Otto fails. Powershot help needed.
January 28, 2011 9:43 AM   Subscribe

My Canon PowerShot SX10IS is used pretty much always on auto. I need to get a shot tonight and auto won't cut it. Success is way, way impossible without help.

There are French doors leading to an outside Juliet deck off the living room. On the deck (maybe 5' in?) is a 6' Christmas tree lit with white blinking LEDs, decorated with bird feeding stuff, and dripping with new snow. It is breathtaking. I want to take a night photo. Catching the snow buried lights is the main objective. Possibilities for lighting (inside and outside) and manual camera settings are needed badly. This will be a surprise gift for the friend with the tree. I have a one hour window of time in which I can sneak in, set the lighting, and take the shots.
posted by Pennyblack to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (9 answers total)
 
Look at CHDK. It's available fot the SX10IS as long as you have the right firmware.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 9:47 AM on January 28, 2011


I don't know the camera, and haven't got time to look up the manual, but you basically want to set it up on a tripod and do a long exposure. Ideally, turn off the inside lights and, if they're strong enough, just have it lit by the LED lights. Bear in mind that you'll need a fairly long exposure for this. Keep the ISO fairly low. Set the camera on a timer, so that your hand pressing the trigger button doesn't make it shake. Even so, be very, very timid around it, because the tiniest shake can ruin this sort of photo.

If that doesn't work, I'd put a sparing amount of light coming from the side. Maybe at about 30-45 degrees off to your left or right. But you'll have to make sure that the tree is well illuminated and that you're not overpowering the LED lights. If you can hide one behind it, a nice bright light might give it a nice halo, though you haven't got all that long to play with it.

If you get stuck, try a few different settings from the scene menu. Find the one that's closest to what you need and hone in on fiddling with the lighting to get the scene right. Be single-minded and work quickly. Good luck!
posted by Magnakai at 9:52 AM on January 28, 2011


Obviously, you don't want to use a flash. You're also going to want to either put the camera on a tripod, or a flat, level surface (and if you do the latter, you'll probably need to use the camera's "Timer" mode so that you can take your hands off of it before the picture is taken, reducing any blur that you might add to things. Image stabilization should be turned off if you're using a tripod or flat surface -- perversely it makes things worse if the camera actually *is* being held perfectly still.

You're also going to want to use a long-ish exposure to catch the lights and outdoor part of the scene. Set the camera to 'M' or Manual mode, set your aperture to the lowest number possible (f/2.8 if you're zoomed all the way out) This will largely be a trial & error procedure, and you'll need to consult the manual for the nitty gritty specifics.

Your biggest problem is going to be the French Doors. The lighting inside the house is going to be a LOT brighter than anything else in the scene. If you can dim the lights at all, you'll probably want to do that, or else have to resort to making everything on the deck *brighter* to match (including the LEDs, and I have no idea how you'd manage to make them brighter).

Also, when you're composing your shot, try to keep the rule of thirds in mind.


(No idea why that guy wants you to reflash your firmware. It's fine as it is)
posted by schmod at 10:05 AM on January 28, 2011


I'd leave almost all exterior lights (except the LEDs) off. You can play around with having small or distant interior light on to get a bit of the French doors. Set the camera to S (Shutter Priority) and take the shutter speed way down to 1/2 second or so. Take a photo. If it's too bright, increase the speed. If it's too dark, decrease the speed even more. Repeat.

A tripod will help enormously. You could also rest the camera on a table or a stack of books or such.

If the camera has a "Slow Syncho" flash (often indicated by a Flash lightning bolt with an S on it) you could try that in Auto as well.
posted by fuzzygerdes at 10:11 AM on January 28, 2011


A lot of good advice so far, and as people have said a tripod would be ideal for this. The main thing to remember is to take a lot of photos and pick the best one. Use the shutter timing modes people have mentioned and try a variety of settings, you won't be able to really tell which ones work best until you get a chance to look at the photos on a big screen.
posted by burnmp3s at 10:38 AM on January 28, 2011


If you don't have a tripod, look for a horizontal surface you can set the camera on. A bar stool or stepladder would probably work well. It's virtually impossible to get a decent long exposure if you're holding the camera while you do it.
posted by shponglespore at 11:26 AM on January 28, 2011


I have the same camera, and shoot mostly manual. Taken a lot of night shots lately. My phone # is in your memail box, if you want to chat.
posted by IAmBroom at 1:27 PM on January 28, 2011


i know one poster said to go to the lowest aperture number possible, which will increase the amount of light hitting your sensor, thus reducing the time needed for the shot. but i would throw out the idea that sometimes you want to do the exact reverse for these night shots - going to a large aperture number (6 or more) will make all the points of light in the picture into stars. usually they're points or globs of light, but on high aperture numbers, the aperture is so small that the blades interfere with the light and can give you the much desired look of turning your globs of led lights into 7 pointed stars (or however many blades you have)
posted by xdvesper at 3:43 PM on January 28, 2011


Response by poster: Subby here. Thanks so much for the help. IAmBroom: wow! My window of opportunity for stealth photography has closed for tonight. I'll study your suggestions tonight and take some practice shots. I hope there isn't too much of a thaw tomorrow.
posted by Pennyblack at 5:32 PM on January 28, 2011


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