Steve'sDigicams

Rumble · Mar 8, 2003, 2:12 AM

I wonder if anyone out there knows how i would go about taking some pictures of lightning when the opportunity arrises.

Slavek · Mar 8, 2003, 3:16 AM

Hi Rum, it depens on type of camera you do use. If you can use facility to open shutter for long time just manually (function B), then find suitable location, observe horizont and decide where the most lightnings appear, point your camera there, open shutter and wait.Tripod and wide optics are absolute necessity.
Taking picture of lightning is somewhat like hunt for a rare animal. You must take hundreds to have one "great".
Greetings and happy hunt... :lol: Slavek

Rumble · Mar 8, 2003, 1:24 PM

I'm using a digital Canon s30. So, i guess the next best thing is to set it at 15 second exposures, point it in the right direction, and keep shooting, hoping that i catch one in that time frame hey?

tabasco · Mar 13, 2003, 2:04 PM

same as for fireworks: set the camera at the slowest setting and let it run. Do you have manual controls? If so, at night you should set aperture between f8 and f11, iso at 100 and bulb or long exposure. Review the images and compensate with the aperture, not the shutter.
cheers

Rumble · Mar 13, 2003, 2:43 PM

thanks for the info

Bruno Fontes · Apr 24, 2003, 1:27 PM

:shock: Do you know if I can shoot fireworks or lightning with a simple Canon A200?

Thanks in advance.

KCan · Apr 25, 2003, 11:01 PM

I simply put the camera in movie mode , starting at wide zoom not to miss anything , I can even zoom and reframe while it's running .
Of course, it's not at high resolution but I could have multiple interesting consecutive “action” frames and this suffice for me.
After a min , I started the movie mode again (takes just 1 sec to push the button)

Laserjock · Jun 28, 2003, 4:28 PM

It's amazing the kind of answers you can get from a forum.

The best way to capture short duration/random events like lightning is to use an electronic device such as a lightning trigger. This device connects to your camera and will trigger the shutter at the beginning of the lightning strike. They're not cheap, but will safely take lightning photos. Check out this link:

http://www.lightningtrigger.com/

-Laserjock-

cald · Jul 11, 2003, 7:29 PM

My next D7i action shots will be of tractor pulls at our local county fair in a couple of weeks. Not sure what I'm doing wrong, but can't seem to get the movie mode to operate. Might be because I set the speed at 400 instead of auto?

proton · Aug 12, 2003, 4:03 AM

Movie mode is a nice option of you can't expose for a long time.
After you have made the movieclip, you can play it on your PC and
use the snapshot option of your movieplayer (powerdvd has it
for example), to make a photo of that particular frame in which the
lightningbolt is visible.
This way you still got the photo you want :-)
Only disadvantage: movieclips are mostly 320x240 or 640x480,
so you'll end up with a low res photo....

o yeah, make sure you're in a dry place

Mar 8, 2003, 2:12 AM	#1
Rumble Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 3	How to photograph Lightning? I wonder if anyone out there knows how i would go about taking some pictures of lightning when the opportunity arrises.

Jul 11, 2003, 7:29 PM	#9
cald Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 195	Lots of good stuff to try! My next D7i action shots will be of tractor pulls at our local county fair in a couple of weeks. Not sure what I'm doing wrong, but can't seem to get the movie mode to operate. Might be because I set the speed at 400 instead of auto?

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Mar 8, 2003, 3:16 AM	#2
Slavek Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 3	Hi Rum, it depens on type of camera you do use. If you can use facility to open shutter for long time just manually (function B), then find suitable location, observe horizont and decide where the most lightnings appear, point your camera there, open shutter and wait.Tripod and wide optics are absolute necessity. Taking picture of lightning is somewhat like hunt for a rare animal. You must take hundreds to have one "great". Greetings and happy hunt... :lol: Slavek

Mar 8, 2003, 1:24 PM	#3
Rumble Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 3	I'm using a digital Canon s30. So, i guess the next best thing is to set it at 15 second exposures, point it in the right direction, and keep shooting, hoping that i catch one in that time frame hey?

Mar 13, 2003, 2:04 PM	#4
tabasco Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 50	same as for fireworks: set the camera at the slowest setting and let it run. Do you have manual controls? If so, at night you should set aperture between f8 and f11, iso at 100 and bulb or long exposure. Review the images and compensate with the aperture, not the shutter. cheers

Mar 13, 2003, 2:43 PM	#5
Rumble Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 3	thanks for the info

Apr 24, 2003, 1:27 PM	#6
Bruno Fontes Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 44	:shock: Do you know if I can shoot fireworks or lightning with a simple Canon A200? Thanks in advance.

Apr 25, 2003, 11:01 PM	#7
KCan Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,625	I simply put the camera in movie mode , starting at wide zoom not to miss anything , I can even zoom and reframe while it's running . Of course, it's not at high resolution but I could have multiple interesting consecutive “action” frames and this suffice for me. After a min , I started the movie mode again (takes just 1 sec to push the button)

Jun 28, 2003, 4:28 PM	#8
Laserjock Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 68	It's amazing the kind of answers you can get from a forum. The best way to capture short duration/random events like lightning is to use an electronic device such as a lightning trigger. This device connects to your camera and will trigger the shutter at the beginning of the lightning strike. They're not cheap, but will safely take lightning photos. Check out this link: http://www.lightningtrigger.com/ -Laserjock-

Aug 12, 2003, 4:03 AM	#10
proton Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 211	Movie mode is a nice option of you can't expose for a long time. After you have made the movieclip, you can play it on your PC and use the snapshot option of your movieplayer (powerdvd has it for example), to make a photo of that particular frame in which the lightningbolt is visible. This way you still got the photo you want :-) Only disadvantage: movieclips are mostly 320x240 or 640x480, so you'll end up with a low res photo.... o yeah, make sure you're in a dry place