Shutter Priority - Panasonic lumix fz8

G

glennk

Suspended / Banned
Messages
145
Name
Glenn
Edit My Images
Yes
I have the panasonic lumix and have been using it happily on standard mode for a couple of months now. I would like to try create different effects and wanted to try a long shutter speed on flowing water. I selected the shutter priority and pointed the camera at a flowing stream. When I looked at the screen on the back of the camera I couldnt see anything but a bright white colour and indeed when I shot the image all I got was a bright white picture - nothing else.

A friend suggested I needed to alter the aperture. But I cant seem to find how to do this in shutter priority mode.

Does anyone have the same camera ? could anyone offer advice on how to take the shot of flowing water with a long shutter speed as described above.

Many thanks - Glenn
 
Well it sounds like you've over exposed that shot Glenn, ...you need to reduce the amount of light hitting the sensor ... either speed up the shutter or close down the aperture (make the hole smaller)

So for aperture your looking for some 'f' stop numbers like f5.6 f8 f11 f16 the higher number the smaller the hole.

When you find that adjustment .....Im totally guessing with a shutter speed obviously.... but start with a shutter speed around 60 sec maybe, then close the aperture down to get your correct exposure.... speed up, down etc.

HTHs
 
I dont profess to be an expert, but my 2p's worth:

It does sound like you're over exposing. Shutter priority should change the aperture for you to ensure you get the pic, but you will be limited to the specs on the camera (I have an FZ5 and max aperture there is only f8. With a long shutter speed, this will not restrict the amount of light enough. You might want to come out of Shutter Prioroty and get into Manual mode, so you can change each setting independently.

You could also try taking the exposure compensation down a few stops, or you could get a filter on the front (ND4 is quite popular for water shots). Tbh, I havent got a good water picture yet and am still practising, but I find that you dont need really long shutter speeds to get the flow of water (5secs will often do), but trail and error is a great way to learn the different effects.
 
Thanks guys. I think the camera has a max shutter speed of 8 seconds although I may be wrong. I hadnt thought of using manual mode so I will take a look and see what I come up with. Sounds like the water shots are going to be difficult :'(:'(. Ill have a play and see what I can come up with.

;):)
 
Still no joy, I tried again tonight and still just get the white screen. I tried shutter speed 8 seconds and aperture f8 but I still just get the white screen. Do I assume the camera is not capable of these shots ?
 
The max shutter speed in the camera is not an issue.

The maximum shutter speed you can use is the shutter speed that produces a good exposure at the camera's minimum aperture and minimum sensitivity (ISO).

For instance, your minimum aperture might be f11, and your minimum sensitivity ISO 100. In some lighting situation, it might be that using a shutter speed above 2 seconds will overexpose the shot, even when you're at minimum aperture and minimum sensitivity. Your camera's technical maximum shutter speed of 8 seconds will only massively overexpose.

Remember how, in low light, using a shutter speed of 1/125s or faster to freeze motion is useless, because it'll freeze motion all right, but it'll be extremely dark? Same thing, just at the other end of the scale.

Gradually reduce the shutter time until you get a well-exposed shot. The blur effect may suffer. If you absolutely have to use 4 or 8 seconds, all you can do is reduce the amount of light coming in with a neutral density (ND) filter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top