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06/11/2005 01:39:50 PM · #1 |
Greetings all,
Ok, a few nights ago we had some thunderstorms move through the area and i thought i'd try for some lighting shots, now it was almost total darkness out, maybe 95%dark, I set my cam for a 30sec exposure, on a tripod, in my 30cent waterproof housing, figuring the longer exposure would give me a better shot of catching a bolt,
Notice, my sony has taken the darkness and made it almost total daylight!!??? How can I fix this ?? and still have a reasonable shot at catching a bolt, without having to posses superhuman reaction times.
after about 30 minutes I had only caught the very corner of one bolt, middle far left edge of the below shot, and realized that the vast majority of the storm had gone ssw of me by about 10 miles, below is the only thing I got....
Yes I know these shots suck, but it was strictly a learning exp, testing out my waterproof housing, and trying to get the settings right on the sony....and i know my lense needed cleaning, realized that afterwards, lol.
Any help would be greatly appreciated as we're having almost nightly thunderstorms here, and I really want to try again soon..
Mike
//www.mikefairbanks.com
Message edited by author 2005-06-11 13:40:38.
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06/11/2005 01:53:22 PM · #2 |
I was taught to set the camera on a tripod, set the aperature on bulb, hold open shutter with a stutter release for several bolts and let go and repeat. You adjust the dof by setting the f stop to distance from bolts. If lightning is long way off,less f-stop, closer lightning close the f-stop down. Just a few hints. Van
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06/11/2005 02:38:14 PM · #3 |
In the beginning I didn't do it right either. Now I use ISO 100 at f8-f16 with my timer cable release. I don't shoot in the rain, I shoot while under something (like our patio) and/or while the storm is in the distance. The key is to have patience. Out of 50 shots, you may only have 5 that are decent. Find an active area and stay put. Don't move around just because you saw a bolt in another area. If you keep moving, you'll never get anything. Be patient and wait for the lightning to enter your frame.
My Lightning Shots (*Note: A blue Overlay was added because, well, gray skies just aren't very pretty.)
Hope this helps.
- Jen
Edit: Yes, DEFINITELY use a tripod!!
Message edited by author 2005-06-11 14:39:01.
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06/11/2005 02:40:11 PM · #4 |
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06/11/2005 02:44:21 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by Fetor:
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WOW! |
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06/11/2005 02:47:51 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by jpochard:
Originally posted by Fetor:
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WOW! |
Yea, AWESOME! Fury at its best.
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06/11/2005 02:49:54 PM · #7 |
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06/11/2005 03:32:37 PM · #8 |
| Mike, where did you get the housing from? |
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06/11/2005 03:41:17 PM · #9 |
We never get decent lightning around here, so I haven't had a chance to try this out with my 20D, but I sure would love to have a go.
I read somewhere to bring a piece of matte, black cardboard and carefully (yet quickly) move it in front of the lens during lulls to stop all that excess light.
Has anyone actually used that technique? Sounds like it could work ...... come on, lightning, I want to try it!!!! |
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06/11/2005 05:03:01 PM · #10 |
Mike, the reason that darkness looks like daylight is likely because your Hologram AF Assist was functioning correctly. You need to manually turn it off, or this will happen every time.
In a dark room, point the camera at the floor and depress the shutter halfway down. If you see a red laser beam pattern, your AF Assist is on. It will automatically turn on in low-light situations unless you specifically turn it off in the set-up menu.
Probably lightning or shooting star trails is the only time you'll want it off. I find Sony's ability to expose in low-light situations a real treat, and fun at parties. :) |
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06/11/2005 08:13:39 PM · #11 |
Bump
Severe thunderstorm cell 25 minutes out, off I goto play some more
Mike
Message edited by author 2005-06-11 20:14:19.
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06/11/2005 08:26:36 PM · #12 |
 
I shot these with an ISO setting of 100, F/5 Aperture and 5" exposures
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06/11/2005 09:11:35 PM · #13 |
I think you could probably lower your exposure time a bit. I took these 3 with an exposure time of 15 seconds. The first two were at f/5.0 and the third one was at f/2.8. I don't see it in the exif, but I think ISO was 100.
  
