First attempt at long exposure - thoughts?

[I.am.Sam]

You will have a lot more control on M (manual) mode. What bridge camera did you get?

the fujifilm s4000 ...its awesome

need to play around more

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

the fujifilm s4000 ...its awesome

need to play around more

From the specs it seems like 8 secs is the maximum shutter speed. To get these sorts of pics you'll need a tripod to prevent any blur, and/or a remote trigger to further eliminate any possibility of blur. But I don't think that 8 secs will be enough to capture any decent light trails - it might work for water flow and landscape pics though.

Also, although you can set it to shutter mode, you have far more control over light and depth of field if you set it to manual mode.

 

[I.am.Sam]

what is the 250 then when they show you the shutter speed?

http://www.fujifilm.com/support/digital_cameras/manuals/pdf/index/s/finepix_s3200s4000series_manual_01.pdf

those shoots roux took look awesome in his album ..how did you get that @roux

 

[Rouxenator]

The 250 is probably 1/250s and if you go above 1 second it will have " to indicate seconds.

Like Mike said you will need to keep it stable if you are taking long exposure shots, have it on a steady surface and use the 2 second timer to avoid any movement interference as you release the shutter button. Even at 16 seconds I found that its not long enough to capture certain scenes. Take for example this twilight shot where I had to set the ISO to 400 and you can easily see the noise in the picture. If you want the same effect where you can see the stars as well as the afterglow of the sun over the horizon in an 8 second exposure you will have to go beyond ISO 800. Taking into account the small sensors inside bridge cameras that can result in a lot of noise. Still, its good fun to try and I hope you play around with your camera to see what it can do.

BTW, a tripod is a good idea but if you are cheap like me then you can also use a "waslap-pod"

 

[I.am.Sam]

hahaha check this out

if only it was so cheap here

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Deluxe-Accessory-STARTER-Finepix-Digital/dp/B004RCQGRI/ref=pd_sim_ph_4

get someone to bring it over for us roux

ok yeah i think i saw the "8 second thing and ok i need to learn alot about this noise and stuff

quite cool ..need to read a book as well

 

[acidrain]

ye seems the fuji bridges are plagued with the max shutter of 8sec.... sucks but hey there are other things than night time photo's. Also I've noticed you cant really play too much with aperture. only manual settings you get is 3.2 and 6.4 ( i think )... anything else can only be achieved with auto.

 

[I.am.Sam]

for 1k what more can i ask for lol

im trying to get little out of the features....soon il get me a slr but this is for an intro into photography

 

[Rouxenator]

That camera is fine, if you ever upgrade I would recommend you stick with a bridge camera. Maybe one with a faster lens (2.8), longer exposure, proper video recording in FHD with stereo sound and a BSI sensor. Basically a Canon Sx of sorts.

 

[I.am.Sam]

canon sx is the price of a slr ..next camera will be a nice slr ...but in a long time

 

[acidrain]

for 1k what more can i ask for lol

im trying to get little out of the features....soon il get me a slr but this is for an intro into photography

Indeed, I couldn't ask for more outta my one. Absolutely loving it.

@Roux Must say that Canon SX50 HS is very tempting as a next camera.

 

[Rouxenator]

@Roux Must say that Canon SX50 HS is very tempting as a next camera.

Just a pity it uses a battery pack instead of normal AA batteries.