Shooting Fireworks

Im going to be in Sydney on a boat in Sydney Harbour and want to get some good shots of the fireworks.

I will be taking my tripod, and 40D but whats the best lens and the best settings to have for this subject.

I hope to get a bit of practice in on guy fawkes - but thats a while off

Any feed back or sample shots you've taken appreciated....

I take it you will be on a very stable, non moving boat? Otherwise forget using a tripod.

Truth!

Help with fireworks

david lee wrote in post #5404222
I take it you will be on a very stable, non moving boat? Otherwise forget using a tripod.

We are on a 6 1/2 hr cruise round the harbour the boat will be moving some of the time but I expect parked up at midnight

I did read a tripod would be needed but i do have IS lenses its just are they the right ones for the job.... or do I need a new lens?

Thanks for the link PhotosGuy

I saw someone used a 10-22 my shots would be a bit like that as I'll be on the water but wondered If they had to much foreground?

The wider the lens, probably the longer shutter speed you can get away with, & you should get some nice reflections in the water if nobody anchors between you & the fireworks.

I agree with others - a moving/unstable boat is NOT going to be your friend. You need to set up on solid ground, IMO. We were in Melbourne last month during their Moomba Waterfest. This was taken overlooking the Yarra River from a bridge. 1 sec. exposure @ f/8 - ISO 200. Have FUN in Sydney!! Beautiful city.

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

PhotosGuy wrote in post #5407389
The wider the lens, probably the longer shutter speed you can get away with, & you should get some nice reflections in the water if nobody anchors between you & the fireworks.

Cheers Guy, so my 10-22 should be ok for the lens to use.

Cody21 wrote in post #5407683
I agree with others - a moving/unstable boat is NOT going to be your friend. You need to set up on solid ground, IMO. We were in Melbourne last month during their Moomba Waterfest. This was taken overlooking the Yarra River from a bridge. 1 sec. exposure @ f/8 - ISO 200. Have FUN in Sydney!! Beautiful city.

Thanks Cody - nice picture we've got 6 weeks travelling Aus starting Xmans day but were in Sydney for 5dys over new year- cant wait

M5Man wrote in post #5406795
We are on a 6 1/2 hr cruise round the harbour the boat will be moving some of the time but I expect parked up at midnight

I did read a tripod would be needed but i do have IS lenses its just are they the right ones for the job.... or do I need a new lens?

Thanks for the link PhotosGuy

I saw someone used a 10-22 my shots would be a bit like that as I'll be on the water but wondered If they had to much foreground?

parked on land? If it is parked on the water, the waves will still sway the boat enough to mess up the shots.

and for focusing, do u always set it to infinity?

Yep - that's how I shot that one up above. I set my focus to MANUAL and just set the 'dial' to infinity. Otherwise you're camera will attempt to AF for each shot and will likely struggle in the darkness. I also set my Mirror to LOCK UP to avoid any 'noise' for the longer exposures and used a Shutter release cable.

I dont understand how the hell infinity works! lol like yes I understand turning AF off thats obvious, but whenever I read posts about shooting stars, moon, fireworks etc they all say to focus to infinity.

All those objects are different distances away from the camera, how are they all in infocus?

Infinity refers to the Lens marking (for lack of the correct word)... As you turn your lens, there are distance settings (in meters).... e.g., Look thru your camera and focus on something way far away ... then look at the distance that is lined up on your lens ... it will likely be INFINITY ... now focus on sometihing close, and again, look at the lens marker ... that will be the distance away that you focused, in meters. (My lens has both Meters (M) and Feet (F) on the window on my lens)

oh ya ive seen that before, and I know infinity has that "double zero" symbol look at the end of the scale, I just dont understand how one focus setting is good for all the situations i mentioned?

lol ... well, I don't know how best to explain it then... Maybe someone else can. It's just the way focus works and how the image is "seen" by the camera.

Infinity just is infinity ...

maybe worth reading thru the Lens section of this forum to better understand focus principles? just a thought

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdis​play.php?f=33