what am i doing wrong ?

M

Mack

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i,m trying to show the movement in the second hand
what am i doing wrong ?

IMG_0697.jpg

IMG_0700.jpg
 
The shutter speed is too slow to freeze the movement of the hand, I'm assuming you want it in different positions rather than the blur showing it's movement as you have here.
 
Do you want a long sweep or a distinct stop every second?
 
I mean like this

seikokinetic.jpg



Or like this

DSC_0399.jpg
 
It will depend on the watch. If it has a sweeping hand , which it looks like it does, then you cant do it very easilly. You'll need a flash that can strobe repeatedly.

If you have a watch like the first Seiko, then just hold the shutter open for as long as you want, but you'll need to make sure you have set the camera up and the surroudings up so you dont over expose
 
You will need to combine several images, each showing the second hand in a different position. (one second ahead of the previous shot) Put each different frame on its own layer and use masking to show multiple second hands. Reduce layer opacity as required to make just the second hands look like they are in motion
dave
 
I think the problem is you're using the wrong type of watch.. as Tom and David have said.

A strobing flash would help, but then you're dealing with reflections.. the easier route would be Dave's suggestion of layering multiple shots taken in quick succession (as close to 1 fps as possible - if your camera does 4fps in burst, keep every fourth shot and discard the ones between).
 
The easier route would be to buy a watch without sweeping hands. :lol:
 
Mack said:
i want a distant stop
Click to expand...

I don't think you can have a "distant stop".

The stop could be a home or starting (or some complex variation thereof on a complex track plan), but the distant is seperate signal giving advance warning on the approach to the stop and allowing the driver to anticipate any braking required.

.. I'll get my coat..

:exit:
 
You need to know the beats per hour of the movement of the watch in question and then you can calculate how many 'ticks' will go into what shutter speed. The major problem is that a second hands on a sub dial move very little per beat as opposed to a centre sweep hand which is what you have shown in the other pictures.
 
Experiment with different shutter speeds. It does depend on the watch - it is easier with a large sweep.

watch1585bsmall.jpg


The image of the watch face was a single exposure without flash - 2.5secs at f16. The second hand moves in tiny jerks, enough for the stationary moments to register. It is going to be harder with your small second hand, though.

(I have of course used layers to show part of the mechanism.)
 
Last edited:
Just to show its perfectly possible to get this effect using a repeating strobe in 1 exposure.

30 second exposure with a Nikon Sb800 firing every 5 seconds.



20secs by TCR4x4, on Flickr​
 
VEry nice - I like that a lot. The OP may not have a repeating strobe, though.
 
Its only a Nikon Sb-800. Quite a lot of on camera flashes have that function too, although you'd need to bodge some kind of device to move the light closer to avoid the shadow of the lens.
 
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