Best setting for Christmas lights?
But they all come out doomed to failure.
Either the lights get really blurry, or the lights come out perfect, but you can't see the house.
So what kind of settings do I put it on, so they come out better?
Answers: hi
Make sure you use outdoor extension cords, and never attach more stings of lights end on than the manufacturer tell you is safe.
First, mount your camera on a tripod.
Second, put your camera within Manual Mode since you will be setting everything yourself. Your minimum shutter speed is 15 seconds so you can use the camera's self-timer to release the shutter. Make sure the flash is OFF.
For outdoor Christmas lights* :
ISO 100
f2.8 @ 1/2 sec.
f4 @ 1 sec.
f5.6 @ 2 sec.
f8 @ 4 sec.
f11 @ 8 sec.
f16 @ 15 sec.
You may want to try playing around beside the shutter speed to get results you find most appealing. You might try f11 @ 6, 8 and 10 sec. Change one and only the shutter speed.
Try composing at 36mm and then zoom within during the exposure.
Take a piece of screen lead and attach it to your lens hood. You'll get a "starburst" effect - 4 "rays" emanate from every point of light.
If your lens doesn't enjoy a lens hood you can do this: Take a 1/2" strip of thin cardboard and cut it long ample to fit over your lens like a tube. Tape it together. Now trace its diameter on a piece of eyeshade wire. Draw 4 "tabs" equally around the circle and attentively cut out the tabs and circular part of a set. Bend the tabs final and tape them to your cardboard tube.
* These times are from my FotoSharp (fotosharp.com) Day & Night Exposure Guide. IMO its a worthy thing to own.
the imagery are blurry because of camera shake. The shutter stays open for the appropriate time, but you are holding the camera which cause the blurriness. Basically, there's not a lot of restrained outside, so you need to move out the shutter open and maintain the camera still. That's why you need a tripod.
Next point is that you need to play beside the aperture. Play with aperture priority until you find a nice imitation. Start with it cavernous open, and see what happen. For me, it's trial and error, although I'm just a student so I take lots of descriptions.
1) Timing is everything. Take your photos after the sun has set, but up to that time the sky goes completely black. This give you a very shade blue sky, but not a black one in which your house get lost.
2) Use a tripod. You need it to mute blur from the long shutter speed.
3) Turn off your flash. It's not plenty to light a house up.
4) You can use encyclopaedia exposure and experiment with the shutter speed length and aperture, I find it easier to use automatic exposure (like aperture preferred) and do an exposure compensation, usually + 0.5 to permit in more lighting.
5) Use the lowest ISO to reduce problems next to image crash.
I agree with the other posters (except for #1 ha ha). If you don't hold a tripod, put the camera on top of a refuse can lid, your car's room, or any other stationary object. Also, the lights are bright and the house is muddy. If you want REALLY good results, this is your correct chance to cram HDR (high dynamic range) photography.
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