• A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!
  • The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 31 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 31st anniversary: Happy 31st Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $24,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $24 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    Tens of thousands of subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!
  • The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!

Any DSLR Photo Buffs Here

S

suzanne

Tug Review Crew: Rookie
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2005
Messages
1,694
Reaction score
44
Location
Las Vegas, NV
I just got new Canon T3i DSLR Camera. Previous camera was a point and shoot. We are headed to Disney Nov. 11th and I would love some advice on taking night time photos of fireworks and parades. I have 2 lens one is 18-55mm and the other one is 55-250mm. Both have image stabilization. I am not going to take a tripod, due to the expected crowds not sure how easy it would be to pack along all day in the parks. So any advice for a photo newbie would be appreciated.

Suzanne
:)
 
Probably covered in the ops manual. I wouldn't be surprised if it had a *Fireworks* mode. These cameras are nearly too smart. Shoot a bad photo and its more likely to be the user vs. The camera. They've come a very long way.

Have fun with it.
 
No way to take pix of the fireworks without some sort of support for your camera. Handheld it just won't turn out.

When you push the button to take a pix, be careful not to have the camera move around too much or shake.

Image stabilization doesn't help when the shutter has to be open for long periods of time (long exposures). That's why the camera needs to be secured on something. Try taking pix at night outside of low light areas (like a street with small street lights). You will see how hard it is to hold a camera steady enough...

Gorillapods are small and can twist around poles and other objects. They are awesome! http://joby.com/gorillapod. And they are not too expensive. If you carry that with you, you'll be able to get great pix!

Katherine
 
Gorillapods are pretty good, I've used them for fireworks.

Also, use your shutter timer. Even the push of the button will induce trails. You'll have to do some guessing, but they shoot the fireworks off every night, and they last a while; sooner or later you'll hit a few.

I know there are a lot better out there, let's see 'em! This is a point & shoot on a gorillapod, attached to the balcony railing.

_6220737.jpg
 
No Tripod - Not necessarily a problem

Fireworks is a swirl of light anyway so NOT having a tripod may only give you more swirl. Set the camera to manual (focus too). Start with a 2 or 3 second exposure try to guesstimate when the fireworks explodes and push the button. Then adjust your f-stop (apeture) higher or lower (I would start at f11). Try some longer and or shorter exposures. I would definetly use the wider angle lens and stay away from the telephoto.
 
stonebroke said:
Fireworks is a swirl of light anyway so NOT having a tripod may only give you more swirl. Set the camera to manual (focus too). Start with a 2 or 3 second exposure try to guesstimate when the fireworks explodes and push the button. Then adjust your f-stop (apeture) higher or lower (I would start at f11). Try some longer and or shorter exposures. I would definetly use the wider angle lens and stay away from the telephoto.
Click to expand...

I am so sorry but I have to disagree. Handshake is not a swirl. A 2-3 sec exposure without a slight bit of motion is impossible. That "shaking" that is natural (even the breathing motion we make) is not going to be pleasing in a photo. JMHO but like I said, go take your camera out on the street with the streetlights and try to take a night time photo. You can see how well you can hold the camera.

Forgot to add what we all assumed everyone should know: you cannot use your flash so be sure to turn it off.

K
 
Last edited:
Suzanne,

A steady surface (like a wall or table) at a comfortable height may work as a substitute for a tripod. And since the T3i has an articulated LCD, you can use it to correctly position the camera without having to crouch down to use the viewfinder.

You can also experiment with using the self-timer to eliminate any camera shake that may occur with pressing the shutter-release button.
 
I don't think camera shake helps with fireworks at all, at least not ones that I like. I've only shot them once, used one camera with a tripod and another camera hand-held, trying to use somewhat faster shutter speeds. There was only one picture I took from the hand-held set that I liked (1/6 sec, f4, 50mm).

p5495268-5.jpg


Which lens you'd want to use (telephoto or wide angle) depends on site conditions. Normally if you are close to where they are being set off wide angle is good. I made the mistake of using a wide angle to photograph fireworks being set off a long way from me - it was too late to change lenses or cameras on the tripod by the time I realized my mistake. This was as close-up as it went (24mm), I would have liked to have had something around 30-50 for a focal length under these conditions. This one was taken at 5 seconds, f8.

p476525684-5.jpg


You'll need a long shutter speed to get multiple fireworks usually, and exposure is a bit hit-or-miss for me (quickly take one, check the LCD, make changes as appropriate).
 
