Beginner Long exposure beginner

shannensdaddy

shannensdaddy

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Darren
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Hi
I am looking for advice on the set up for long exposures. I am a beginner and confused with what I need to take long exposures of water scene around the coast and night on star trails.
Probably totally different set up but I am looking to experiment and play around with time in s mode. What type of filter do I need to take long exposure in daylight and then at night. is there a filter set up that is reasonable to get me started ..
I am looking at a set of these to get me started , what do you think ???
http://www.amazon.co.uk/G-ND2-Filte...83&sr=8-15&keywords=ND+filter#customerReviews..

regards ..
 
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No filter for the night as there is a lack of light so you need a long exposure to collect all of the available light.

Then the daytime is the opposite, there is too much light so your camera needs sun glasses, such as an ND Filter, they come in various strengths.

What camera and lens are you using?
 
As pointed out above you really only need filters for day time, looking at your link I can understand as starting out the price of £12.49 may look juicy but remember you only get what you pay for!
My advice is to buy the square module filters along with the holders however better to buy maybe 2 or three filters to see how you get on.
Have a look at
I no he uses round filters but that is your own preferance.

Russ
 
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on a budget, look at the hitek, cokin ranges of filters, although I had nothing but bad images from mine due to nasty colour casting.

but if you want the best, you need to invest..
Lee filters big or little stopper filter with the filter holder + adapter rings, also some grads to further cut the bright skies down.
 
I have a nikon D90 and a couple of lens 17-70 sigma , 50mm , 18-105 & 70-300 nikon , I was looking for a something that could be used on maybe more than one lens. Does the holder fit onto different lens diameters.. I will have a look about on the type suggested. Can you damage the camera doing long exposure in daylight without a filter on will it just be over exposed ??

I will have a look on youtube tonight.

regards
 
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Even at the lowest ISO you will not be able to do long exposures in daylight.

Most filter holders have adapter rings that fit your lenses. So if they have the same filter thread sizes then you are good, if not you will need to buy more adapter rings. Personally I would just get the adapter for your widest sharpest lens.
 
Thanks for the video Russ , its a great help. His images are fantastic !!
 
17-70 is my favorite lens and the best quality 72mm its got to be then Rick ..thanks for the advice ..
 
As well as filters, there are a couple of other things, that need mentioned.

You most likely, need to use "bulb" mode, this allows the camera to do more than 30 second exposures, but this will depend on how long your exposures are. It would also be useful, to buy a shutter release cable, as you don't want to be putting any vibration on the camera. These can be brought very cheaply and do the job. You can get more "feature rich" versions, with time options, etc. but the use of your phone to measure the shutter time can work.

Also, don't forget, to cover the eyepiece. Nothing worse, that getting a good long exposure, to realise that there has been light leak. Believe me, I know, from experience.
 
Thanks John for the information and the book previously.I am on the lookout for a shutter release cable at the moment along with a lot of other things, trying to determine what I want to photograph at the moment but I am really enjoying using my camera now.
Trying to not buy thing that will end up surplus in a few months ..but a list is starting to appear ..
 
quango2k said:
Even at the lowest ISO you will not be able to do long exposures in daylight.
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Click to expand...

although it does depend on the time of day and the weather ... in overcast conditions you can do a longish exposure at iso 100 and a narrow apperture say f22 ... long enough to get blurred water certainly.

equipment wise as well as a shutter release cable a tripod is going to be essential as its not practical to hand hold a long exposure - cheap tripods tend to be a false economy as they tend to wobble - but for the budget concience red snapper are a good make to look at thast don't cost too much
 
Get yourself up to the giants causeway and shoot star trails ! It's on my bucket list
 
Have to agree with Camdiox filters really cheap and no colour cast. I can get 30sec exposures in full sunlight with my Camdiox ND1000 (10 stop).
 
I don't know Camidox filters but I note that SRB sell them and I have had some more than decent stuff from SRB in the past.


If you want something cheaper to try have a look at some welding glass. It blocks out enough light to allow you to look at the sun very easily.

It has a few drawbacks, some more difficult to counter than others -

1. You buy it as a small rectangular piece of glass, so you would need to find some means of fixing it to your lens.

2. It can have blemishes within the glass which may show up on your photos.

3 It will make everything look very green, but a custom white balance setting will solve this.

The advantage is it costs about £2.00

Dave
 
Thanks again folks .. must get up to the giants causeway alright and would love to get down to Malin head for the northern Lights, seen a few images from earlier in the week and they were fantastic.
 
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