So i’ve been taking photos for a couple of years now, and one thing i cant seem to get the hang of is extended shutter length shots.
examples: moonlight lit beaches, low light scenery, etc.
whenever i think i do find a suitable shot, my pictures come out rather grainy. Is this just a product of my camera (canon rebel 2000 EOS), the film (various), or some other variable?
my camera only allows a 30 second exposure time.
ohh, and of course, using a tripod.
thanks in advance.
I’ve taken some night shots with my camera (Honeywell-Pentax H-3) and I’ve never noticed any particular graininess. Do you have a good, sturdy tripod and do you use a cable release for the shutter?
Also, are you taking all these shots from the same place? ‘Graininess’ almost sounds like there might be something transmitting vibrations to the camera. If you’re doing this at home, maybe a referigerator or air-conditioner.
no cable release. worth the investment?
as for vibrations… possibly wind? most of my shots were made outdoors (beaches) and at night the landbreeze is pretty constant.
With my camera, the way to do long exposures is to set the shutter speed to B, then press the button and hold it and the shutter stays open until I release it. So in my case, a cable release is definitely the only way to go. If your shutter is on a 30-second timer, with your hands off the camera, it’s probably less critical. (There might be a bit of jostling when you press the shutter, but the camera should be still for most of the exposure.) If the graininess looks like it may be from a momentary camera motion in an otherwise clear picture, try a cable release.
If you’re taking pictures of beaches, is the tripod on a solid foundation? Just setting it up on the sand may not be stable enough for best results.
(Warning, semi-obligatory lame joke to follow)
Dude, of course your pictures of the beach are going to be grainy. It’s made of sand!
Oh, and try some short exposures using the same film and f-stop during the day. It may just be that you’ve got the lens opened way up to let in light at night, and that could be producing the graininess even if the camera is perfectly still.
If you don’t have a cable release and you can set the exposure time like you say just use the ‘timer’ function like you are trying to be in the picture yourself. Then you can press and release the shutter and then a few seconds later the camera will take the photo.
I would guess trying a slower speed film and maybe using slide film. Are you buying film at Wal Mart or at a camera shop? Go to a camera shop and try some nice ‘professional’ film.
What speed film are you using? For this sort of long-exposure work, you generally want to use the slowest speed film possible. I use Velvia 50 ISO or Provia 100 film myself.
If you’re using faster film (e.g 800), then that could be the reason for your grain.
Your camera itself has nothing to do with grain. Most likely, you’re using ISO800 or ISO400 film, and I’m also guessing that your exposures are probably underexposed. When they correct for exposure in the printing process, underexposed film tends to look grainier (actually, more like very blocky in the shadow areas…I’m going to assume this is where most of your ‘grain’ lurks.)
So my guess is you’re using high ISO film and underexposing. Look at the negs themselves and tell me how they look? Are the images faint or are they solid, with a range of contrast?
What speed film are you using? For this sort of long-exposure work, you generally want to use the slowest speed film possible. I use Velvia 50 ISO or Provia 100 film myself.
If you’re using faster film (e.g 800), then that could be the reason for your grain.
Your camera itself has nothing to do with grain. Most likely, you’re using ISO800 or ISO400 film, and I’m also guessing that your exposures are probably underexposed. When they correct for exposure in the printing process, underexposed film tends to look grainier (actually, more like very blocky in the shadow areas…I’m going to assume this is where most of your ‘grain’ lurks.)
So my guess is you’re using high ISO film and underexposing. Look at the negs themselves and tell me how they look? Are the images faint or are they solid, with a range of contrast?
800 film is going to be grainy no matter how much light you throw at it. I love the stuff (for motion pictures), but you do need to use slower film with a finer grain structure to get rid of that grainyness. Get yourself to a camera shop, talk with the people there and see what they recommend.
That camera has a bulb function. You can take as long an exposure as you have the patience for. Get a cable release, a lawn chair, and a beer. Enjoy.
How are you printing the final output and what kind of materials are you using? Are you printing them yourself or is an automatic printer automatically correcting for the “underexposed” dark backgrounds? Shadows almost always show more grain than more exposed areas in addition to being worse with higher ISO rating. Night shots typically have more super dark areas. With film I always had better results shooting night shots with transparency materials but I was doing my own Cibachrome prints then.
I should have clarified, shadows often show more grain in negative materials. This is somewhat negated in reversal materials (slides) as they start out at full black and become lighter with more exposure to light.
Don 't be afraid to bracket. Use a stopwatch if your camera has a bulb setting. Once you get to ten second shutter speeds a second or two is a negligible difference.
If you don’t have a cable release and are worried about jostling the camera when you click the shutter, try using the self-timer. I’ve gotten some good long-exposure shots that way, and you don’t have to touch the camera at all while the shutter’s open.