Need camera advice

[HappyGramma]

I have a Canon Rebel XTi that I got about a year ago. I am still trying to learn the ins and outs of this camera. We are going to WDW 12/6-12/13. I want to be able to take some decent pictures of Wishes fireworks but I am not sure of the manual settings I should have the camera on to do so. If anyone out there has a Rebel XTi and can give me some tips I would be very grateful. Thanks Mary

 

[xipetotec]

Well the biggest piece of advice I can give you is take LOTS of shots. Maybe even put it on continuous shooting.

I got some decent shots of the wishes fireworks ( not so much of Fantasmic as it was really smoky that day, and Illuminations had a lot of heads in the way ). Basically, you want to have a fairly fast shutter speed and a medium aperture.

Checking through my pictures, some of my best shots had shutter speeds between 1/5 and 1/13. And Aperture ranges between 5.6 and 8.0 ( Film speed set to 800 ). It goes without saying if you can find a stable surface or tripod to stabilize your camera. Otherwise, a relatively shove-free zone.

I'm no expert either, but I did get some good firework shots with these settings.

 

[joech]

Continuous shooting ususally don't work for firworks. I have a D200 and my fireworks picture usually turns out good. Try using the the auto mode on your rebel and overide the apperture and ISO. Also put your camera on a tripod if your lens doesn't have the Vibration reduction feature.

 

[DisneyMom92]

I'm not familiar with the settings of the rebel, but have been taking pictures of fireworks for years. You will probably want a tripod. Slow your shutter speed down quite a bit. Experiment with the settings as you take pictures to see what works best.

 

[BradyBz12]

Great Disney photo blog here...
http://land.allears.net/blogs/photoblog/photography/

Scroll down to the section on fireworks.

 

[Brad M]

I don't have a Canon but I've taken a lot of fireworks pics. Use a high ISO setting, like 800+. Vary the shutter speeds and shoot a lot of pictures. You'll like the varying length of light streaks made by the movement of the fireworks. I strongly agree with the tripod comment for best results. If you try to hand-hold the camera the result will be undesired squiggly light streaks. If you don't have a tripod handy, find a pole or rail to brace the camera on...not ideal but better than free-hand.

 

[PJAY]

ditto what everyone else has said about iso settings and aperture. As far as tripods, can be difficult with the crowds to get it set up in agood spot. I just bought a Joby Gorilla pod and it can stand like a regular tripod or wrap around poles or other objects. I'll be bringing that and a shutter cable so I can try and get some fireworks shot for my next visit.
Take lots of frames and bracket!
Good luck, let us know how they come out!