In a few days I will be heading to New York to see my family. I will be spending some time in the city, and of course want to get some nice photo's of the skyline. Although last time my images turned out very blurry.
What manual settings would you recommend? I believe I used the night setting when taking that picture.
I'm no pro, but from what I know, keep your ISO as low as possible, turn image stabilization off, use long shutter speeds (that means a tripod too!). hope this helps. :)
@neondino You will struggle a little to get night shots with great clarity with a camera like the H55.
However, if you have a tripod, you can probably improve the shots a fair amount by using the right settings.
Firstly, you will want to switch off image stabilisation in the camera once you have mounted it to a tripod, as this will just introduce blur once the camera is mounted firmly. Secondly, you should also engage self-timer mode. This means that when after you press the button, the camera will not take the photo for 10 seconds, which means it will have time to stop wobbling after you touched it.
Next, you will want to force the camera into using a low ISO setting and a long exposure time. Your photo above used an ISO of 800 and a shutter speed of 1/4 of a second. This high ISO setting introduced a lot of noise and reduced the clarity of the shot. You should force the ISO setting to 80, the lowest your camera can go, as this will produce the least noisy shot.
Because your camera will not use a shutter speed of greater than 2 seconds in auto mode, you will have to use it in fully manual mode. Your camera doesn't have a very flexible aperture setting, so you should leave this wide open (which will be somewhere between f/3.5 and f/5.5, depending on your zoom setting). You will then need to set your exposure time manually. Try somewhere between 5 and 20 seconds, adjusting as appropriate to expose the image correctly when reviewed on the camera's display. (If it's too dark, lengthen the exposure, and vice versa). You will need to keep adjusting this as you take shots -- the human eye is very good at disguising how fast the light levels are dropping, and you can go from needing a 5 second exposure to a 20 second exposure in just 10-15 minutes during the 'blue hour'.
Unfortunately your camera does not have any manual focusing modes, so you are dependant on the autofocus system, which will struggle in low light. Make sure that the focusing area is over a bright part of the image, such as a well-lit building. Also, review your photos as you take them, zooming in fully on the camera display, to make sure the focusing is correct. If the photo looks blurry, move the focusing area to a different part of the image and try again.
You may also want to experiment by taking shots with and without the camera's built in noise reduction, and also with the different 'D-Range Optimiser' settings your camera has. Try and make a note of which image had which settings, so that when you get them home you can find out what the best settings were for future use. Once you've gained familiarity with the effect these settings have on night photography, you'll be able to enable or disable them as appropriate.
Finally, don't forget to note down what settings you changed, both so you can replicate the settings in the future, and so you can put the camera back to how it used to be when you're done!
Hope that helps as a starting point, let me know if you have any questions!
@abirkill Thanks, that helps a lot. I probably should have mentioned that I took that photo a few years back, and since them I have purchased a T2i. Your tips still apply though.
@chanchiawei I was hoping not to have to pack my tripod, but I probably will need it. :)
@neondino Ah, well, that's a whole different ballgame, then! You can get stunning shots with the T2i -- it's better for night photography than my 50D was, which got results like this:
You really do need to use a tripod though, still!
Otherwise, most of my advice does apply, except that I'd use ISO 100, and an aperture setting of around f/8 (which will give you nice sharp images without needing a shutter speed that's too long). Unless you have a remote shutter release, you should still use self-timer mode to let the camera settle after hitting the shutter button, and absolutely switch IS off.
You can use either fully manual mode or aperture priority mode, depending on your confidence. Aperture priority will do a pretty decent job, but you might find it tends to overexpose slightly.
If you find you need a shutter speed longer than 30 seconds (quite possible if it's really dark), and don't have a remote shutter release, don't be afraid to bump the ISO up to 200 -- you'll still get excellent quality shots.
@neondino How often are you intending to take photos in New York? Having a tripod seems like a small price to pay.
Bracket all your shots. If for no other reason, you can always do an HDR shot later but since you are not going to get a do over, this will make sure you get the best possible exposure.
Don't miss a shot because it might not be convenient. Don't get home and think, "I wish that I had...."
Have fun. If any of this stuff makes you not have fun, maybe it isn't for you but if you are like me (and I'm sure many others on this board), I love this stuff.
@abirkill hey just ringing in... why image stabilisation off?? just curious, i've never done that but i've also never really tried to get smashing landscapes...
@sam_cr Image stabilisation doesn't work with shutter speeds longer than about 1/4 of a second. Above that, it will start to drift, introducing its own blur into an otherwise sharp photograph. You can see this happen if you hold down the shutter half-way with the camera on a tripod (while looking through the viewfinder) -- the image will wander around.
