Catching the Lightening

[T Melton]

I am simply an amateur photographer with a question,What is a good camera I can find for using an open shutter option when photographing lightening? I honestly have no Idea where to begin and was looking for advice from the more experienced folks out there.

 

[Jayson Prentice]

Well there are plenty of good cameras out there that can capture lightning for you, I used to have a sony cybershot that could capture lightning pretty well and I now have a Canon XTi that can also catch lightning...

The first question that comes to mind is how much do you want to spend in order to catch the lightning?? A couple hundred, a grand, or the skies the limit?!

 

[Greg Campbell]

Just about any camera that allows longish (over 10 seconds or so) shutter speeds can be made to photograph lightning.

What kind of camera(s) do you have, and what are you looking to buy? Digital or film? SLR or point-N-Shoot?


A digital P/S is probably the cheapest and quickest approach, but the small sensors tend to make rather noisy (electronic noise) images with the long exposure times lightning calls for.


Most Digital SLRs are quite capable, but the body and a few good modern lenses will get spendy. In many cases, you can use older, inexpensive, manual focus lenses with your modern DSLR camera to good effect. You loose many of the fancy functions, but none of those matter for lightning photography.


Film still works! You can buy a used Nikon/Canon/Oly/etc. 35mm kit on Ebay or KEH for next to nothing. Even medium format is surprisingly affordable. Of course you need to feed the monster film and $ for processing. These costs can add up, but since the equipment is so cheap, the overall expense is still reasonable.


So....
How much $ do you want to spend?
What sort of camera did you have in mind???


-Greg

 

[T Melton]

Dont Laugh but I currently have a Kodak Z812 IS and I am still learning the ins and outs of it....Also I understand that the Sky is the limit pricewise I suppose you might say I am looking for something in a "Mid Range price" anywhere from $250-$500 and I am not sure which is better 35 MM or Digital,I have had trouble with my night shots being distorted with digital.

 

[Clarence Bennett]

Dont Laugh but I currently have a Kodak Z812 IS and I am still learning the ins and outs of it....Also I understand that the Sky is the limit pricewise I suppose you might say I am looking for something in a "Mid Range price"

I know a ton of people like the Canon Rebel series and the 30's and 40's. There is nothing wrong with the camera you have for what you probably want to use it for. I have yet to spring for a great camera. I use a Panasonic very similar to yours and can take some pretty sick pictures with it. It is as much in how you use what you have. All that fancy stuff won't help you if you don't use it properly.

**Edit** Check out a Canon Rebel XSI. Very nice camera for the price. You can usually find package deals if you look around.

 

[Rob Wadsworth]

I agree with everything that's been said so far.
But know this: if you buy whatever brand of major camera.that the lenses will end up being a major investment as well.

Example: I bought a $600 XTi w/ the stock yecch lens, but to make it truly effective for storm chasing - I bought the 10-22mm $800 lens + $80 for the UV filter.

Of course - no one is holding a gun to your head and making you buy any of it.
But you may soon realize yourself that few Mfr's put a great lens in with the kit.
Things have changed in this dept; but the price goes up with it as well.
The XSi kit will have the 18-55mm IS (image stabilized).
But with the 'crop factor' multiplier of 1.6 - means that the widest angle that can be achieved will be 28mm from the 18mm on the lens (18mm x 1.6 = 28.8mm effective)

I think that Nilons crop factor is 1.5 - but I'm not a Nikon guy and can't say for sure.
Storms kinda need a decent/effective wide angle to capture the scene.
The Canon 10-22mm is effectively a 16-35mm lens on a 1.6 crop factor camera.

I also think that if you choose a Canon or Nikon that isn't a point and shoot camera, then this info will be important to consider and remember.
If spending $1600+ isn't it the cards; then a point and shoot may be more suited to your needs at a third of the cost.

 

[Tyler Burg]

I used to have a Kodak similar to yours, and actually you already can take photos of lightning, you just gotta turn the dial to 'M' manual mode, and mess around a bit, Im pretty sure you can get shutters from 1/1000 to 8s on that camera. Just mess around with the menus till you find it, it took me a long time to figure it out.

It all depends on if you're serious about Photography, if your just going to shoot lightning, use the cam you have. But if you really want something that will bring all the options to you, go with a DSLR.

I got a Nikon D40 in early march, for $500 with a 18-55mm kit lens. (great deal) Like Rob, my next lens will be a wide angle.

If your going for DSLR go with a Nikon or Canon, they have the best selection of lenses, and finest quality of glass IMO. Definately Know that it will be a huge investment though. I think it totaly worth it.

If money isnt a problem I'd go with a Nikon D40 kit or a Canon XSI Kit. If you're not sure youll be too serious, either figure out how to use yours to take lightning shots, or get an upper level point n shoot.

Hope this was helpful

 

[T Melton]

Thanks for all the advice,I think I will work with what I have for now and see how things turn out. I will also take into account upgrading before next spring with a few more dollars the quality should only get better.

 

[Nick Parker]

Check out a Canon S5.

I bought one the other day for around 250 bucks at Wal-Mart and have fell in love with the little thing. It isn't a SLR, but it gets pretty close. Especially handy on trips and events that don't allow you too carry all your lens and accessories. (Also nice when you can take it into places that don't allow SLR cameras..my main reason)

I've shot some nice shots, normal and macro, and they can be very sharp. I have even caught some lightning with it. Not the best in the world but im still playing with all the functions. I have seen some folks on a S5 forum take some pretty nice lightning shots so I know it is capable.

 

[Cris Schroeder]

I'd stick with what you have for now. If you can mount it on a tripod and manually set the shutter to 10-15 seconds, you should be in good shape. Play with different f-stops, etc. until you can consistently get results you are happy with, and then consider upgrading.

I haven't done much lightning work but I have a few decent images from my Canon XTi. On the point-and-shoot side, I also have a Canon PowerShot G9 that would be promising (although price-wise it is almost in DSLR territory). The G9 goes to 15 seconds in manual mode and can record RAW files. It also has a very nice manual focus mode. If you want to upgrade to something with RAW capability but don't want to invest in a slew of expensive lenses, a high-end P&S may be an option. The biggest issue is the small sensor size and relatively high noise.

G9's should be dropping in price now that Canon has announced the 15 MP G10.