First crack at long exposure. C+C more than welcome!

[Marc32]

P1010199 by marcm1979, on Flickr

P1010196 by marcm1979, on Flickr

P1010198 by marcm1979, on Flickr
P1010195 by marcm1979, on Flickr

P1010197 by marcm1979, on Flickr

P1010197 by marcm1979, on Flickr


I finally got a flickr account!

I posted a few shots of my first attempt at long exposure with a Panasonic DMC-FZ100. I took 3 in the camera's "starry night" mode in 15, 30, and 60 second exposure times. I also took 3 in the manual mode with a 2.8 apperature setting, 100 ISO and kept the same 15, 30, and 60 second times to make a fair comparison.

Might not have been the perfect setting to make this study with the cars going by and a slight breeze moving the tree branches, but for practice shots you have to take what you can get.

My big question is about image noise in the photos. I'm not sure if I've maxed out what the camera is capable of or if there's more I can do to improve my results? The reason I ask is I will be camping in the mountains in 3 weeks. I will be up high and far from any light pollution, and it's looking like a new moon that night so it should be completely dark out in the woods. It's shaping up to be a perfect time to shoot the sky, stars, and maybe the milky way if the weather and clouds cooperate. If there are any tricks or suggestions that I could learn beforehand, that would be great! It will be next year before I can get up there again so I'd like to be as prepared as I can to make the most of it!

If I can get a killer shot, I'd really like to have it blown up and printed out around 11x17. Anything else I should be aware of to come away with a clean picture this size?

Thanks!!

 

[Scoody]

Then the Flickr members will comment on your photos. We don't like links in these here parts, Pardner!

 

[mishele]

Posting a picture from flickr.......
click on "You"
click on the picture you want
click on "share"
makes sure that the BBCode is highlighted
copy and past what is in the box

People here will be more likely to give you C&C if you take the time to post the picture directly to the thread.
Good luck =)

 

[Marc32]

Thanks for pointing out how to paste the pics directly on here. I honestly could not figure it out....I thought I needed a paid membership.

 

[powasky]

if you were trying to take a star picture, why was the tree taking up most of the frame?

also, you should be using a very small aperture.

 

[AUZambo]

As far as handling noise and finding out your camera's abilities, the best thing you can do is just make sure you use the prolonged exposures quite a bit in the next three weeks. Every camera model handles long exposures differently. Sensor size, exposure time, ISO settings, and amount of light present all play a part in the formula that creates noise.

My one suggestion is be sure to use either a shutter remote or a delayed exposure with the camera's timer function. I made the mistake of not doing that on several prolonged exposures and the camera shake from when I pushed the button, as slight as it was, still blurred the image.

 

[Marc32]

I did use a remote shutter and a aperture of 2.8 That is the smallest I can get out of the camera. Think I would have better luck going the other way toward 8?

I have to confess that when I bought this about a month ago I didn't set out to find a camera that could do all these creatives shots. I was looking to replace a Kodak point and shoot with something that had a little better image quality, a few more features, and better zoom. This had all that and more plus I found a great deal on it online. I got the camera, 2 tripods, 5 filters, 4gb memory card, remote shutter and camera bag for <450. As far as I can tell, this camera runs about 450 by itself without all the accessories.

I guess the next question to ask is since I am starting to realize that I'm enjoying this hobby more than I thought I would, what dSLR models should I be looking at for the next move up? I really would like to shoot more landscapes and panoramics. The things that interest me the most are waterfalls with the misty water effect, nighttime shots of the stars and milky way, and lakes with mountains reflecting in the water. I also have a trip to the Grand Canyon planned for next year and would like to visit some of the slot canyons while I'm there. A camera that could get some creative colors in long exposure would be nice to have as well. Relatively easy to learn to use and noise free images that could be enlarged without a lot of distortion.

So moving up to a dSLR means interchangeable lenses. The one I that I've seen that seems to fit what I'm trying to do is the Nikon D5100. Is it smarter to buy the body only and add the lenes I'd be using or buy the kit that has the simple lens with it? Is there a better choice than the 5100? What lenses should I be considering for the type of photography I'd like to start doing?

 

[KmH]

I did use a remote shutter and a aperture of 2.8 That is the smallest I can get out of the camera.

Sorry, but f/2.8 is a big aperture.

It's a fraction, so f/2.8 is a bigger lens opening (number) than f/8 is. (approximately 1/2 compared to 1/8)

The f is equal to the focal length of the lens. So if the lens has a focal length of 100 mm the lens opening is = 100mm divided by 2.8 = 35.7 mm wide, while 100 mm divided by 8 = 12.5 mm wide

 

[Marc32]

You're going to have to forgive me...I don't think I'm understanding something correclty. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

The smaller aperture number means more light into the lens. At night when trying long exposure I'd want this 2.8 setting.
The larger aperture number means less light into the lens. Doing long exposure during the day (ie moving water) I'd want to move up closer to 8 and possibly use a ND filter as well.
ISO setting for either of these would be around 100-200 to minimize the amount of image noise in the picture.

I'm really happy with what I've been able to do with daytime photos, close ups, and panoramic stitching so far. I'm pretty green when it comes to the long exposure trick. I've been playing with it with some mixed results. The photos posted above were not necessarially a 'star' shot. I was experimenting with the manual mode and the starry night mode in the camera trying to see if I could get less noise with one or the other. What settings yield what results and such.

Do you suppose it's even possible to accomplish a decent nighttime long exposure photo (milky way shots are pretty cool) with my Panasonic? Or am I fighting an uphill battle that I stand little chance of winning due to the size of the sensor in the camera?

 

[AUZambo]

The smaller aperture number means more light into the lens. At night when trying long exposure I'd want this 2.8 setting.
The larger aperture number means less light into the lens. Doing long exposure during the day (ie moving water) I'd want to move up closer to 8 and possibly use a ND filter as well.
ISO setting for either of these would be around 100-200 to minimize the amount of image noise in the picture.

It sounds like you have a pretty good understanding of the F numbers and what they do to the aperture. Where you messed up in the earlier post is you said f2.8 is the smallest aperture your camera has. It's a very picky detail, but the word aperture refers to the actual size of the opening of the blades within the lens. So a small aperture means very little light is able to get in. If you wanted to be technically correct, you should have said, "F2.8 is the smallest F number," or "F2.8 is the largest aperture."

Kinda picky, eh?!

As far as the kind of DSLR to look for, the general consensus on here is to just go to a good camera store and play with all the different models and pick the one that you like best. Just realize that when you pick one, you're basically marrying that company...so if you think you may want to eventually upgrade from a beginner to a prosumer model, you need to look at those as well. I made the mistake of buying a Sony A100 (their most basic model, now discontinued) because it was the most affordable. I have since upgraded to the Sony A700 (also discontinued!), which I believe was Sony's attempt to compete with the Nikon D300 or the Canon 7D, and I seriously wish I would have gone with a canon or nikon because the high noise on indoor shots drives me absolutely crazy!

 

[Marc32]

Got it! Thanks for clearing that up.

I have noise issues as well with the Panasonic. Seems the darker it gets and the longer the shutter time, the worse it gets. I think I might have over-played with it over the weekend because whatever I did, it went the wrong way. I might have to figure out how to reset it to factory specs and start over. Overall though, it is a good camera and I would recommend it to someone else who is learning, same as me.