Morning All,

To take a long exposure at sundown or dusk what should the settings be to capture a long exposure and what would the exposure time be ?  I've really only ever been able to take standard photos by hitting the left button on the RC to take a still shot, as well as manually adjusting the exposure in the camera settings. Would be good to experiment with more functionality. The long exposure is of interest to me, as is the time lapse.

Cheers
Rob

Hi, Rob. You can lower the value of ISO and reset the EV. I would recommend you take a few pictures and choose the best setting according to the environment. Hope it can help.

DJI Elektra Posted at 2017-12-10 19:30
Hi, Rob. You can lower the value of ISO and reset the EV. I would recommend you take a few pictures and choose the best setting according to the environment. Hope it can help.

Thanks Elektra. So there is no overall button to select to take a long exposure as there may be on an SLR Camera (where you here the aperture stay open for an extended period -obviously you cannot here the drone..).

Just play with the settings. that is what i did. Even look up some youtube videos about it.

jreynolds5 Posted at 2017-12-14 06:59
Just play with the settings. that is what i did. Even look up some youtube videos about it.

[view_image]

Wow. You did a great job. The pictures are so beautiful. Well done.

jreynolds5 Posted at 2017-12-14 06:59
Just play with the settings. that is what i did. Even look up some youtube videos about it.

[view_image]

What settings did you choose? Amazing.

Rob Hulford Posted at 2017-12-14 02:47
Thanks Elektra. So there is no overall button to select to take a long exposure as there may be on an SLR Camera (where you here the aperture stay open for an extended period -obviously you cannot here the drone..).

That setting on a DSLR camera is called BULB where the shutter is open for as long as you hold the shutter button. That causes shake on the camera though and no one uses it.

To take long exposures, first dial in your settings then press the shutter speed and wait for the end result. With long exposures it's a waiting game but it's worth it

To take long exposures during, lower your iso as much as possible (with the mavic I always keep it at 100iso to avoid noisy photos) then dial up you shutter speed until you are happy with the photo. If you want either light trails or that "creamy" water look, your shutter speed has to be at least 1 second long. If the photo appears to bright at the sunset, that means there is too much light so I'd suggest using an nd filter.

Like I said it's all trial and  error until you get you hit that sweet spot.

Long exposure with the mavic, a little bit after sunset: (iso 100, ss 1.3seconds)


Another long exposure with the mavic when it was pitch black at night (don't exactly remember the settings but iso100-200 & shutter speed 3-4 seconds)
edit: sorry for the instagram links above, tried to attach the photos but they didn't appear so I just link my instagram photos

Sorry Rob but there is no fixed shutter or aperture speed that I can put forward. It's always a case of suck it and see to get the best shots at sunrise / sunset. It's obviously different to where you are in the world but the basics are more or less the same. It's taken me a while with the Mavic and the P4A but getting there now in getting the shots I'm after. It's frustrating but worth the effort. As per answer number 7. Enjoy the settings.

travelrikk Posted at 2017-12-16 04:22
That setting on a DSLR camera is called BULB where the shutter is open for as long as you hold the shutter button. That causes shake on the camera though and no one uses it.

To take long exposures, first dial in your settings then press the shutter speed and wait for the end result. With long exposures it's a waiting game but it's worth it

Thanks Rikk, I'll have a real good look at this. I'll post back when i've tried it out. Its a beautiful day today so may have a good opportunity for a fantastic sunset.. Watch this space  ;)

Ahmed Hussain Posted at 2017-12-16 02:43
What settings did you choose? Amazing.

I believe I was as 100 iso and abot 2.5-3 seconds shutter, but I am not quite sure. I played with settings and tried multiple setting in a span of a few minutes and saved the best ones.

DJI Elektra Posted at 2017-12-16 01:48
Wow. You did a great job. The pictures are so beautiful. Well done.

Thank you very much. i like to 'play' with the settings and try new things. I usually have a game plan but not always. If I want to try something I usually google or youtube it so I at least have some idea of what i want to accomplosh. I also am not a fan of heavy editing.

Rob Hulford Posted at 2017-12-18 04:38
Thanks Rikk, I'll have a real good look at this. I'll post back when i've tried it out. Its a beautiful day today so may have a good opportunity for a fantastic sunset.. Watch this space  ;)

keep us posted with photos ;)

done be afraid to make mistakes, that's how you learn

Great night pics - must have a play after dark. In Australia we are not supposed to fly after sunset, so I will be cautious about where and when.
Odly, after dark it is so easy to fly by line of sight with the strobes so visible.