I finally have a Nikon D70 on order :smile: and I'm looking forward to getting the camera in hand (probably a few weeks away yet). In the meantime, I'd like to prepare by gathering information about techniques I haven't previously been able to do with my current camera.

For night photography, I gather the following is true:

- lowest ISO possible
- generally a small aperture is best (higher f number)
- usually a couple minute shutter speeds
- get a nice tripod
- a cable release or a a remote or the camera's countdown timer to eliminate camera shake

Do any of you (looks at hafid and dandp) have any advice?

Dave

 

Wow...you have couple of minutes opening on the camera you are getting? Then you definately need a remote. Mine is like 30 seconds and even with the tripod it's pretty hard to do it right, but it still looks good

 

Dave,

Definitely get a good tripod - the best you can afford with a sturdy head, overkill is not a bad idea here. Bogen makes some good ones, and if you want to drop even more cash, Gitzo.
Experimentation is key for night shooting - you'll have very long exposures using low ISO & small apertures. Using a higher ISO will yield a more grainy look, and since we're talking digital here - it's now called noise. Longer time exposures will generally alter color temperature properties, and you may get some odd shifting of light temps. Bracketing is a good idea, as the camera's meter may get thrown off by areas with little or no light.
I'm not sure how long an exposure the D70 can meter, but if you really get into things, you can always buy a handheld light meter that would allow you to meter extremely long exposures. I am assuming that the D70 has a setting for "B" (bulb) exposures, and the cable release is a must have as well.
I like to shoot wide open and handheld for some night scenes, but that's only using high speed lenses(and 400 speed film) - you can get away with handheld night shots easier with wide angle lenses. Telephotos tend to magnify any unsteadiness, unless you have the vibration reduction lenses.
The best thing about shooting digital - you can check your results on the spot and eliminate quesswork.
Look forward to seeing your results!

-dan

 

samawil: with shutter priority it has a 30 second timeout

dandp: yes, the D70 does have a bulb function (shutter open as long as shutter release is depressed) in manual mode.

I don't believe the D70 allows for use of a cable. One method I've heard about is to use the self-timer with a penny and a rubber band. The penny goes onto the shutter release button and then is pressed down by the rubber band wrapped around the camera. Then at the end of the shot, you'd get a dark bag an put it over the lens (to keep any camera movements from showing up in the photo), then remove the rubber band and the penny to close the shutter. Not exactly an elegant solution though.

How does remote triggering work? Is that infrared based? Any idea on what the cost of a remote would be?

 

I have a Canon 10D, and it has a function called mirror lockup, which reduces vibration, too.

Not sure how familiar you are with SLRs, but there is a mirror that reflects the image from the lens to the viewfinder. The mirror flips up and the shutter opens when you take a picture. With mirror lockup, you press the shutter once to lift the mirror, then a 2nd press opens the shutter and exposes the sensor (or film). That combined with a remote minimizes any vibrations.

You might want to check out the forums at www.dpreview.com for more help. Also www.bhphotovideo.com is a good source for the remote and other accessories.

 

From what I gather reading the D70 review on dpreview, there is no MLU functionality on the D70.

 

I guess you should have gone with the Canon then!

Actually, the D70 would have been very tempting if it had been out when I got the 10D. Nice to know I got something for my extra $500, though.

 

I think there is a remote for the D 70 so you
don't need depress the shutter for night and
nature photo work.

 

I have found the reviews on cameras I like best is

http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html

Earl

 

Well, first off, I just want to say congratulations! That's a fantastic camera and I'm really excited to see what you can do with it! As you posted, you're pretty much on track for night settings. I'm sadly (for now) limited to 15 seconds on exposure so having the ability to go up to 30 would be quite fantastic.

Dan pretty much covered it with his vast knowledge. But i'll add a few more tips. I have actually found to never need to use a remote shutter release or self-timer, but I would certainly use it if my finger wasn't able to hit the shutter release without shaking the camera. More importantly, in each picture you shoot on any long exposure, make sure you zoom in the on the pic you've taken to make sure there's not even the slightest bit of blurryness. In the snapshot preview on full view, the pic may actually look fine, but when you download it to the computer, it may stlll be blurry.

