Best way to get night time skyline shots?

NightShadow · 25 Jun 2006 at 23:21

Hiya ppl,

Im going to go up on the roof at work later on and get some pics of the city across the thames so Canary Wharf etc, now i tried the other night but due to the very slow shutter speed i didnt really get any poper clear pics and they were all very grainy(using optical zoom only). Camera is an Olympus C-5060 with wide zoom lens and i was using full 4x optical zoom, what tips do you have? The cam has lots of pictures on the dial on top but i dont know which mode to use really

NS

NightShadow · 26 Jun 2006 at 04:04

Well,

Had a go with ISO set to 80 and the shutter speed at various levels of slowness, this is about the best, all the others are a blurry or just plain carp, what can be done to this to make the buildings stand out and the skies darker without it all looking a bit silly? ive tried HDR'ing it but it looks even worse then, not sure what to do??

Here it is:

If anyone wants to have a go for me or wants the original RAW file let me know.

NS

Smithy · 26 Jun 2006 at 04:16

was anyone else half expecting to see a Nissan?

btw sorry for my complete lack of help

NightShadow · 26 Jun 2006 at 05:37

Smithy said:
was anyone else half expecting to see a mitsubishi?

btw sorry for my complete lack of help

np mate, if i had a Skyline to take pictures of i would

(BTW..its a Nissan

)

Smithy · 26 Jun 2006 at 06:42

NightShadow said:
np mate, if i had a Skyline to take pictures of i would (BTW..its a Nissan )

I knew what i meant

Colin_da_Killer · 26 Jun 2006 at 09:29

This is the edit I came to...

brocksta · 26 Jun 2006 at 10:41

because of the slow shutter speed your probably getting a lot of camera shake. Ideally you would need a tripod to get a clear picture.

AdWright · 26 Jun 2006 at 10:41

My advice -

1. A tripod is essential for these shots. Failing that use a handy wall.

2. Cable release if you've got one, else use the self timer, to avoid camera shake. (Also mirror lockup for DSLRs - but this isn't appropriate for your camera, I guess)

3. Low ISO

4. Medium aperture - if you can set it on your camera (not sure of your model's details) F/8-11 is probably best.

5. Then whatever shutter speed is required for appropriate expsure. I tend to expose to the right slightly, in order to reduce the amount of noise. However, getting highlights right is difficult - especially with the bright lights at the top of the Canary Wharf towers:

Good luck!