Why not be able to set long exposure times?

[pnodrog]

A few pennies for a knock off 3rd party remote release is hardly a hardship. And an ice breaker for passing traffic, because you must be good if you have a big camera, tripod and cable release

I come from a long line of very tight wallet Scots (don't tell Donald) ... but if it makes me look good!

[Donald]

I come from a long line of very tight wallet Scots (don't tell Donald) ... but if it makes me look good!

Aye! Fur coat and no knickers!

[pnodrog]

Aye! Fur coat and no knickers!

Thank you for your contribution. It is too warm here for fur coats so the reason I mainly photograph landscapes is that I avoid taking photographs of the local men because of their Scots ancestral dress habits that you so kindly mention.

PS I think you may have misunderstood me again today - the long exposure time was related to photography not dress code.

[jcuknz]

With all the fuss normally present about noise I have always assumed it was limited to avoid noise.

I don't see much problem in using a cable release as if you remember to take a small clamp* with you to hold the button down of the cable release... the short time taking the final turns of the clamp shouldn't unduely affect things and if it did there is always the lens cap routine But must admit the film camera cable release with its screw lock would be better than the electronic version. I made mine to press down on the trigger while held in the hotshoe before I found and got the electronic versions for later cameras. Used a cable without camera end, it had been broken off by previous owner.
* I have usually found mine at 'specials' bins in various stores "three for $9.95" [1" 2" 3"] from Asia.

[Colin Southern]

But must admit the film camera cable release with its screw lock would be better than the electronic version.

I use a Canon TC80-N3 - and the release button can be locked down simply by sliding the button lock with the button held down.

[DanK]

I used to use a cheap import I bought on eBay that worked like the Canon Colin mentioned--one just had to slide a lock. However, once I started doing a little night photography, I switched to an electronic release. it is no fun stumbling around in the dark, trying to read a timer and then close the shutter without jarring the camera, and it is also nice to be able to get away from mosquitoes. In theory, the receiver goes into the hot shoe, which is a nuisance in night photography because I use a level in the hot shoe, so I sometimes just leave the receiver dangling from its cord.

[RustBeltRaw]

It's worth mentioning that there are people working on Nikon firmware hacks. But they aren't nearly as far along as the Magic Lantern team. I use a Canon RC2 remote or ML features for my long exposure work. ML's HDR mode, for instance, can auto-bracket a 7-shot HDR. I've used it for total exposure times exceeding 5 minutes for a single composite. Beats the heck out of setting everything manually.

While I'm glad ML exists, it's a little strange that Canon doesn't include the features it provides. It's clearly possible with no hardware changes, so why let the aftermarket steal your thunder?

[proseak]

Here's one of the groups that works with Nikons - http://nikonhacker.com/

HTH

Peter

[Colin Southern]

I used to use a cheap import I bought on eBay that worked like the Canon Colin mentioned--one just had to slide a lock. However, once I started doing a little night photography, I switched to an electronic release.

Mine is full electronic release too (with delay, interval, exposure, and count control)

[DanK]

Mine is full electronic release too (with delay, interval, exposure, and count control)

I never tried one of those. If you want a cabled manual release, you can buy them on eBay for less than $15. I had two, for different bodies, and both were fine. For electronic controls, I went wireless, because it is sometimes handy to be able to step away from the camera. In any event, there are lots of options, some very cheap, that effectively solve this problem.

[pnodrog]

I never tried one of those. If you want a cabled manual release, you can buy them on eBay for less than $15. I had two, for different bodies, and both were fine. For electronic controls, I went wireless, because it is sometimes handy to be able to step away from the camera. In any event, there are lots of options, some very cheap, that effectively solve this problem.

Dan, yes it effectively solves a problem that should not exist. However I may as you have get a wireless remote device because of the remote capability.

[Dave Humphries]

On a side note, if you're only needing a few minutes, just shoot multiple consecutive 30 second exposures and stack them (you get less noise that way anyway).

