Long exposure help

[fujeewarrior]

hi after many attempts to shoot long exposures using a cable release and manual focus I am getting no where fast! the images are not in focus I do focus in af first and check bulb mode etc its as if the camera is changing the settings?

any help would be great?

 

 

[Chucktin]

What are your settings? What's your support, a tripod? Is it aluminum or Carbon fiber? What lens are you using? Are you putting it on a slight angle? Etc.

 

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[nathan.mardin]

The important thing as asked by Chucktin, are you using a good sturdy tripod? Maybe it's camera shake.

[Larry Bolch]

If you are using manual focus, there is no way the camera can change the point of focus. This leaves camera movement as the culprit. BOTH result in soft images and it is not all that easy to tell them apart. If you are doing long exposures, the most important thing is to have an absolutely stable camera support. A cable release is very good, but using the self-timer is even better. It will provide an interval for everything to settle down.

 

When Nikon brought to market their first super-zoom, I was asked to contribute to a forum about the camera. Soon the forum was ablaze with buyers enraged because the camera "could not focus". I asked people to mail me examples. Every image failure was due to shooting at the long end of the zoom at shutter speeds that no one could possibly hand-hold.

[George_P]

Switch off OIS when on tripod ?

[Larry Bolch]

Switch off OIS when on tripod ?

This is widely recommended. However, I have never bothered to personally test it.

[George_P]

This is widely recommended. However, I have never bothered to personally test it.

Larry, neither have I to be honest but when I found some of my shots to be soft and they were made with me having forgot to switch OIS off, that is what I attributed it to as I always use the self-timer on tripod. Good idea to test it, I will do it sometime. Of course, we don't know what lens the OP is using, if he has OIS on them or not.

 

Another thing comes to my mind, if he is shooting lights like street lamps or even stars, I think it could be a good idea to take off a filter if there is one. Cheers and all the best for this new year.