Canon 60D and Fireworks question

[LilyU]

Hello!
My husband recently purchased a Canon 60D camera and I was wondering what the best settings and lens for fireworks would be?

Thanks!
Lily

9 days until Polynesian!!

 

[bob100]

Hello!
My husband recently purchased a Canon 60D camera and I was wondering what the best settings and lens for fireworks would be?

Thanks!
Lily

9 days until Polynesian!!

I didn't shoot fireworks this year but -
use a remote shutter release and tripod, then use ISO 100, start with f8 in Av mode and see how the exposure looks. Longer exposures (seconds) will determine how many bursts get in the shot. Also prefocusing (not AF) helps

 

[pgowder]

Check out this article:
http://www.disneyphotographyblog.com/2010/07/disney-world-fireworks-photography-101/

They also have an eBook that is worth getting about fireworks.

 

[princesszelda]

Do not mean to hijack you post but we ahve the same camera and I am wondering if anyone has tips for Fantasmic.

 

[LilyU]

Moving back up in case anyone else has suggestions!

 

[WDWFigment]

The suggestions in the link Paul provided should be plenty to get you started.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

For fireworks I like ISO 100, f11, manual focus out to infinity then dial it back slightly, remote on a tripod. Usually 2-3 sec exposure works. Try to get the fireworks early before the sky is filled with smoke.

For Fantasmic, I would recommend a fast zoom lens and lots of ISO. Because of the movement you will need to keep the shutter speed high. I shot it with my 70-200 f2.8 and while the focal length worked the limitation of 1600 ISO on my body did allow for fast enough shutter speeds and I ended up with some blurring. While some came out ok others were not acceptable. I'm hoping with my new high ISO camera body that the problem will be solved. We will see in 77 days!

 

[Frantasmic]

Do not mean to hijack you post but we ahve the same camera and I am wondering if anyone has tips for Fantasmic.

Fantasmic is difficult because you have length to stage area, motion, periods of nearly complete darkness and then a lot of lit characters (fire and lighting).

With a point and shoot, you'd just need to select a good action mode or a good night mode and switch back and forth.

with a dslr, you are probably going to need a good mid zoom (like a 24-70 or 24-105 or a 50-150 or a 70-200) or equivalent. It would be best to set up your dslr with programmable modes: one for the bright portions of the show and one for the darker portions, and then just switch between the settings.

With bright, you'd want mid (5.6 or above to 8.0) aperture and a shutter speed of 1/200 to 1/300 with a lower iso (400-800). Of course, this is also going to depend on your camera and its sensitivity. Newer cameras are going to be better.

With dark, you want lower apertures, lower shutter speeds and higher iso. I rented a sigma 24-70 and got some ok shots (I'm not nearly as good as the really good photographers here. I had just had my new Canon for 3 days too. )