Fireworks at Hilton Hawaiian Village, Oahu

Fireworks.jpg


No tripod, but I steadied the camera by resting it on the balcony railing. Not perfect, but better than handheld.
 
thanks for the photo. I hope to see them next year on our trip to Hawaii.

Suzanne
 
I am just learning myself but have used a monopod to steady my camera with good results. Mine is a telescoping pole with a fitting on the top for the camera. It is compact and light weight. My wife just got me a mini tripod that fits in my camera bag. I have not tried that yet.
 
one more thing to add - you can buy an inexpensive remote for your camera shutter so that you don't have to touch the camera at all once it's set up. There's an input spot on the DSLR and you plug the remote into it.
Then, when you're ready to shoot, you just depress the button on the remote That will eliminate any movement that you would have gotten from depressing the shutter
 
Mine came with a wireless remote. I have tripod but not a monopod or gorilla pod. I'm looking into those now on both eBay and Amazon. Does anyone know of a good place in Kissimmee or Orlando to find good deals on Camera Gear?

Suzanne
 
Shutter speed and hand shake make a big difference. If you don't have a tripod you will also want to use a high ISO.

My DW is the photographer, these are her photos.

This photo was taken at 1/20 sec, f/4, ISO-1600
Photo157.jpg


This one was taken at 1/5 sec, f/5.6, ISO-1250. You will notice how the camera shake caused the fireworks to streak.
Photo216.jpg
 
Janis said:
one more thing to add - you can buy an inexpensive remote for your camera shutter so that you don't have to touch the camera at all once it's set up. There's an input spot on the DSLR and you plug the remote into it.
Then, when you're ready to shoot, you just depress the button on the remote That will eliminate any movement that you would have gotten from depressing the shutter
Click to expand...

Or use the 2-second delay setting. Set up the shot, set the delay, and push the shutter button. The remote, though, is better when precise timing of the shutter release is critical and camera shake is a problem.
 
I used to lug my Nikon DSR to Disney parks, not any more. The camera gets heavier and heavier during the day and it is a pain to take it everywhere. Also make sure you have enough protection for the camera in the parks. My lens filter shattered in my camera bag once. I had no idea how it happened. It was a $50 lens filter, but at least the lens was not damaged. I guess another reason is my kids are older and I found it harder to get them to stop for pictures. I brought the SLR and it pretty much staying in the room. We stayed at the BLT, and I did bring it to the top of the world lounge to watch fireworks. I think I ended up recording the firework since the sound effect was very nice from there.
 
ScoopLV said:
NOT TRUE.

All you need is a Kenyon Gyro Stabilizer. This kind of "steady as the Rock of Gibraltar" costs a paltry $2,000-10,000.
Click to expand...

LOL! Oooooh, gonna have to send the link to DH. Maybe a Christmas present?

I have a Canon 7D and 2 large lenses so I got a REALLY GOOD strap for it. It distributes the weight very well on my shoulder so it doesn't feel very heavy as the day goes on. I would recommend tossing the strap that comes with your camera and getting one of these for only $25:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/370768-REG/Tamrac_N505701_N_5057_Neoprene_Boomerang_Strap.html
 
SDKath said:
LOL! Oooooh, gonna have to send the link to DH. Maybe a Christmas present?

I have a Canon 7D and 2 large lenses so I got a REALLY GOOD strap for it. It distributes the weight very well on my shoulder so it doesn't feel very heavy as the day goes on. I would recommend tossing the strap that comes with your camera and getting one of these for only $25:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/370768-REG/Tamrac_N505701_N_5057_Neoprene_Boomerang_Strap.html
Click to expand...


I got one on these, the Rapid Strap. I'll never go back to a conventional strap.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top