advice for shooting in total darkness

  • Thread starter Thread starter GeX
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GeX

GeX

GeX

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anyone had much experience with taking photos in little or not light?

i need to.
thinking tripod, set to bulb mode, control shutter using the remote.

focus handled by AF, assisted by a torch in the frame. lock the focus and remove the torch. open shutter, shine torch on bits i want to appear, and then close shutter.

sound about right, any tips anyone can offer?
 
Sounds about right, there was a guy I read about that did a similar thin to what I think you're doing. In that he would set up a camera on a tripod, bulb mode. Fire it in pitch black, walk up to a castle or other object and then paint it with his torch, not sure what the outcome was like but probably pretty interesting. :)
 
4K8KW10 said:
We have no information at all about the OP's camera.
But in order to get the best results, he needs at least this Panasonic ^^^.
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The A7s can do this, and also film in low / no light. I've had presenters before trying to talk to the camera in pitch darkness, but they don't know where to look as they can't see a thing! The camera, on the other hand, can see absolutely everything, and it's not noisy. Really amazing.
 
GeX said:
i need to.
thinking tripod, set to bulb mode, control shutter using the remote.

focus handled by AF, assisted by a torch in the frame. lock the focus and remove the torch. open shutter, shine torch on bits i want to appear, and then close shutter.

sound about right, any tips anyone can offer?
Click to expand...
Yep, that's how it's done.
Instead of relying half press for focus and wtiching to manual focus you could use "thumb focus" changing focusing to other button making shutter button not affect focus.


Also if you don't yet have camera for this kind photography Live Bulb/Time of Olympus would certainly be good for that by showing progress of exposure.
(Live Bulb keeps exposing for as long as shutter is depressed, Live Time starts exposure from first press and ends it from second press)
 
Google ‘painting with light landscape photography’. There’s loads of tutorials however you’ve already got the gist of it by the sounds of things.
 
GeX said:
I dunno.. it's been 11 years :eek:
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No wonder camera sales don't go well when they don't break down fast...
Might be actually so old that even that back button/thumb focus isn't available in it.

Anyway sensors have gone forward really long way from that.
 
EsaT said:
No wonder camera sales don't go well when they don't break down fast...
Might be actually so old that even that back button/thumb focus isn't available in it.
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The camera in question was a Nikon D50, given I was talking about bulb mode and a remote for the shutter - fair to assume it had various focus options :-)
 
GeX said:
The camera in question was a Nikon D50, given I was talking about bulb mode and a remote for the shutter - fair to assume it had various focus options :)
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That's so old that basically compacts with 1" sensor have better performance.
Heck, with all the backwards incompatible updates SD cards have needed you might even have hard time in finding cards working with it...

As for Bulb mode instead of wired remote it seems to need some wireless remote you might have hard time in finding unless you have it.
https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond50/2
So unless it can accept first press as start of exposure and second as ending it's going to problematic.
Keeping shutter button manually pressed all the time wouldn't exactly work well.
 
I'm not sure where we're going with this, I posted this thread almost 11 years ago. I'm not asking for any advice now, I've no idea why this thread was bumped!

But, FYI - the camera had a wireless remote, and was fine for what I needed at the time. I think one of the full darkness shots was this one;

high_royds_slab.jpg
 
This photo looks so bright. Can't believe it is in darkness, looks like there is quite a powerful light source, with shadows, etc.

GeX said:
I'm not sure where we're going with this, I posted this thread almost 11 years ago. I'm not asking for any advice now, I've no idea why this thread was bumped!
Click to expand...

I thought the thread was posted in August 2017. That's what was written on the posts above mine.

Anyways, time flies, so these years are like an instant.
Can't understand why you think 10-11 years are so many.
 
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