I have a canon 400d, i just bought a remote shutter release, i would like to know how to take a bright colorful picture at night where the shutter stays open and the night is dark but the nights are bright. Any advice would be awesome
EDWIN
Favorite Answer
For successful night photography you must use a tripod.
For low-light exposures I use and recommend this site:
http://www.calculator.org/exposure.aspx
I used the Scene 'Distant view of city skyline, floodlit buildings' and ISO 200 for these:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/drifter45h/4048051455/ 100mm @ f11, exposure of 30 seconds.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/drifter45h/4048796836/ 200mm @ f11, exposure of 30 seconds.
If you also look at the Scene 'Domestic interiors at night, subject lit by campfire or bonfire' and choose ISO 400 you'll quickly see why owning a 50mm f1.4 prime lens is desirable for available light photography.
Sordenhiemer
You will need to place the camera on a sturdy tripod. Set the camera to manual mode. Set the ISO to 200. Set the aperture to around f/4 or f/5.6. Start taking shots while progressively lengthening the shutter speed until you get the shot you want.
keerok
Install camera on a tripod then set to ISO 200, 30s, f/5.6. If too dim, set shutter to Bulb and increase shutter time (> 30s). If too bright, decrease shutter time (< 30s). Work shutter from there until you get your desired results.
thankyoumaskedman
In very low light focusing can be tricky.
For this moonlight shot with an Olympus E-PL2 with 14-42mm kit lens I used the camera's two second delay. I shined a strong flashlight at the car's side reflector and got the camera's autofocus to lock onto that. As soon as it did and the timer started, I pulled the flashlight away so it would not be part of the exposure.
http://www.martingrumet.com/olympus60sec-iso400.jpg
For this shot with a Nikon D60 and 28mm AF-D lens I used the ability of that lens to be dialed to infinity on the distance scale in manual focus.
http://www.martingrumet.com/canada17jan09-01dawson1500.jpg
Jim A
Here's one that may interest you.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimsphotostuff/3458504020/sizes/l/in/photostream/
My specs.
Shutter 10 seconds
Aperture: f/10
ISO: 100.
If you're not using a remote use the camera's 10-second timer because even the movement of you pressing the shutter release will cause blur.