Long exposures with filters in low light

blondie606

blondie606

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Lynne
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Hi all

struggling with long exposures in low light as per title .

Was down at Peel harbour at sunset ( which was a non event ) using Hi tech 10 stop trying to get the water smooth - this bit worked - but the castle ended up ,fuzzy is the best word I can think of . Was on a tripod , no wind to speak of . Focused manually whilst the light was good , 2 - 3 min exposures , used timer delay to let the camera settle & used shutter release cable . Iso was 100 to 400 , tried upping it as thought that might be the issue . Unable to post a shot at the mo as no access to proper pc ( using netbook which grinds to halt with RAW files!)

Am I asking to much using the 10 stop in low light ? Should I up the ISO even more ? Get the feeling it's pilot error so could do with some pointers if you would be so kind

ta muchly

Lynne
 
Hi Lynne, are you able to post the picture with EXIF?
 
blondie606 said:
Hi all

struggling with long exposures in low light as per title .

Was down at Peel harbour at sunset ( which was a non event ) using Hi tech 10 stop trying to get the water smooth - this bit worked - but the castle ended up ,fuzzy is the best word I can think of . Was on a tripod , no wind to speak of . Focused manually whilst the light was good , 2 - 3 min exposures , used timer delay to let the camera settle & used shutter release cable . Iso was 100 to 400 , tried upping it as thought that might be the issue . Unable to post a shot at the mo as no access to proper pc ( using netbook which grinds to halt with RAW files!)

Am I asking to much using the 10 stop in low light ? Should I up the ISO even more ? Get the feeling it's pilot error so could do with some pointers if you would be so kind

ta muchly

Lynne
Click to expand...

Hi Lynne,

if light was low I would suggest trying without the filter.
Have a small aperture f18-f22 something like that, low iso and try different exposure lengths. It may not need as long as 2/3 minutes to get the effect you're after.
 
Nikon_Nick said:
Hi Lynne, are you able to post the picture with EXIF?
Click to expand...


Sorry Nick , netbook can't handle RAW files so no pic's until I get home to my proper pc

blakester said:
Hi Lynne,

if light was low I would suggest trying without the filter.
Have a small aperture f18-f22 something like that, low iso and try different exposure lengths. It may not need as long as 2/3 minutes to get the effect you're after.
Click to expand...

Thanks Iain , that's most helpful , did wonder if it was the filter causing the issue . Tried some closer shots of the castle with just a grad & they seemed to work better . It was dusk , the sun had just gone down below the hill so thought long exposure without the 10 stop wouldn't blur the sea ( got a thing for milky type water at the moment ) . If the gales ever stop over here I'll nip to the beach & try your suggestions :thumbs:

ecoleman said:
Did you turn off IS?, assuming your lens has it.
Click to expand...

Was using the Sigma 10-20 mm so no IS , though did turn it off when using the Nikon 18-300

Cheers all , will keep trying :thumbs:
 
Was the tripod In the water?
If it was, you may not have drove the legs into the sand deep enough. Or you've kept hold of it to prevent it from falling over?

Oh, and if you haven't already done so, enable mirror lock up.

I've been in the same boat, and I've not done the above and had fuzzy images.
 
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At 2-3 minutes mirror lockup isn't going to make any difference.

I could see tripod movement being the problem though, as it'd do nothing negative to the water but would to the castle.
 
John Mc said:
Was the tripod In the water?
If it was, you may not have drove the legs into the sand deep enough. Or you've kept hold of it to prevent it from falling over?

Oh, and if you haven't already done so, enable mirror lock up.

I've been in the same boat, and I've not done the above and had fuzzy images.
Click to expand...

Magnus said:
At 2-3 minutes mirror lockup isn't going to make any difference.

I could see tripod movement being the problem though, as it'd do nothing negative to the water but would to the castle.
Click to expand...

barratt1988 said:
I may be repeating what has been said before but ensure VR is off. Focus before attaching the filters and lock the focusing. Iso 100 and ensure you are focusing 1/3 into the shot at f16
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Cheers all ....I've checked the images on the pc screen & come to the conclusion that it is most definitely pilot error, they don't seem as blurry on the big screen , think I zoomed into too hard to the camera screen . I know I can take reasonably good landscape type shots in day light with the 10 stop filter but not done a lot of low light shots.....& prone to being my own worst critic .
Now I've calmed down a little the comments made regards the tripod being in the sand make sense . I think there may have been a very slight breeze which coupled with the fact it's a travel tripod( very very lightweight ) has resulted in less than perfect shots :bang:
Ah well....need to visit the isle of man again.....

