Night Focus???

[mikeb540]

Well i have started playing with night bulb shots.. with some results.. mostly either too bright or not bright enough.. my biggest problem is gettign focus when i cant see the target.... how do you all do this??? The other issue is the shots that do work are kinda grainy.. i can post results if needed. any help it great..
mike

[krb]

The camera has an autofocus assist (it makes the flash strobe a little).
The Canon external flash units like the 430 and 580 have a red LED that works as an AF assist.
Or you can just use a flashlight.

As for grainy, long exposures will have more noise because the sensors get hot. Allowing some time between shots and/or shooting in colder weather will help.

[mikeb540]

most of my targets are to far for the flash strobe focus blast,, i have been zooming in on a light sorce on the object.. ie doorbell light and getting it as close as i can then zooming out, as for the senor getting hot i will keep that in mind for next time thanks winter is coming!
mike

[krb]

Could always get one of the million candlepower spot lights from Wal Mart. You'd only need to turn it on while focussing... <g>

[krb]

Almost forgot to add, since you are using a long bulb exposure anyway there's no reason not to make it a little longer and use a smaller aperture to open the DOF so that precise focus is less important.

[mikeb540]

theres an idea hahah. im trying to use the high f # i can with out it taken an hour haha. once i get a corded release i will do longer shots, but 7 is about the max for griping the camera with out moving hahah
mike

[CamDiver]

Tripod, needed for longer exposures. If you plan the shot why not take a snap in daylight, focus manually and then apply that after dark? At night you will need more detail and when shooting with a wide angle the DoF is almost taken care of, hence it should be better to use a wider iris for both light and detail.

Just a thought.
Cheers and best of luck.
Mark

[elysium]

Whats wrong with a manual focus. Would just need to wait for your eyes to adjust, use a laser pen on the target, focus and then just leave it be.

[mikeb540]

both great ideas! i am using a tripod but i have to hold the button by hand. big apt. is higher number for more depth in focus right? this stuff confuses the heck outa me..
mike

[CTScrivener]

Larger aperture would be a lower value 3.5, 5.6, etc. (smaller DOF, less in focus)

Smaller aperture would be a higher value 18, 22, etc. (more DOF, less in focus)

Am I right? I'd hate to be providing false information.

[sally_tomato]

both great ideas! i am using a tripod but i have to hold the button by hand. big apt. is higher number for more depth in focus right? this stuff confuses the heck outa me..
mike

are your images focused on anything, or all blurry?

use auto timer to avoid holding the trigger. shake from pressing the trigger is usually enough to cause blurring, even with tripod, so try the timer or remote before judging focus.

yes, higher f# means more depth of field.

as for noise...i was most intrigued by temperature comment. it doesn't match my own experience with long noisy exposures, but i am willing to believe it may have a relative effect.

i have seen a great many wonderfully clean long exp images on this forum, some of which use noise redux software. look around and you will see these, they are amazing. good luck!

--alex.

[mikeb540]

great info! heres a few shots i did the other night during the outage. both where alot brighter , the only pp i did was auto contrast. any ideas? can you find polaris??:lol:

http://www.flyinggiants.com/gallery/data/971/starsbackyard2small.jpg


http://www.flyinggiants.com/gallery/data/971/medium/starsbackyardsmall.jpg (http://www.flyinggiants.com/gallery/data/971/starsbackyardsmall.jpg)

mike