[wulinka]

Hey all,

I haven't been around in ages, but find a buzzing forum with lots of new - and some old - faces on return today!

My husband (whom I very recently married ) uses a Canon 750D, and he's been wanting to go into low / available light and night photography. We came upon a few shortfalls of the camera in this regard:
for example, maximum bulb exposure is 15 seconds and your have to hold the shutter release down during this time! I couldn't find a custom setting to expand bulb exposure, is there a workaround?

Is anyone using a remote shutter control with this camera? If so, which one? What am I looking out for when choosing one?

And does anyone have recommendations on resources - books, web sites... - on the topic?

Thanks a lot for any input!!!

Uli

[dave1712]

having just started to explore night photography myself in the last 6 months, before I go wandering down the wrong alley, what is the subject matter - stars, urban, ????

As a starter, as far as I can see the 750D has exposure from 30 secs in 1/3EV increments (but all speeds are not available in all modes.) A good starting point then is to use manual instead of bulb if the shutter speed is less than 30sec. This way you can use 2 (or 10)sec timer to fire the shutter for the duration and then have complete hands-off the camera with much reduced risk of movement. If greater than 30sec then B is the only option and I found the best, easily available and easy to use alternative was a wired cable release with the ability to lock open. Cheap models on ebay are fine for experimenting I think.

Don't forget you will almost certainly need to use manual lens focus also cos there typically isn't enough light for autofocus, and if so, this is best by far with the live view and zoomed in on to x10.

[wulinka]

Hey Dave!
Sorry for the late reply and thanks for the tipps on remotes, I had never used one.. the whole point was to get to exposures >>30sec.

What kind of night pictures do you take? Uli

[dave1712]

I came across a stunning web site www.lonelyspeck.com and have been exploring star photography - nothing worth showing anyone yet but making some progress. The big problem so far has been the British weather this year, and getting far enough away from light pollution when you live in a city.

Big difference is that I need exposures less than 30 secs (20 is best) to avoid star trails. So for me long exposure can be easily handled with the inbuilt 2 sec timer and Manual settings. I experimented with remotes and a cable is relatively easy to fit and use in near pitch dark. I've also used an android wireless remote which again works really well but can be fun and games to operate in near darkness.

Another issue I found is the problem of noise with higher ISO and long exposure. Less of an issue with full frame but still a problem - a big issue with a cropped body. Having experimented various noise reduction programs I'm really impressed with Topaz Denoise 5 used within within PS CS5.

With great guidance from the lonelyspeck site and others, I'm now feeling reasonably comfortable with the technical aspects - I can find the Milky Way, set up and get exposure and white balance ok, and paint in the foreground during the exposure with a halogen torch - just gotta get the creative bit under way (which always seems to be my bigger challenge Still if that was easy we'd all take stunnign pictures every time....

[Browser Mike]

Hi Uli,
I might have this wrong but others, no doubt, would be able to correct me if that is so.
To access bulb mode, you need to decrease your shutter speed to its lowest possible setting. Once you have gone past the lowest setting your camera's LCD should say 'bulb' as your shutter speed. Your shooting mode must be in 'Manual' or 'Shutter Priority' to achieve this.
Once you are in bulb mode, you simply press the shutter button to open the shutter, and then you press it again to close the shutter. The duration of the exposure is completely up to you. Minutes or hours.
Be warned--- Bulb mode can drain the batteries quickly. The length of exposure can be determined by how long the battery will last.
Best of luck,
Mike.

[Browser Mike]

Hi Uli,
I might have this wrong but others, no doubt, would be able to correct me if that is so.
To access bulb mode, you need to decrease your shutter speed to its lowest possible setting. Once you have gone past the lowest setting your camera's LCD should say 'bulb' as your shutter speed. Your shooting mode must be in 'Manual' or 'Shutter Priority' to achieve this.
Once you are in bulb mode, you simply press the shutter button to open the shutter, and then you press it again to close the shutter. The duration of the exposure is completely up to you. Minutes or hours.
Be warned--- Bulb mode can drain the batteries quickly. The length of exposure can be determined by how long the battery will last.
Best of luck,
Mike.

Just noticed that I have missed something out !. On bulb, when you press the shutter button, hold the button down, and release the button when you wish to close the shutter. Apologies.
On my Nikon there is also TIME setting. With this you press the shutter release to start the exposure. The shutter will remain open for 30 minutes or until the button is pressed a second time.