Some high-end lenses have a tripod-sensing mode, which will prevent this happening if the lens thinks it's on a tripod, and also correct for vibration introduced by the movement of the mirror, but this isn't a feature on consumer lenses (or many professional lenses). Unless you are *sure* your lens has this function, you should always switch off IS for exposures longer than 1/4 of a second when tripod-mounted (and unless your tripod is very unsteady, it's probably safer to switch it off for shorter exposure times, too)
One of my 'tests' to do sometime soon is related to turning IS/VR/OS/VC off when the camera is on a tripod AND the photo is taken from a bridge with a lot of traffic (also in London the Millennium Bridge [locally known as the wobbly bridge]). The question I want to answer is if the vibrations caused by traffic/footfall are of such a nature and magnitude to justify changing this advice. I can test VR/OS/VC lenses (Nikon, Sigma, Tamron) but not Cannon's offering. I realise there are a lot of other factors that can effect the type and magnitude of vibrations but my initial tests will I hope indicate if more research is warranted.
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However, if you have a tripod, you can probably improve the shots a fair amount by using the right settings.
Firstly, you will want to switch off image stabilisation in the camera once you have mounted it to a tripod, as this will just introduce blur once the camera is mounted firmly. Secondly, you should also engage self-timer mode. This means that when after you press the button, the camera will not take the photo for 10 seconds, which means it will have time to stop wobbling after you touched it.
Next, you will want to force the camera into using a low ISO setting and a long exposure time. Your photo above used an ISO of 800 and a shutter speed of 1/4 of a second. This high ISO setting introduced a lot of noise and reduced the clarity of the shot. You should force the ISO setting to 80, the lowest your camera can go, as this will produce the least noisy shot.
Because your camera will not use a shutter speed of greater than 2 seconds in auto mode, you will have to use it in fully manual mode. Your camera doesn't have a very flexible aperture setting, so you should leave this wide open (which will be somewhere between f/3.5 and f/5.5, depending on your zoom setting). You will then need to set your exposure time manually. Try somewhere between 5 and 20 seconds, adjusting as appropriate to expose the image correctly when reviewed on the camera's display. (If it's too dark, lengthen the exposure, and vice versa). You will need to keep adjusting this as you take shots -- the human eye is very good at disguising how fast the light levels are dropping, and you can go from needing a 5 second exposure to a 20 second exposure in just 10-15 minutes during the 'blue hour'.
Unfortunately your camera does not have any manual focusing modes, so you are dependant on the autofocus system, which will struggle in low light. Make sure that the focusing area is over a bright part of the image, such as a well-lit building. Also, review your photos as you take them, zooming in fully on the camera display, to make sure the focusing is correct. If the photo looks blurry, move the focusing area to a different part of the image and try again.
You may also want to experiment by taking shots with and without the camera's built in noise reduction, and also with the different 'D-Range Optimiser' settings your camera has. Try and make a note of which image had which settings, so that when you get them home you can find out what the best settings were for future use. Once you've gained familiarity with the effect these settings have on night photography, you'll be able to enable or disable them as appropriate.
Finally, don't forget to note down what settings you changed, both so you can replicate the settings in the future, and so you can put the camera back to how it used to be when you're done!
Hope that helps as a starting point, let me know if you have any questions!
@chanchiawei I was hoping not to have to pack my tripod, but I probably will need it. :)
Thanks again.
You really do need to use a tripod though, still!
Otherwise, most of my advice does apply, except that I'd use ISO 100, and an aperture setting of around f/8 (which will give you nice sharp images without needing a shutter speed that's too long). Unless you have a remote shutter release, you should still use self-timer mode to let the camera settle after hitting the shutter button, and absolutely switch IS off.
You can use either fully manual mode or aperture priority mode, depending on your confidence. Aperture priority will do a pretty decent job, but you might find it tends to overexpose slightly.
If you find you need a shutter speed longer than 30 seconds (quite possible if it's really dark), and don't have a remote shutter release, don't be afraid to bump the ISO up to 200 -- you'll still get excellent quality shots.
Bracket all your shots. If for no other reason, you can always do an HDR shot later but since you are not going to get a do over, this will make sure you get the best possible exposure.
Don't miss a shot because it might not be convenient. Don't get home and think, "I wish that I had...."
Have fun. If any of this stuff makes you not have fun, maybe it isn't for you but if you are like me (and I'm sure many others on this board), I love this stuff.
Some high-end lenses have a tripod-sensing mode, which will prevent this happening if the lens thinks it's on a tripod, and also correct for vibration introduced by the movement of the mirror, but this isn't a feature on consumer lenses (or many professional lenses). Unless you are *sure* your lens has this function, you should always switch off IS for exposures longer than 1/4 of a second when tripod-mounted (and unless your tripod is very unsteady, it's probably safer to switch it off for shorter exposure times, too)