Lightning Fast!!

[ClarkKent]

Twas a stormy night the other night. How did I do?

 

[JonMikal]

lightening is difficult to capture as im sure you know. what technique and settings did you use?

 

[ClarkKent]

lightening is difficult to capture as im sure you know. what technique and settings did you use?

with this only being my second attempt, I have found out that it is very difficult to capture. What I did was set my camera's iso to 3200 and my shutter speed to 1/60 sec with the aperature wide open, then focus infinity. Then when I would see a flash in the sky...I would shoot away.

 

[tr0gd0o0r]

Try setting your iso to 100, your aperture to the biggest number and clicking and see what you get when the shutter closes

 

[Andrea K]

the photo itself is way to grainy and i think it would look better if you had some sort of background like a landscape or a skyline so to add interest


how is do you capture lightning? ive yet to try it but if i would i would set everything small (iso 100, f20) in order to get the longest shutter speed possible? is this correct in thinking or will the lightning not provide enough light to be seen in a 30 second exposure, im curious as to the best way to capture the lightning.

 

[darin3200]

I've used f/16 with 400 and got some OK results with 30 second exposures. They were overexposed and didn't convey the night atmosphere, I think 100 would work better.

EDIT: I did and search and found a great post on it here

 

[ThatCameraThingy]

Typically I use ISO 200 - F8 and whatever shutter speed is indicated

at night you can go 30s or bulb mode and keep it open for up to 5min

if lightning strikes while the shutter i open - Bingo

otherwise try again.

obviously this is assuming the use of a very sturdy tripod

in day time you are limited by when your photo will overexpose by the ambient light. then F22 will iso 100 , will give you a longer shutter speed. but even then you will be lucky to get 2sec shutter speeds.

to try and wait ofr lightning and th click away does not always work. I am quite surprised to see the shot you have there.

happy shooting

PS - one of my own

ISO 200 - F22 - 30s Canon EOS 30 (film body)

 

[ClarkKent]

OOooo...that pretty cool. This was only my second attempt, in total darkness. I have some during the day with the settings that you say that will work. However, during the night, using those settings, I have had some major problems with over exposure. But nonetheless...very good tips and I will be sure to give them a try.

 

[ThatCameraThingy]

Thanks Clark

Glad you like the pic.

Bear in mind , I'm shooting film. Not sure how a DSLR will react to the setup as I described it. Maybe some of the other DSLR users can comment on that.

I am now living in an area that has very few lightning spells per year so I can't play as often as I used too.

Do you play with star trials ??? , wonder how DSLR will cope with that ??

 

[kilifila66]

I think its not a bad start. I agree that maybe there should be something to show the eyes what scale the lightning was at and also give some sense of the surroundings. You got the right idea, but I do agree low ISO and wide open shutter is the way to be. Look forward to more from ya.

 

[ClarkKent]

Thanks Clark

Glad you like the pic.

Bear in mind , I'm shooting film. Not sure how a DSLR will react to the setup as I described it. Maybe some of the other DSLR users can comment on that.

I am now living in an area that has very few lightning spells per year so I can't play as often as I used too.

Do you play with star trials ??? , wonder how DSLR will cope with that ??

Ya I thought that because it was dark out that I should use the widest aperature setting that I could. I will defenitely give these tips and tricks a shot next time it storms