Fireworks 5, Albert Park, Melbourne

When you are selecting a particular camera and lens for low light photography there are a few special issues to keep in mind and we will summarise some of the important considerations here.

In using high ISO settings bear in mind that if you use a tripod or monopod you can possibly use lower ISO settings and consequently get better image quality. High ISO is not necessarily always the best solution.

The Camera

With the camera the main issue to be aware of is the ISO capability of the camera.

DX Cameras

• D3000 – ISO1600,
• D3100 – ISO3200,
• D5100 – ISO6400,
• D7000 – ISO6400,
• D300s – ISO3200.

FX Cameras

• D700 – ISO6400,
• D3s – ISO6400
• D3X -ISO1600.

Many of the cameras indicated above do have ISO settings above those indicated, but the figures indicated above are the cameras maximum specified ISO, if an ISO setting above those indicated is selected, the image quality in respect to noise may not meet your needs. The above figures give a general comparison between cameras.

In general the best cameras for low light working in my opinion are the Nikon D700 and the D3s, these are both FX cameras with the larger sensor. The best DX camera for high ISO is the Nikon D7000.

Full details of the range of Nikon cameras are given in our Nikon Camera Review Section.

The Lenses

With lenses there are several factors affecting the low light capability of the lenses. Firstly the prime factor with lenses is the maximum aperture  and also a secondary consideration is whether the lens has the vibration reduction  (VR) functionality.

The maximum aperture with lenses can vary generally between f.1.4 and f/5.6. Here, there is an aperture variation of  four f stops and this variation can be a major issue when photographing in low light levels. Some lenses  have variable apertures and the aperture may vary from f/3.5 to f/5.6 as the lens zooms in and out from minimum to maximum focal length.

Many prime lenses have apertures varying from f/1.4 to f/2.8, an example of some of these lenses is as follows:

Nikon DX Lenses

Nikon FX Lenses (Full frame)

All of the above lenses are excellent lenses for low light photography, just select the lens based on the focal length you require.

Some of the best lenses for low light photography are the f/1.4 primes.

In using any of the above lenses with the VR functionality you will find that the VR facility will also be a great advantage when photographing stationary subjects. However VR is of no advantage when photographing moving subjects.

Full details of the range of Nikon lenses are given in our Nikon Lens Review Section.

Fireworks, Broadwater Parklands, Southport, Gold Coast, 1.

New Years Eve is a wonderful time for practising your fireworks photography skills. Once you have refined your fireworks techniques, fireworks are quite easy to capture.

Two main accessories will be required to capture the fireworks, a stable tripod and a remote release cable. For the fireworks, I used a Manfrotto 190D tripod and a Nikon MC-36 Multi-Function Remote control unit, a Nikon D700 camera and a 50mm f/1.8 lens.

The camera will need to be set to the lowest ISO setting, in this case it was ISO200 and an aperture of around f/8 to f/16 should be satisfactory. Generally I will use the camera set to the manual setting and the shutter speed to Bulb, and I hold the shutter open for several seconds to ensure I capture enough of each burst of the fireworks. Set the camera to manual focus and focus the lens manually on one of the fireworks bursts.

You images will look much better if you can get many bursts on the one frame. To achieve this I generally copy several images into Photoshop and place them in separate layers. The Layer Blending Mode will need to be set to “Screen” for all the fireworks images to be visible.

So on your next fireworks night get your camera out and go for it. Get some wonderful images.

Fireworks, Broadwater Parklands, Southport, Gold Coast, 2.

Riverfire, Brisbane, 2010

This image from Riverfire, Brisbane, 2010, was captured using three sererate exposures and merging them together in Photoshop CS5. The following is the sequence I used to obtain the final image.

• Take three seperate images with the camera on a sturdy tripod, using a remote cable release. Do not move the camera or tripod during this process.
• Import the three image files into Photoshop ( I did this using the raw files, NEF files as I was using a Nikon camera). Select File/Automate/Photomerge.
• Select Browse to import the images.
• Select Auto, do NOT select Blend Images Together, Then select OK.
• This will then import all the images into Photoshop and merge them all together to allign then up.
• Then using the LAYERS selections, select each layer seperately and adjust each layer. In this case I had three images which created three layers. I then adjusted the saturation and tones of each layer using Image/Adjustments/Curves.
• Then individually select each layer and select Screeen mode for each layer.
• Check that the final image is what you are aiming for.
• Then select Layer/Flatten Image, this will merge all the layers into a single layer.
• Do any final adjustments to the final file such as, saturation and exposure and curves.
• Job completed.

The above method of processing multiple images is much better than doing multiple exposures in camera, as it gives more flexibility in selecting suitable images after the event. Also each exposure which is to be incorporated into the multiple exposure can be individually adjusted and processed before being merged together.

Fireworks

Fireworks displays are generally very stunning and colorful. To capture those moments with a camera can be quite is a challenge. It is essential to use a tripod to hold the camera steady. Tripods can be inconvenient to use however they are almost essential to get stunning images. A cable release can also be very usefull to eliminate camera movement.

Find a suitable spot where you will have a clear view of the fireworks display. Also try to stay away from any street lights which may introduce flare into your lens.

An exposure time of around 1 to 4 seconds is generally good, you may even like to use shutter speeds longer than that. Use an ISO speed of 100 to 200, that should keep the camera sensor noise to an acceptable level. An aperture of f/5.6 to f22 would be a good range to try as the value will depened on the brightness of the fireworks.

Set your focus to infinity and set the camera to manual focus. Bring a small flashlight so that you can see the camera controls. Turn the camera flash off.

A multiple exposure to capture many bursts of fireworks on the one frame can add greatly to the visual impact of your fireworks images. An example of a multiple exposure is shown below.

Fireworks Multiple Exposure