I NEED HELP WITH LIGHTNING

[ian.webb4]

HI ALL,

12months ago I bought a Olympus E-520 twin lens kit (14-42mm & 70-300mm) mainly for higher quality photos of my newborn. After moving to Darwin, NT, AUSTRALIA and experiencing the wet season storms I would like to try and get some good lightnings shots.
I am aware that my camera isn't the best and that will limit the potential but any advice on techniques and settings would be greatly appreciated. The few attempts I've already made have been encouraging for a first go but i had some trouble with noise.
Please give me a hand

 

[Don Kondra]

.
I am aware that my camera isn't the best and that will limit the potential..

Now where did you get that idea? The E-520 is a fine camera

It would have been helpful if you posted the settings you Did try.

You have two choices, spend ~$125 for a lightning trigger or go manual.

Basically with the camera on a tripod frame your shot, depending on the landscape I would go wide, ie. 14mm. Shots of just the sky are boring so try to include a ground element such as trees or hills. Avoid buildings, lights and power lines, etc.

Put the camera in manual mode, focus to manual, set your lens to infinity, iso 100 and the shutter speed to bulb. Using a wired or wireless shutter release experiment with shutter speeds in the four to eight second range.

Cheers, Don

 

[michaelleggero]

i've got a lightning trigger and i love it... look for one on ebay and you'll save about 50% of the cost of buying one straight from the manufacturer.. they all work on the same principal and none have moving parts so don't worry too much, i have an ebay one and it's worked fine for me for a long time

Mike Leggero

http://www.michaelleggero.com

 

[Phranquey]

Put the camera in manual mode, focus to manual, set your lens to infinity, iso 100 and the shutter speed to bulb. Using a wired or wireless shutter release experiment with shutter speeds in the four to eight second range.

In daytime shooting, I wouldn't just arbitrarily set the lens to infinity. I've made this mistake. Actually focus on an object in your foreground.
Also, close your aperture down as far as it will go. This serves two purposes... gives you the greatest DOF, and gives you the most time with the shutter open. If you can, pick up a neutral density filter as well, recommend an ND8, as this can give you a couple of extra seconds per exposure.

Basically with the camera on a tripod frame your shot, depending on the landscape I would go wide, ie. 14mm. Shots of just the sky are boring so try to include a ground element such as trees or hills. Avoid buildings, lights and power lines, etc.

I agree with avoiding lights & power lines, but definitely put buildings in your foreground if you desire, it can make for more interesting shots.

 

[peacock]

I just shot this last month with my samsung point-and-shoot. It's very blurry and I couldn't get the tripod on time, but I did capture the moment when the lightning struck the building! Twice in fact!

Haha, my first time