If you're using a camera mount for motion shots on the car, you only need to drive a few mph to create the motion effect.

I think the hardest thing I find is just absorbing enough light from my surroundings. Keeping the ISO low and opening that aperture helps, and spot metering your shots will also work nicely.

Start off with some really well lit areas (like a parking garage). I know you'll want to shoot more than just cars, but it's a great way to learn some ideas on the affect of light on your subject b/c the lighting is very even. Or a home that's well lit is a good way to get an idea too. I shoot homes at night for realtors and put one album online:

home shots at night gallery

Have fun with it and experiment! There's lots of "happy accidents" to be had Enjoy and post your results!!

haf

 

ML-L3 wireless remote controller - is what you would need for the D70, B&H has it for $16.95! Seems cheap.....

 

The extended warranty on my Nikon 5700 is still in effect and with it I can take it back and upgrade to another camera for another 2 years.... was about to go take it and trade for the 8700 but with the talk of the D70, it makes me wonder....

okay camera guru's....

D70 or 8700?

or any other camera in a similar price range for that matter.

 

The D70 will give you a lot more flexibility, but you have to consider the cost of adding lenses. You would probably need 2 zooms to match the built-in zoom in the 8700 (not that familiar with Nikons). However, the optical quality of lenses for the D70 will be much higher than the built-in for the 8700, and the sensor on the D70 is better as well.

Bottom line is that you get what you pay for when you step up to a digital SLR. It's up to you to figure out if you will benefit from what you are paying extra for.

 

[IMG]I have a D70 you going to love it.

I am not a great photo person but through numbers have got a couple good shots. For night work you will want the tripod. The D70 does have a bulb setting (I have not used it yet). There is also a rear shutter flash. I used this to take picks of people around a campfire. It worked great. The camera has no cable release (in the old fashioned way of thinking of it - there may be an electric one that I have not found yet). I did not get the remote with mine - the store did not have one at the time. To counter the above I just use the camera's timer. It scroles way down. Another method I used on a pic as my old Flash bit the dust, I had some one hide with there camera and shoot a flash pic at the same subject. They were much closer. It took several attempts to get the timing down but the shot was more less what I wanted. I think the new Nikon flash will act as a remote unit slaved to the camera's flash for remote work. Your ideas about ISO and high f nrs have worked good for me.

 

You will love the D70. This camera is fantastic. much lighter than the D100. The D70 has remote access for things like night shootig. It also has a self timer mode that will also work if one wants. It also has settings for " night landscape" and "night portriat."Anyways, good luck when you get your D70. Nkon does make the camera very user friendly. However I still like the "old school" manual SLR.

One thing I must add with the D70... It has a function, auto bracket, which will allow the shooter to shoot one photo and set a range for bracketing (F4-F32) and the camera will auto bracket that range with one shot. That is really cool! Enjoy! Post some pictures once you get it.

 

I got a 256 flash card when I purchased mine. As the linse that comes with the camera is so good you will want to shoot in a jpg large format and edit the pics down in size. With the 256 card at the Dragon this year I ran out of pics. Reading the Nikon forums the 256 size is good, but they say to get more than one card. That way if a card goes bad you do not loose all your pics. Of course I read that after I got the half a 500 card. There are others here that can tell you better about what size pics to shoot. [IMG]

 

I just bought a Hitachi 4 gig Type 2 CF for $275!!!
PM me DiD and I'll give you the info.
I'll be playing with a D 70 and some motorcycles
on Tuesday.
Hitachi mistakenly but these cards into the Muvo
MP3 player but have corrected that mistake.
BTW DiD, my local Best Buy had them in stock
yesterday.(D 70s that is)

 

hafid- is that house in the night photos yours? it's beautiful! nice shotz too...

