Went out for the first time to fly at night.  I opened the aperture up, and increased the shutter speed, but still couldn't seem to get enough light.  This is (the best of) what the pictures turned out to be.

Can someone help me understand how to make this better?

The aperture is fixed, and you didnt speed up the shutter speed at all??? The ferris wheel proves that...
That photo is fine.
Its dark....
You want more light, slow the SS down more, but introduce motion blur...

The ferris wheel wasn't moving.  That's why there is no motion blur.  Here is the first image that i took, that was with the shutter speed and ISO set lower.

I want to know as well. Been thinking of doing some night time flying.

Woe Posted at 2018-7-10 04:01
I want to know as well. Been thinking of doing some night time flying.

I've been reading a lot about night photography, and I'll be out again tonight, to try to get a better shot.
I'll let you know what I find.  I hope nobody minds going on this journey with me, because it may be a long one.  

While most will say don’t increase iso, a lot of noise can be reduced in post, so don’t be afraid to increase your iso, , also at night particularly when shooting with moving objects like cars and the wheel, using a long exposure, will get some awesome results, also make sure front leds are set to turn off when photo is been taking.

3-D Posted at 2018-7-10 04:27
I've been reading a lot about night photography, and I'll be out again tonight, to try to get a better shot.
I'll let you know what I find.  I hope nobody minds going on this journey with me, because it may be a long one.

I just fasten my seatbelt and I got shotgun let's roll

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-7-10 04:34
While most will say don’t increase iso, a lot of noise can be reduced in post, so don’t be afraid to increase your iso, , also at night particularly when shooting with moving objects like cars and the wheel, using a long exposure, will get some awesome results, also make sure front leds are set to turn off when photo is been taking.

That's likely what needs to happen.  the long exposure.

I found the settings of the 1st picture..

Digital Zoom Ratio: 0
Exif Version: 2.3
Exposure Bias Value: -5
Exposure Index: 0.25
Exposure Mode: Manual exposure
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure Time: 1/100  (@simmo1, you were right.  I guess i didn't increase shutter speed)
File Source: DSC
Flash: No flash function
FlashPix Version: 1.0
FNumber: 2.8
Focal Length: 4.5
Gain Control: None
Photographic Sensitivity (ISO): 3,200
Lens Specification: 0, 0, 2.2, 2.2
Light Source: unknown
Max Aperture Value: 2.971
Metering Mode: Average
Pixel X Dimension: 4,056

i'll try to do a long exposure and see what comes of that.  maybe that will give me what i'm looking for.
Thanks 007

Woe Posted at 2018-7-10 04:45
I just fasten my seatbelt and I got shotgun let's roll

ROLL OUT!!

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-7-10 04:34
While most will say don’t increase iso, a lot of noise can be reduced in post, so don’t be afraid to increase your iso, , also at night particularly when shooting with moving objects like cars and the wheel, using a long exposure, will get some awesome results, also make sure front leds are set to turn off when photo is been taking.

007,  I know that the front LEDs do turn off when taking a photo.  That is pretty much how i can tell when it is taking one, because those lights go off.  I'm going through all of the settings again now to make sure i've got them the way they should be to complete a long exposure.  Luckily, I can go back again and take these same shots.

3-D Posted at 2018-7-10 07:34
007,  I know that the front LEDs do turn off when taking a photo.  That is pretty much how i can tell when it is taking one, because those lights go off.  I'm going through all of the settings again now to make sure i've got them the way they should be to complete a long exposure.  Luckily, I can go back again and take these same shots.

Good luck, believe me it’s all about trial and error, even sparkbirds will tell you, to get shots he’s been taking of water long exposure 50 shots to get one/two good ones, hopefully wind will be in your favour

Since you guys already know about some of the dumbest things I've done with my Mavic Air, I'm not even ashamed to share this with you..

@simmo1 mentioned that i didn't change the shutter speed.  I just knew I had.  Well... it turns out that I had changed the shutter speed.  To FASTER, instead of SLOWER.  

