How to Shoot: SpectroMagic

[Wingman]

all shot with a rebel XT and the canon 50mm f1.8

ap priority
ISO 1600
and a negative exposure of 1/3 resulted in a 1/400 shutter

Mikeeee

Thanks Mikeeee, these are encouraging and that is the lens I will be trying this with.

Thanks for posting.

 

[Wingman]

All right Wingman,

You asked for some of my shots.

I am hoping to learn more prior to my next trip (which is tbd)

10ded

That was not so hard now was it? I am interested in seeing all the shots and what worked and what did not work.

Thanks for posting.

 

[Wingman]

[QUOTE

From April 08. Im going again next week, can't wait.[/QUOTE]

I would love to see some more when you return.

Thanks for posting.

 

[Wingman]

A tripod wont help.

Keep in mind that your photographing a moving subject in very low light. Since you want to keep the subject still in your photo you need a shutter speed of probably at least 1/60th. To get this you need to have a lens that has a VERY wide aperture, ie: f/1.8 or f/1.4 and combine it with a high ISO like 1600. I used the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens wide open. When the floats were in thier colored light mode the shutter speeds were between 1/40th and 1/80th. When the floats were in their white light mode, the shutter speeds were higher, upwards of 1/200th. If you end up with a shutter speed of less than 1/60th or so you'll get a blurred image due to the movement of the floats. Because of this, a tripod wont help.

You can use a flash, but the extra light from the flash will wash out much of the pretty colors the floats offer. Also most flashes on digital camera's only give off enough light to go 8-12 feet at best. The further away you are the less light the subject will get.

Another thing is that because of the low light, many camera's will have a harder time locking in on focus so you may miss some shots too.

Thanks for the advice. I am not planning to use a tripod and will be using a 50 mm f/1.8. We usually catch this pararde several times during our trip so I hope to learn and practice at each one.

Thanks again.

 

[Wingman]

Wingman

You should be able to get some good shots. When I went , I had the previous model of your camera. I didn't use my "fast" 50mm and instead opted for a 24-70 f/2.8 lens since I wanted to be able to zoom in and out.
Though it may not have been necessary, I used a monopod for a little extra stability. Overall, though I have seen better, I was pleased with the results for my first attempt. I saw a shot posted by someone where the lit castle was in the background that I thought was a very nice shot. If you can find a spot like that, it could add to the picture.

Post processing, especially noise reduction will definitely help.

Thanks for posting, these came out great.

 

[Wingman]

Here are my favorites shots that I got from this one. Not great shots, but they are the best of my first attempt at this one.

What did you use and what were your settings?

Thanks for posting.

 

[fortheluvofpooh]

Pluto is the cutest pup I have ever seen.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

Is there a thread with tips for shooting the nighttime parades?

I have a Kodak C340 P&S with some adjustable features, like ISO speed and long time exposure, in addition to scen shooting modes for nighttime, sports, landscape, etc. In two previous attempts I have gotten very goods pics of the Spectromagic parade. The movement of the parade interferes with the beautiful lights when they are captured. Any tips?

 

[allie5]

Im sure there is a "How To Shoot" guide on this somewhere....try a search.

From personal experience, shooting spectro has always been the elusive photography moment for me. I had much better success this year, although nothing staggering. The key for me was using a very fast lens (in my case a Sigma 30mm f1.4 and a highish ISO). Tripods, long exposures etc are of no use because its constantly moving so you need to rely on the settings on your camera to get the best shots.

If you have full manual control then set the aperture to its largest (lowest number) and try a shutter speed of around 1/100 with an ISO of 800. If you only have ISO control Id use 800 - if the pictures are simply too grainy then you will have to knock it back to 400.

Its a very difficult subject to shoot and focusing is crucial - take care with what you are focusing on...if you can adjust your focus point then change it to one spot rather than multi.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I tried a How To Shoot, but I don't have much experience with the night parades and there were not a lot of other posters on it.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

thanks Mark. Lots of great info in your old post.

 

[handicap18]

We've had a few here:

A quick search in the Photography Board gave me this:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1439522

and this one:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1186293

this:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1143647

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

Thanks Kyle. Those links are very helpful....now, gotta get myself back to Spectro to try again.

 

[EnnEss]

Read the other topics, my main concern isn't how to shoot it once there because im sure it'll be trial and error, but what lens is doable. It looks like an aperature of f1.8 looks like it'll do, but f1.4 would be better for some. Does this sound accurate?

 

[ukcatfan]

Read the other topics, my main concern isn't how to shoot it once there because im sure it'll be trial and error, but what lens is doable. It looks like an aperature of f1.8 looks like it'll do, but f1.4 would be better for some. Does this sound accurate?

I believe you benefit with the little bit extra b/c you can then stop it down a slight little bit and get sharper images. I try to only go full wide open with my f/1.4 when it is really low light like HM and POTC.

 

[EnnEss]

Thanks for the response . I guess I can either buy the 50mm f1.4 for 370ish or buy the 50mm f1.8 for 100ish. I could risk the f1.8 and that lens actually resells extremely well judging by craigslist in my area and i'd only lose 10 bucks or so.

 

[JoWiJo]

A question from someone who still considers himself an amateur:

Thanks to the suggestions in the fireworks thread, I know to set the white balance for those to tungsten. But what about SpectroMagic? What white balance works the best for the light parade (in any case, I'll try to remember to shoot JPG + RAW to change it after the fact)?

 

[Groucho]

Unless you have a real need for JPGs immediately, you can just shoot RAW to give yourself more room on your card.

As for WB... I tend to go with something pretty close to tungsten most of the time. But since I am shooting raw, I never bother to think about it when actually taking the photos. I always leave WB on Auto.

 

[ents_2]

Hello.
We went to Disney World in December 2008. Loved it. I took my son and my three nephews and we had a blast. It was a once-in-a-lifetime trip as it took a long time for me to save up to take them.

As many others do, I took pictures and video on my video-cam. I've been working on putting together a dvd to give to the kids with the photos and video I took on it..... I know it's been awhile but there aren't enough hours in the day to do this kind of stuff...

Anyway, to make a long story short, my ONLY copy of the Spectromagic Parade bit the dust. I was devastated when I realized it.

Is there anyone out there who has a GOOD quality videotape of the parade (((I think it was called Spectromagic - or the Main Street Electrical Parade maybe - the night time parade at the Magic Kingdom))) that I can add to this very special dvd?

I'm hoping to add the video to the one I'm making now so it's all on one dvd. I would be willing to pay for the dvd disc and shipping.

Thanks much.

 

[RuneSpyder]

Let me see if I still have this video around.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmKMuK-LFQY&feature=channel_page

Yes, I know I spelled it wrong.....