Questions about Night Photography

john3eblover · Dec 19, 2004

Hi, i am new to these forums, and had a few questions about photography.

I have a Minolta Xt, and will be getting a Nikon N65 soon, with a 28-90mm lens.

I love taking pictures of sunsets, landscapes, and cityscapes.

I am wondering what are the recommended settings for f-stop and shutter speed when taking long exposure pictures of sunsets, night skies, and skylines of cities.

thanks for the help

Hertz van Rental · Dec 20, 2004

There are no recommendations - it all depends on your light levels and what you are trying to achieve.
Play around with your aperture and shutter settings, trying different combinations, and see which one you like the best.

Jamie R · Dec 20, 2004

Your camera has the advantage of being able to run the shutter for several seconds accurately. Unfortunately this causes battery drain especially in the cold (bring a spare battery).

Mount your camera on a tripod and meter the scene. Most beginners tend to underexpose rather than expose correctly. Since your shutter speeds are going to be fairly long (i.e. need a tripod), you can try and squeeze mid-apertures (f5.6-8) to smaller ones (f11-22) from your lenses. Using the tripod means that you can get everything front-to-back of the scene reasonably sharp. There's a starting point. Hopefully others will help once you add a little clarity to your question.

Regards.

Holland · Dec 20, 2004

From the National Geographic Field Guide

City street, ISO 100, 1/30, f/2
City skyline at dusk, ISO 100, 1/60, f/2.8
City skyline at night, ISO 100, 2 sec, f/2
Landscape lit by full moon, ISO 100, 4 min, f/4

john3eblover · Dec 20, 2004

thanks for the help.

as far as speeds of film, which is best for low light or night situations? and are you saying that a smaller aperture setting with a longer exposure will give me a clearer shot? i think that the maxiumum i can leave the shutter open is 30 sec, unless i just hold it with my finger indefinitely

Big Mike · Dec 20, 2004

A smaller aperture will give you more depth of field which is usually helpful in landscape photography. Since you will be using very slow shutter speeds and therefore a tripod, you might as well stop down the lens and increase the shutter time.

It is recommended that you use a remote shutter release or at least the self timer so that you don't have to touch the camera as it fires. If you have a mirror lock up feature...this is when you would activate it.

From what I have read, it is better to use slower film (ISO 100) for long exposures, rather than 400 or 800 etc.