photos/19806236@N00/4154307225/in/set-72157622800084513/