Cannon Rebel and night photos

[nee]

I would like to take some photos of main street at night and also fireworks, but although I have read loads of advice on shutter speeds and iso etc, I don't know what settings to put the camera on.
I have tried the landscape mode which was very contrasty and then T.V mode with a 1 second speed which was awful and then P mode with a 800 iso which seemed to be best.
Has anyone had good results with a particular setting ?
Having only used disposable cameras before, this one is challenging to say the least

 

[LordAthens]

A good night shot (almost) always requires a long exposure.

Long exposures (almost) always require a tripod.

Be it a little 6" fold up tripod or my 6lb Bogen I carried through the park for 2 days, you need a stable platform so your images stay sharp.

Tripod + Program setting (I think Canon calls that Tv?) and a low ISO pretty much guarantee's a good, sharp image.

As for fireworks specifically, I personally shoot in shutter priority, sometimes full manual. Start at 1\3sec exposure and go from there. Most of my firework shots that I did where in the 1\3" to 1.3" range. In shutter priority, the camera will determine the best aperature when you tell it X" exposure time.

 

[cyndilou01]

nee, I got the cannon rebel for Chritmas I never knew a camera would have so many options... I am still trying to figure out the same thing... so far I have just left it on automatic, because I am scared to try anything else, if you figure it out let me know too... we will be in Disney for a week in March, looking forward to taking pictures.

Cindy

 

[B7W3XR]

Hello, I'm new here, but I'm also a Canon user.

P mode (Program Mode), 100 ASA/ISO, on a tripod = good results 99% of the time

 

[Razor Roman]

If you don't have a tripod, you can use P mode and set your ISO to 1600, and still get some very usable pictures. They won't be the long "weeping willow" fireworks shots, but you will still pick up quite a few nice pictues.

 

[nee]

Thanks for your very useful advice, I will probably set the P mode before it gets dark and try different iso settings. I have got a tiny tripod that hopefully will be used.
Cyndilou 01, I will be at WDW on 7th April for 2 weeks so you will have to experiment first
Let me know how your pictures come out, a great place to sit for illuminations is on the steps leading up to the resturant at Japan. No one is ever there and its a great view since they cut down a tree 2 years ago.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

B7W3XR, I used that very same settings for this pic:

 

[handicap18]

nee, I got the cannon rebel for Chritmas I never knew a camera would have so many options... I am still trying to figure out the same thing... so far I have just left it on automatic, because I am scared to try anything else, if you figure it out let me know too... we will be in Disney for a week in March, looking forward to taking pictures.

Cindy

Do yourself a favor and get "Undersanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. I got it on amazon.com for about $20 with shipping. He does a great job of explaining aperture and shutter. Other threads have posted a few web pages to go to as well.

The camera wont break. Don't be affraid!!

 

[rocket9]

I would like to take some photos of main street at night and also fireworks, but although I have read loads of advice on shutter speeds and iso etc, I don't know what settings to put the camera on.
I have tried the landscape mode which was very contrasty and then T.V mode with a 1 second speed which was awful and then P mode with a 800 iso which seemed to be best.
Has anyone had good results with a particular setting ?
Having only used disposable cameras before, this one is challenging to say the least

Hi,

I've got some night/fireworks tips on my site, at: http://disney.rocket9.net/
along with a bunch of my favorite shots.

I've gotten good shots in full manual mode, with a tripod, with 2 second exposure delay (to avoid camera shake), f8.0 (to get more pictures of the light and less of the smoke), and a 4-second exposure (which is going to need to be varied depending on your shot and how much is being shot off).
Good luck, and please post what you get...

Thanks,

Bernie
http://disney.rocket9.net/

 

[makinorlando]

I took this shot on Main Street last night - I am not sure how I shot it - but used a trashcan for a tripod. It's not perfect, but I was quite pleased being a novice, and not having made any kind of notes on what settings to use for various things... plus - I need a flashlight or something for those low light situations so I can see what the heck I am doing!

I also need to hire a sitter for my DD some evening so I can it alone to MK and not have to worry about her while I am trying to "create"!!!

Camera make: Canon
Camera model: Canon PowerShot S2 IS
Date/Time: 2006:02:20 20:35:25
Resolution: 648 x 486
Flash used: Yes (auto, red eye reduction mode)
Focal length: 6.0mm (35mm equivalent: 38mm)
CCD width: 5.72mm
Exposure time: 0.125 s (1/8)
Aperture: f/2.7
Whitebalance: Auto
Metering Mode: matrix

 

[Kelly Grannell]

Just wondering, Mak. Why the resolution is so low? You have no intention in printing it?

 

[makinorlando]

Just wondering, Mak. Why the resolution is so low? You have no intention in printing it?

I didn't do it intentionally. I probably won't print..