Thanks for your help chaps :thumbs:
 
In low light I tend to avoid 10 stops. I find that setting the aperture to f/11-f/14 (FF) and iso @ 100 and using the Lee 3 stop ND with a 2 stop soft grad for the sky is enough to give me 60 seconds, which I find generally to be enough. I used to use 10 stops in low light but to be honest I preferred the result from a 1 minute exposure rather than a 6 minute exposure. This one was 10 seconds...

9693644957_8a6a249341_c.jpg
 
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Digifrog said:
In low light I tend to avoid 10 stops. I find that setting the aperture to f/11-f/14 (FF) and iso @ 100 and using the Lee 3 stop ND with a 2 stop soft grad for the sky is enough to give me 60 seconds, which I find generally to be enough. I used to use 10 stops in low light but to be honest I preferred the result from a 1 minute exposure rather than a 6 minute exposure. This one was 10 seconds...
Click to expand...

Surely everything you stated above is completely dependent on the ambiant light though? 3stops isnt enough if its a sunny day. I recently used my 10stop and it gave me about 10seconds
 
Originally Posted by Digifrog
In low light I tend to avoid 10 stops. I find that setting the aperture to f/11-f/14 (FF) and iso @ 100 and using the Lee 3 stop ND with a 2 stop soft grad for the sky is enough to give me 60 seconds, which I find generally to be enough.
Click to expand...

barratt1988 said:
Surely everything you stated above is completely dependent on the ambiant light though? 3stops isnt enough if its a sunny day.
Click to expand...

He did say "in low light" to be fair. A sunny day isnt low light.
 
Digifrog said:
In low light I tend to avoid 10 stops. I find that setting the aperture to f/11-f/14 (FF) and iso @ 100 and using the Lee 3 stop ND with a 2 stop soft grad for the sky is enough to give me 60 seconds, which I find generally to be enough. I used to use 10 stops in low light but to be honest I preferred the result from a 1 minute exposure rather than a 6 minute exposure. This one was 10 seconds...
Click to expand...

Funnily enough - this one was also 10 seconds, and it's the same pier! :nuts:
Taken just after sunset the exposure was long enough to blur the water, but short enough to keep a hint of texture (which I prefer).
20100518-210257-IMG_0847-M.jpg
 
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DuncanDisorderly said:
Funnily enough - this one was also 10 seconds, and it's the same pier! :nuts:
Taken just after sunset the exposure was long enough to blur the water, but short enough to keep a hint of texture (which I prefer).
20100518-210257-IMG_0847-M.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice one Duncan. :thumbs: It's a superb structure and difficult to get something different from.
 
Digifrog said:
Nice one Duncan. :thumbs: It's a superb structure and difficult to get something different from.
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LOL - I was thinking similar things about yours - grass always greener on the other side etc :)

Regards the OP - I thought I'd go back and have a look at one of my favourite long exposures from last year (a completely different subject) and see what the exposure was.
Yup - 11 seconds :D
i-fFnMDCD-M.jpg
 
barratt1988 said:
Surely everything you stated above is completely dependent on the ambiant light though? 3stops isnt enough if its a sunny day. I recently used my 10stop and it gave me about 10seconds
Click to expand...

He said in low light, the same situation that the OP is referring too...
 
Recognised that waterfall straight away:)
Same here - waiting for autumn proper to go again.

Back to the original problem though, it does sound like a sinking tripod type of problem - I had the same down at Berrow Beach trying to do a long exposure of the SS Nornen wreck. The sand was so soft I couldn't get anything over a couple of seconds and struggled then!
 
The Manfrotto MN230 sand feet do the job quite well...

11016.jpg
 
Digifrog said:
The Manfrotto MN230 sand feet do the job quite well...

11016.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the info guy's , went to Whitby today to confirm my woes were pilot error.....& it seems they were! Shots seemed fine when on solid ground but iffy on the sand , so lesson learnt !

Digifrog....been looking at those sand feet things this evening but alas I have Giottos.......might invest in some & see if I can jiggle with the design to make them fit , unless anyone has any other simple idea's ?
 
blondie606 said:
Digifrog....been looking at those sand feet things this evening but alas I have Giottos.......might invest in some & see if I can jiggle with the design to make them fit , unless anyone has any other simple idea's ?
Click to expand...

The MN230's will attach to any tripod.
 
blondie606 said:
Thanks for all the info guy's , went to Whitby today to confirm my woes were pilot error.....& it seems they were! Shots seemed fine when on solid ground but iffy on the sand , so lesson learnt !

Digifrog....been looking at those sand feet things this evening but alas I have Giottos.......might invest in some & see if I can jiggle with the design to make them fit , unless anyone has any other simple idea's ?
Click to expand...

Might get some as well. £18 @ clicky linky :D
 
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