Slower Shutter speeds..

pilgrim · Feb 20, 2004

Im sure this will be a simple answer that I should have known.. but I can't seem to get it working and its driving me nuts.
When I want to slow the shutter down during the day, like a nice sunny day or not even sunny, just a regular day where there is far more light then an eveneing or night, all my shots come out completly white... :?
What im wondering is what do I have to adjust to clear this problem up.. my f-stop only goes up to 8, iso: 50-100-200-400. I have built in white balance settings such as cloudy day, tungsten, etc.. I have the option to customize the white balance by taking a picture of a white piece of paper and doing something with that but its a little over my head at this time.

So is this something that my camera simply cant do? or am I missing something?

thanks everyone,
Troy

Sharkbait · Feb 20, 2004

To slow the shutter in bright light, you need to make a much smaller aperture (larger F-number). You can also set your exposure lower, as well.

Kent Frost · Feb 20, 2004

Well, since your F-Stop can only go as far down as 8.0, it doesn't give you much room on your shutter speed unless it's dark....and that's not what you said you were aiming for. What you can do, however, is go ahead and set it for the slowest exposure possible in the day (slowest shutter speed in combination with the highest number F-stop you can get....AND slowest ISO which you said to be 50). From this point, start adding on the ND (Neutral Density) filters....it's like sunglasses for your camera.

With ND filters, you have a few options. For example, with Kenko filters, they have ND 2x, 4x, and 8x. Every 2x=1 Stop.

Generally what you're trying to do here is make the light dimmer so that it takes longer for the shutter speed to soak in the proper amount of light. If your camera only goes to 8.0 F-Stop, then it won't take very long for the shutter to do its thing. If you make that light dimmer, it has to compensate.

pilgrim · Feb 20, 2004

wow that was a fast reply! Thanks for the info guys!
Thanks for info on the kenka filters kent, thats some intresting stuff! Do you think the 8x filter would do what im looking to do? I guess it depends how slow I plan to set the shutter eh. :?

Also, do they actually make filters for a cameras like this

I have only seen them for the larger lenses.. :?

Thanks again guys.

ksmattfish · Feb 20, 2004

On a sunny day even with ISO 50 and f/8 you're going to find that your meter is going to recommend approx 1/200th sec, maybe 1/60th on an overcast day. These are not slow shutter speeds in my opinion.

The problem with filters and your camera is that the meter may not be TTL (through the lens). It might be one of those other little holes above the lens. The meter has to be covered by the filter as well as the lens if you are shooting the camera on any sort of auto-mode.

If you can set your camera manually you can set the camera at f/8, take a light reading, and then adjust the shutter speed (slower) by as many stops as the ND filter blocks.

If you have "exposure compensation" adjustment (might look like a dial that says -3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, +3) then you could set the cam at f/8, and set the camera to overexpose by as many stops as the ND filter blocks. Make sure you get the right ND filter to match your cameras abilities.

Also, a polarizing filter blocks about 2 or 2.5 stops as well as reducing glare/increasing color saturation. Get a pol and a ND that blocks one stop and you could stack them for a 3 stop block, or just use them individually for a 1 or 2 stop block.

Some filters will tell you stops on the package, other filters use "Filter Factor" and this number is not the number of stops. Maybe someone else can clue us in on how stops are figured from "filter factor" (I can't remember).

Skyeg · Feb 20, 2004

im pretty sure canon A60/A70 and A80 all have ttl metering. i assume you are using a canon A60 as that is the picture you put up, to use a filter with it you need a lens adapter, which takes a 52mm filter.
hope thats helps