I haven't ever tried this, but thinking it through...

If you need a 4 minute exposure and have long exposure NR on (to reduce noise), that's 4 minutes exposing the image, followed by another 4 minutes 'exposing' for the noise (to do the subtraction). During this time, you cannot take any pictures.

So the "multiple 30 seconds" idea - with long exposure NR off - because the stacking will alleviate the noise - surely wins?

Plus many night shots have light/star trails and you don't want the 50% on, 50% off, 'dashing' that having long exposure NR on (even at 30 seconds or less) would give.

Thanks Colin.

Cheers,

[jcuknz]

Never tried that sort of 'night photography' but from reading I wonder if the 50%on50%off cannot be solved by careful editing?
It would be similar to lining up panoramic frames and other similar situations shooting burst.

[DanK]

Quote Originally Posted by Colin Southern View Post
On a side note, if you're only needing a few minutes, just shoot multiple consecutive 30 second exposures and stack them (you get less noise that way anyway).
I haven't ever tried this, but thinking it through...

If you need a 4 minute exposure and have long exposure NR on (to reduce noise), that's 4 minutes exposing the image, followed by another 4 minutes 'exposing' for the noise (to do the subtraction). During this time, you cannot take any pictures.

This raises a very interesting point. Image averaging can only help by averaging random noise. Long exposure noise reduction, however, cannot reduce random noise--it's a subtractive mechanism that requires that the noise in the blank shot be in the same location as the noise in the live shot. This nonrandom "pattern" noise occurs primarily when exposures are very long. So, wouldn't the cleanest result come from averaging a number of relatively short exposures? The short exposure of each would minimize nonrandom pattern noise, and averaging them would decrease random noise.

I've been wondering about this, because in the small amount of night photography I have done so far, I have used single long exposures with long-exposure noise reduction. However, with the remote shutter control that I use (Hahnel gigabit), I can set a first program to determine each individual exposure and then a second program to determine the number of times the first program is executed, as well as the interval between them. This would solve Dave's problem, I think. However, I have yet to try it.

[loosecanon]

Maybe the reason is simply all those shots taken with the lens cap on as you place the camera in the bag will soon run the battery down - ready for the next time you pull the camera out of the bag. Sometimes there are reasons why things as they are. Lower ISO's simply reduce the dynamic range of the camera - why make life difficult.

[Colin Southern]

I haven't ever tried this, but thinking it through...

If you need a 4 minute exposure and have long exposure NR on (to reduce noise), that's 4 minutes exposing the image, followed by another 4 minutes 'exposing' for the noise (to do the subtraction). During this time, you cannot take any pictures.

So the "multiple 30 seconds" idea - with long exposure NR off - because the stacking will alleviate the noise - surely wins?

Plus many night shots have light/star trails and you don't want the 50% on, 50% off, 'dashing' that having long exposure NR on (even at 30 seconds or less) would give.

Thanks Colin.

Cheers,

Hi Dave,

To be honest, I've never enjoyed much benefit from LENR -- I just leave it turned off. In most cases low-level noise can be clipped with the blacks slider -- and ACR does a pretty good job on hot spots ... and after than it's just a case of going through the image at 100% for a bit of manual intervention.

[RustBeltRaw]

I just leave it turned off. In most cases low-level noise can be clipped with the blacks slider...

Seconded. Doesn't work as well for shots of people, but then again, you're probably not doing long-exposure shots where anyone stands still long enough for that to be an issue.

Another benefit of shooting multiple 10, 20, or 30-second exposures is that you can take more than you think you'll need, and only stack them until you achieve an "exposure level" (in quotes because the exposure of the final image is a composite of several exposures, and not determined in-camera) you like. I do something similar with HDRs, usually shooting 7 and dropping between zero and three shots to emphasize shadow or light details. Plus, you can drop a frame if someone walks through or your stability's disrupted.