I think a single lightning strike will give sufficient light for an exposure. Leaving the shutter open longer will give you multiple strikes, and or more background detail. I took about 50-60 shots, had camera on a tripod pointed in general direction of the lightning strikes. Of those 50-60 shots, I got about 10-12 with lightning in them. 3-4 of those were ones I really liked. There are some problems with the photos, primarily the bird feeder hanging from my porch. (Wife was sure I would get hit by lightning if I went further from the house.) Keep shooting and let us see your results!
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06/12/2005 04:58:53 PM · #14 |
Greetings again,
Ok, so last night more t-storms rolled through and out I went with my trusty cam, this time I did as A1275 suggested, and shut off the hologram AF assist, same results as my original post, almost daylight in the shots, depsite bieng pitch dark out, but I was shooting at iso 64, 5.0, 30 seconds, shutter mode so I am still stumped as too how to get the Sony to keep the dark, dark on a long exposure, I wonder If I need to screw on some ND filters....??? I'm gonna keep at this, and will keep updating this thread with my trial, tribulations and hopefully progress! Thanks to all who have offered up ideas and suggestions so far!
P.S. To Pgatt who was wondering about my 30 cent waterproof housing, here's the setup, take the 828, hook the Sony Remote to it, mount the sun shield on it, plus a clear filter, (little extra water protection) place the 828 inside 2 10" x 30" newspaper delivery bags, cut a SMALL slit in the bottom of the bags near center, stretch this opening so it fits very snugly around the sun shield, then run the remote cord out the open end of the bags, which I allow to hang down below the cam, mount the 828 to the tripod through the bags (screw right into/through the plastic) then run the remote in through my trucks window, with the tripod just outside the window, thus allowing me to see the screen, and allowing me to loop the strap over my exterior mirror for some extra safety should the winds knock over the tripod (at least the cam aint going to the pavement!) wallah, thats my setup, so far it has withstood 2 major t-storms with 40-60mph wind gusts....
Mike
//www.mikefairbanks.com
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06/12/2005 06:09:42 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by Beetle:
We never get decent lightning around here, so I haven't had a chance to try this out with my 20D, but I sure would love to have a go.
I read somewhere to bring a piece of matte, black cardboard and carefully (yet quickly) move it in front of the lens during lulls to stop all that excess light.
Has anyone actually used that technique? Sounds like it could work ...... come on, lightning, I want to try it!!!! |
*Laughs* Come to Florida, you will get plenty of opportunity! ;-)
Not sure about the color of the cardboard, but I've done that before. Helps in not only lightning shots, but astro shots as well.
Have been using this link now for about 4 months, thought I would share it. He uses film instead of digital, but still some great information.
//www.weather-photography.com/techniques.php
Darned typist doesn't know how to spell! ;-)
Message edited by author 2005-06-12 18:10:20. |
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06/12/2005 06:12:10 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by rgarciah55:
I shot these with an ISO setting of 100, F/5 Aperture and 5" exposures |
Those are absolutely gorgeous! |
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06/12/2005 06:45:50 PM · #17 |
Originally posted by Skyarcher:
Those are absolutely gorgeous! |
Thanks a lot!! And thanks also for the link to Weather Photography. It is very informative!! I've been experimenting on my own, now with this new information I think I'll be able to take better pictures.
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06/12/2005 06:56:27 PM · #18 |
I did not use long exposure (although that clearly sounds better and easier), but instead just did continuous shoot for 30 pictures or so and tried to get lucky. This was my result and I look forward to another lighning storm for proper use:
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06/12/2005 06:57:21 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by rgarciah55:
Originally posted by Skyarcher:
Those are absolutely gorgeous! |
Thanks a lot!! And thanks also for the link to Weather Photography. It is very informative!! I've been experimenting on my own, now with this new information I think I'll be able to take better pictures. |
:-) You're welcome! |
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06/12/2005 07:13:38 PM · #20 |
It seems like your camera's auto-exposure is trying to bring the night sky up to a neutral light level. Do you have exposure compensation? Try to set it as low as possible (-2 or -3 stops) Also, I think you may need to stop down more than f/5. These were both shot at ISO 100 for 30 sec., but the first is f/9 and the second is f/5. You can see the second one is a bit brighter.
 
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