So I've got it set for a much slower shutter and a high iso.  we'll see what happens when the sun goes down!

hallmark007 Posted at 2018-7-10 07:47
Good luck, believe me it’s all about trial and error, even sparkbirds will tell you, to get shots he’s been taking of water long exposure 50 shots to get one/two good ones, hopefully wind will be in your favour

I'm hoping I get another night like last night.  There was almost no wind at all!  I had to climb to around 650ft (198m) to get the shots that i've gotten, so I was really grateful for the lack of wind.

before anyone goes all rule & regs on me,  I'm well within the rules of altitude at 650' (198M).  I think for the location i'm in, and the proximity to buildings, and towers, I could go as high as 1200' and still be within the FAA regulations.  ATC actually just asked me to keep it under 1000' (365m)

Depending on what you want you can either
1. Go for SLOW shutterspeed and low ISO (so like 2s shutterspeed)
- Be prepared to take many shots. Possibly make for this automated one that takes a couple because many will have too much motion blur.
- This will give you these light trails some are after when something moves.
2. Go for faster shutterspeed (something like 0.5s) and boost the iso up a little
- You will introduce noise, but have less motion blur.
- No light trails.

Montfrooij Posted at 2018-7-10 10:02
Depending on what you want you can either
1. Go for SLOW shutterspeed and low ISO (so like 2s shutterspeed)
- Be prepared to take many shots. Possibly make for this automated one that takes a couple because many will have too much motion blur.

on this particular photo, the ISO was as high as the Mavic will allow.  3200
I'll up the shutter a little and see what happens.  i've got an empty SD so ive got space to take plenty

3-D Posted at 2018-7-10 12:35
on this particular photo, the ISO was as high as the Mavic will allow.  3200
I'll up the shutter a little and see what happens.  i've got an empty SD so ive got space to take plenty

I'll up the shutter a little and see what happens.

Try a shutter speed of 1/15th second, then 1/4 second, finally 1 second.
You may be able to back ISO off to 1600 or 800.

A balance between motion being blurred with slower / longer shutter times vs. noise increase with higher ISO numbers.

3-D Posted at 2018-7-10 12:35
on this particular photo, the ISO was as high as the Mavic will allow.  3200
I'll up the shutter a little and see what happens.  i've got an empty SD so ive got space to take plenty

Just try away and see what works best!
In general you will need (some) artificial lighting to make for an interesting photo.

Montfrooij Posted at 2018-7-10 13:47
Just try away and see what works best!
In general you will need (some) artificial lighting to make for an interesting photo.

yeah, just got back to the hotel.  prepping to head out.  We'll see what the night brings...

Thanks for the help and tips guys

3-D Posted at 2018-7-10 04:52
That's likely what needs to happen.  the long exposure.

I found the settings of the 1st picture..

If you use SS 1/2 sec and ISO 400 how do it look?
These two photos are taken at night with SS 1/4 sec and ISO 800 on P3S.



Just take more than few with each settings as when you go to SS more than 1/2 sec not all will
bee good. It is more likely just 5 - 10% will bee OK.

Try around 800-1600 ISO for 1-2 sec long exposure. If the air / wind is still enough you can take long exposure photos. I've done some at 8 sec 150' in the air to catch some star action.

Problem with long exposure and a moving camera is when the camera moves slightly enough and the pic is ruined. There have been nights here where I got 1 mph winds at 100' and was able to get some shots at the full 8 sec. Takes a lot of experimenting even on a fixed tripod with a DSLR let alone a moving camera with such a small sensor.

3-D Posted at 2018-7-10 15:55
yeah, just got back to the hotel.  prepping to head out.  We'll see what the night brings...

Thanks for the help and tips guys

           

So last night turned out to be a bust.  I got out to the park and found out that there was a lot of First Responder action going on, and ATC asked me not to fly.  ( i always check for NOTAMs or TFRs in dense areas)
Hopefully the hospitals will not be busy tonight, and I'll try again.