I must have messed up the setting when I was trying to "play". I will have to go check.

 

[Ava83]

This is the exact reason we have now purchased a tripod. I tried and tried to take pictures of the Hallowishes fireworks, and out of 30 odd pictures, two or three turned out. And even then not so good. I am also afraid of taking my Canon out to auto mode.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

I'm taking a wild guess here, please take no offense:

1. You're using light-weight tripod
2. You're releasing the shutter using your finger (instead of remote or delayed mode)
3. small probability that you're not using fireworks mode or using landscape mode with the flash forced to be off (the pic of lightning with a line crossing it)

 

[nee]

I love your photos Bernie, I read your advice on night shots and was with you till tripods.
When you say close the shutter,which f number do you mean, something like f22 to keep the picture sharp and use AV mode ?
My self timer is set for 10 seconds so I'm just off to check if it will do 2 secs, great tip.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

f/22 is not going to make a pic look sharp. Most lenses sweet spots are around f/8 to f/16

 

[rocket9]

I love your photos Bernie, I read your advice on night shots and was with you till tripods.
When you say close the shutter,which f number do you mean, something like f22 to keep the picture sharp and use AV mode ?
My self timer is set for 10 seconds so I'm just off to check if it will do 2 secs, great tip.

Hi,

Wow, f22 might be a bit too closed, though something heading that direction, say f8.0 or whatever your camera has as the next setting should be good. I hadn't though of digital camera's with the ability to get f-stops down that far when I wrote the tips (will update, and encourage you to experiment). And yes on the AV mode.

I like shooting with higher f-stops in general as (not that it matters for fireworks) it also increases the depth of field in the image (the range of distances that is in focus). This is already pretty large for more digital camera's anyway, but can produce some really interesting shots where many more things are in focus that you are used to seeing.

Thanks,

Bernie
http://disney.rocket9.net/

 

[WillCAD]

I use a couple of methods for low-light shots like fireworks and the Osbourne Lights.

For MK fireworks, I put the camera in Shutter Speed Priority (Tv) mode, set the ISO to 1600 (which is the max available on the Digital Rebel) and set the shutter speed to the slowest I can handle without a tripod, usually about 1/15. I also focus on the castle, then put the camera in manual focus mode, because in the darkness between bursts the camera would have nothing to focus on and would not take the shots. If possible, I brace the camera against a light post, or set it on my pocket-size tripod on a trash can or other stationary object. I get maybe one good shot out of every 5-10. Here are examples [note-examples taken with a star filter] (click the photo for a full-size version):


For the Osbourne Lights, Main Street, Spaceship Earth, and other lighted night shots, I leave the camera in Program AE (P) mode, set the ISO to 1600, and put it on my pocket-size tripod. Exposure times generally run from 1-3 seconds. To avoid camera shake I spent the extra $20 to get an infrared remote shutter release, which lets me click the shutter without even touching the camera. Here's an example (click the photo for full-size version):

 

[carolina_yankee]

This is a great thread.

I took shots of Wishes and Illuminations in January with my new Rebel XT. I used a tripod, ISO 200, f/13, and bulb setting with a cable release. Exposures tended to be 4-12 seconds. I generally counted or tried to cover the type of bursts I was hoping to get. I had heard up to 20 seconds could be good, but I found those shots too bright. Maybe with a higher f stop and/or ISO 100. I've found the tripod and shutter release are absolutely essential for sharp photos with the bursts framed the way I want them. I can get nicely framed shots at a higher ISO and holding by hand, but they won't be sharp or they'll have too much grain to really be satisfactory.

For Wishes, I set the tripod up next a curb on main street by a trashcan and lamppost so it would be a little protected. Illuminations, I had no problems finding a spot against a rail by Norway.

Here are a couple of my favs:

(I love how this photo shows the disturbingly overwhelming profile of the Dolphin. It makes France look like a toyset laid out front! This was taken with a 70-300mm IS lens fully extended.)

My Wishes gallery is here:
http://carolinayankee.smugmug.com/gallery/1144661

My Illuminations Gallery is here:
http://carolinayankee.smugmug.com/gallery/1144659

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

I would like to take some photos of main street at night and also fireworks, but although I have read loads of advice on shutter speeds and iso etc, I don't know what settings to put the camera on.
I have tried the landscape mode which was very contrasty and then T.V mode with a 1 second speed which was awful and then P mode with a 800 iso which seemed to be best.
Has anyone had good results with a particular setting ?
Having only used disposable cameras before, this one is challenging to say the least

best bet try to practice at home at get an idea of what the camera will and won't do. try at car shows and other nite type events. it will help you see what each setting will do inadvance. it's what i like to do. a digital camera will get you to taking far more pictures then normal.last 2 trips we took close to 1200 pictures and with a digital we took almost 4000. just a heads up.