Fireworks with no tripod?

bazpaul · Sep 11, 2009

Guys, can you answer?

So i will be viewing awesome fierworks tomorrow night but as i am new to the game i do not own a tripod. I will probably tee up a few shots lying the camera on a bag....but if i hold the camera for shots what would the best settings be? mode + any extra settings?

im thinking:

Shutter mode = 1/60
Iso 800

Would i need to use exposure comp for the night time shot to bring out colour??? any tips please for shooting fireworks from hand. Thanks!!

JamesMason · Sep 11, 2009

You can just use a quick shutter speed, but the results are not that great. Best bet is to rest on a rock or something. Ill post one i took with the cam on top of a car when i am at my pc later.

As far as iso goes your best to use 100 at night

ocular · Sep 11, 2009

buy a bean bag they're cheap or even cheaper bring your pillow along.

JamesMason · Sep 11, 2009

Here is one i took with the camrea on the roof of a car

tirediron · Sep 11, 2009

It's difficult, but doable. If you're using a wide lens and you've a steady hand, you can get down as low as 1/20 - 1/30 sec. Even that however is still rather too fast. I routinely shoot fireworks at 2 -3 seconds. The suggestion of a pillow is a good one; even putting the camera on the ground with a stick to elevate the lens may provided the needed support. Good luck.

Kimba · Sep 12, 2009

you are not on the southside of Brissy by any chance are you? I was taking photo's of the beenleigh show fireworks, did not succeed though as i had the kids hanging off me, need to ditch them next time

LOL

ocular · Sep 13, 2009

That's a cool image james, it would be real cool if u got rid of the wires and the fireworks to the left of the image, would be wicked. If it was my image I'd take the time

bazpaul · Sep 13, 2009

Kimba said:
you are not on the southside of Brissy by any chance are you? I was taking photo's of the beenleigh show fireworks, did not succeed though as i had the kids hanging off me, need to ditch them next time LOL

Northside! we went to new farm on sat for the fireworks.....they were awesome!! it was too crowded to find a car with a good view so had to shoot from hand...photos came out ok, but nothing to write home about.

i wanna tripod

Kimba · Sep 15, 2009

yeh tripod would be handy. I tried to get to the top of Mt Gravatt lookout but it was backed so i resorted to watching it on T.V

Moonb007 · Sep 15, 2009

Just try to find anything stable to set the camera on...they might not all turn out great, but its better then nothen

Dao · Sep 15, 2009

Search "camera bean bag" under Google Images, you will see a lot of examples.

JamesMason · Sep 15, 2009

ocular said:
That's a cool image james, it would be real cool if u got rid of the wires and the fireworks to the left of the image, would be wicked. If it was my image I'd take the time

You may be right there, ill have a go at when i get a spare moment