First nightime shot - went wrong.. why?

[PaulDB]

Hi all,

I had my first ever attempt at night photography tonight. It went terribly. All the images turned out really blurred and im not sure why. I was using 30d on tripod with remote shutter release.. exif as follows:

F11 48sec exposure (bulb), iso 400, no mirror lockup (should have!), with kit lens.

I know that there are cows in this shot and they were moving.. hence blurred . And I know the kit lens isnt perfect for this but it was purely an experiment, so no tips on composition etc required at this point. Its the stationary objects like trees etc and the moon that shouldnt have been moving enough to cause this much blurryness (note in the full size image it looks much worse than this!).. Example attatched.. just resized nothing else done. I would love to know what I can do to sort this out. If I get good advice I will go out tomorrow and see if the advice helps then repost :)

http://www.atlb64.dsl.pipex.com/canon/crap.jpg

Thanks for looking,
Paul

[Alec Trevelyan]

AF or MF? Sure the focus was set properly? Looks like it was set way too close.

[Dimitri_V]

Hi all,

I had my first ever attempt at night photography tonight. It went terribly. All the images turned out really blurred and im not sure why. I was using 30d on tripod with remote shutter release.. exif as follows:

F11 48sec exposure (bulb), iso 400, no mirror lockup (should have!), with kit lens.

I know that there are cows in this shot and they were moving.. hence blurred . And I know the kit lens isnt perfect for this but it was purely an experiment, so no tips on composition etc required at this point. Its the stationary objects like trees etc and the moon that shouldnt have been moving enough to cause this much blurryness (note in the full size image it looks much worse than this!).. Example attatched.. just resized nothing else done. I would love to know what I can do to sort this out. If I get good advice I will go out tomorrow and see if the advice helps then repost :)
Hmm,right Paul,tell me something,was it windy?
What tripod? heavy one?

[Becca]

You might be suprised how much trees and the moon can move in 48 seconds, especially when the moon is that low in the sky. However, I think Alec might have hit on the problem. Your focus seems to be too close.

[sando]

Yep. It doesnt lok like motion blur, my first thought was that it's OOF.

[PaulDB]

Ah ok thanks guys. I was thinking along the lines of OOF but how can you focus when its this dark? Bring a torch and use that to focus on something first? (it was very dark there, no ambient light at all just the moon).

[PaulDB]

Oh in in response to Dimitri, it was a little windy, not too much and the tripod is a bit crappy! I need a new one (its a jessops one, cant even support the weight of my 100mm macro)

[J T]

Ah ok thanks guys. I was thinking along the lines of OOF but how can you focus when its this dark? Bring a torch and use that to focus on something first? (it was very dark there, no ambient light at all just the moon).

Do some test focusing of far objects during the day and memorize where the focus line sets up. Just set the focus at the same spot when shooting at night. That's what I've done a few times with great success. However, I've also used a flashlight for closer objects.

[PaulDB]

The other thing is.. even if the near objects werent in focus.. surely at f11 something in the scene should have been in focus?

Next time I will try a torch :) I will try tonight and post the results. Thanks for all the advice guys..

[Stump]

You need a good flashlight or a spotlight. The autofocus should be able to focus on the moon. Try that also. Im pretty sure you were just OOF. Try again and post some results.

[Stump]

Oh yeah, I dont think mirror lockup matters much on an exposure that long. But, you used bulb, do you have a remote?

[PaulDB]

Yeah I have a remote. I couldnt find a way to program in an exposure longer than 30 secs so I just went for the rather un-scientific approach of holding down the remote button and counting :) Is there a way to set up a longer exposure w/o using bulb? *digs out his manual*

Couldnt find that but I did find CFn 2, which is now set to auto.. this should help too.

[beano]

I just use a watch.

With the moon behind the trees, you should be able to use MF and pretty much tell if the trees are in focus; i doubt you'd need to be spot on with f11, but you should get that confirmed by someone more experienced than me... ;)

[sando]

Focussing on the moon is a good idea, thanks!! :) I tend to focus on something a bit lighter, like a streetlamp or something as far away as my AF-assist lamp will light up.

[overlunge]

Yeah I have a remote. I couldnt find a way to program in an exposure longer than 30 secs so I just went for the rather un-scientific approach of holding down the remote button and counting :) Is there a way to set up a longer exposure w/o using bulb? *digs out his manual*

Couldnt find that but I did find CFn 2, which is now set to auto.. this should help too.

Your remote should have a lock. So you could press the shutter and lock it while using the Bulb mode. And also on your shoulder LCD screen there should be a little timer once the shutter is tripped so just keep an eye on that.

[PaulDB]

Well guys, i'm sorry to say i didnt make it out to take any more shots. I was going to go in my garden and do it but my neighbours had loads of guests round and I didnt want anyone to think I was taking pictures through their windows or anything :( I will definately drive out somewhere tonight and have another go!

[fi20100]

Crappy tripod + windy weather + nightshot = BLURRY! I've experienced that first handed.