 

you have a PM about that CF card :smile:

I'm getting my D70 through Ritz, mostly because there is no tax is you order online and they have that protection plan that covers abuse.

 

Gettin' the D70?
Dang, I'm droolin' with envy!

I'm still saving up to hopefully get it sometime this coming winter.
I'll be looking forward to seeing some shots.

-J/C

 

You can use a standard handsfree cellphone headset cable to trigger the shutter by pressing the "answer" button. You can pick these up in the dollar store if you dont have one in shoved in the back of a drawer somewhere


--
Cheese

 

very interesting....will that work with a digital Rebel as well?

 

Thanks for the tips everyone.

I got an e-mail confirmation last night. The D70 has shipped, so I'm expecting Friday to be D70 Day.

cheese: did you figure that out on your own?

 

Interesting questions!

I used to do a lot of nightime stuff back in the film days, but haven't done much in the digital age.

A few more questions to throw out at y'all:

Film changes the color-spectral sensitivity balance with low light levels. For long time exposures, colors were always off, and for correct color rendition corrective filters were suggested, different filters for different exposure times.
In some instances, with or without filters - depending on film - long time night exposures could result in images that either had color that was really off, or color that looked more like daytime than night time.

The question would be, is that effect still there with various digital sensors, and does it differ for sensors (e.g. CMOS vs CCDs)?

Next, old style film would get much grainier at low light levels (and I'm not talking about 'pushing' the film), and that is an effect that is repeated in digital sensors, in that the noise level during long exposures and at low light levels significantly increases. Again, this is a separate effect from changing the ISO setting, it is a noise effect related directly to th elength of the exposure. It results in a tradeoff, where if you decrease the ISO setting to avoid high-ISO related noise, you are instead getting an increase in noise from exposure time.

Q: how do the two relate? Does exposure time related noise increase at the same rate as ISO related graininess?

This could affect the optimal choice of f-stop:
it could be that you are right Dave in suggesting low ISO and long exposure, but by stopping down rather than opening up you are lengthening exposure and increasing noise dramatically!

M.

 

Nope. I didnt figure it out on my own but I read it on the 300D Firmware hack page. Its possible to regain a majority of the functionality of the 10D that Canon stripped away by flashing new firmware. That said, I still like the D70 better


LINK




Nokia Hands-free Remote Control as a Remote Shutter Release
Spend $1 at a Dollar Store and get a functional shutter release cord for your Canon Digital Rebel! Apparently someone has found that a cheap Nokia hands free cord kit works as a shutter release cord for the Digital Rebel. The Mute button on the cord works as the shutter release. This particular unit was discovered at a local dollar store.

From DP Review's forums:"Today I went to the dollar store and saw that they had a 31" retractable cell phone hands free kit for motorola models, I bought it, it cost me ..yep.. 1$. Went home and tried it like it was suggested some time ago in this forum and IT WORKS !! gosh I am happy ! its very handy, small and retractable, so it will come in very handy."

Also, says Antonion Cotto:" Any cell phone hands free with a button on it will work as a remote trigger. I had one already for my cell phone (so it did not cost me anything). All you have to do is cut the wire that goes to the ear piece.

When you press the button, it focuses, gets a lock, and fires the shutter. Once the camera has a focus lock, you can keep hitting the shutter for quick shots.

For bulb, switch camera to manual, set shutter to bulb, and press button. This will again get focus lock first, open the shutter, and remain open open until you let the button go."

Another tip from the page is:
Without a remote shutter cord, how does one take shake-free long timed exposures? (Starfields, star trails, etc). This one isn't a new trick, its actually a very old astrophotography trick. Cover the end of the lens, without touching it, with a dark-lined object (such as a hat). Open the shutter with your hand count to three to allow any tripod vibration to dampen out, then quickly remove the hat/cover from the lens. Viola! A shake free snapshot. Reverse this procedure to close the shutter. Be sure that no lights around you reflect off of you or the hat object when you remove or replace it over the lens