Fireworks & Night Trails

[birdboy]

[bilbo]

Re: Fireworks & Night Trails

Very interesting. How did you do them?

[Mickg]

Re: Fireworks & Night Trails

Startrails, planes & fireworks. You've got everything in there.
Wish I had a view so I could have a go from the house.

Cheers Mick.

[birdboy]

Re: Fireworks & Night Trails

Very interesting. How did you do them?

Both were taken using the 12-40mm f2.8 pro lens at 12mm f3.5 4sec ISO500 The first one took 199 frames i.e more than 13mins.
The second took 1006 frames i.e more than 67 mins.

In manual mode on the EM1 if you wind it back you come to a feature called composite. The fastest shutter speed you can select (by pressing menu button) is 1/2 sec. There is a light meter reading displayed which I use to roughly set the speed aperature and ISO. I use the lever to position 2 to set ISO. You need to use manual focus and fix the tripod on a firm surface. Mine was not that firm as it was taken from our bedroom window with the tripod on carpet so hence the not so sharp pictures. The first press of the shutter prepares composite the second press starts it and you can then watch the picture develop on the LCD. When you think you have had enough press the shutter again and the picture is saved after it has taken a dark frame. If you use long exposures remember that the dark frame time will take the same length of time again before the camera is ready for the next picture.

When I had first had the EM1 I tried to take some star trails and was very disappointed as if you forget to turn off NR it takes a dark frame between each exposure and you are left with gaps in the star trails. You then need to take a dark frame and do some considerable post picture processing.

This composite mode seems to cure this and it makes it soo much easier to take long exposures be it for fireworks, night trail, star trails, lightning and light painting.

It only works by the camera recording new light in the frame so does not burn out your foreground picture or existing light. The fireworks in the second picture were all lit from the same point and exploded in the same place so does not look as cool as the first where the 4 or 5 fireworks were lit at about the same place but took different paths at different times.

here's another taken at Hong Kong Airport. You can see the paths of the planes taking off, different sizes get in the ait quicker.

[birdboy]

Re: Fireworks & Night Trails

Startrails, planes & fireworks. You've got everything in there.
Wish I had a view so I could have a go from the house.

Cheers Mick.

Cheers Mick I wish I had a coloured light fountain in our high street.

[bilbo]

Re: Fireworks & Night Trails

Thanks for that. I'm going to have to have a go at that.

[bilbo]

Re: Fireworks & Night Trails

Is it possible to control the rate at which the shutter fires? I can't see this anywhere...

[birdboy]

Re: Fireworks & Night Trails

Is it possible to control the rate at which the shutter fires? I can't see this anywhere...

I cannot see this either but not sure its required. Once you have set the shutter speed it just keeps (and it appears silently) taking pictures (which I don't think you can recover). I guess it compares the new picture pixel by pixel for changes in light (increased) and if there is an increase overwrites that pixel and then discards the latest image.

[OM USer]

Re: Fireworks & Night Trails

Looks like you have mastered a very interesting technique.