[murviper]

I have a K-5, I am going to Niagara Falls to take fireworks pictures.

I will be using a tripod with the K-5 shutter release.

I want to ask what is the best settings to use. I will be using a Sigma 10mm-20mm Wide angle lens.

Any help will be greatly accepted.

Thank You

[Docrwm]

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-beginners-corner-q/171612-how-phot...-properly.html

[MPrince]

Set your exposure mode to manual, aperture to f8, shutter speed to 1 to 5 seconds. Adjust to taste.

[murviper]

Set your exposure mode to manual, aperture to f8, shutter speed to 1 to 5 seconds. Adjust to taste.

Thank you MPrince I will give these settings a try.

[crewl1]

Here are my recommendations:

Get a spot upwind of the fireworks so the smoke will blow away from you.

Use a tripod

Set your camera to manual mode, manual focus.

Pre-focus at an object at the approximate distance the fireworks will appear in the sky, usually infinity is OK but check to make sure.

For these shots I used a DA 18-135 @ 18mm on a K-5 since I am usually close for this show.
If you are very far away you can use a narrower field of view.

Settings were ISO 100, f11, shutter speed 10 seconds.

If you want to let the camera do the work, set the camera to interval shooting, so it will take a shot every 12 seconds for up to 999 exposures.

Enjoy the show

[Docrwm]

Here are my recommendations:

Get a spot upwind of the fireworks so the smoke will blow away from you.

Use a tripod

Set your camera to manual mode, manual focus.

Pre-focus at an object at the approximate distance the fireworks will appear in the sky, usually infinity is OK but check to make sure.

For these shots I used a DA 18-135 @ 18mm on a K-5 since I am usually close for this show.
If you are very far away you can use a narrower field of view.

Settings were ISO 100, f11, shutter speed 10 seconds.

If you want to let the camera do the work, set the camera to interval shooting, so it will take a shot every 12 seconds for up to 999 exposures.

Enjoy the show

Larry,

I just had a Doh! moment in reading your post! "If you want to let the camera do the work, set the camera to interval shooting, so it will take a shot every 12 seconds for up to 999 exposures."

[crewl1]

Ha ha Yeah first time around I kept using the IR remote after each shot till I had my own 'Doh!' moment.
The 12 sec interval is to give the camera time to complete and write the prior exposure of 10 secs long each.
You could probably get away with 11 sec interval I guess, but 12 has worked consistently for me..

[rbefly]

Hello Murviper,
The link that Doc provided will give you some examples of different techniques, including the settings MPrince suggested.
That's pretty much what I've used with good success.
A few general tips:
A sturdy tripod, cable release, Bulb mode, f/5.6 to f/8.0, ISO 100 (or lowest setting), wide-angle lens, small flashlight.
Don't depend on auto-focus to track a moving display accurately or quickly without "hunting", or you're in for a lot of ruined shots. Pre focus on a solid object at infinity, then switch to manual focus. Check your focus (on the LCD) occasionally during the show.
Shoot wide, crop later. Each display will track slightly differently and there's no time to adjust after the launch.o
I just count "one thousand one, two thousand two", etc for three to five second exposures, but have heard of others using a lighted stopwatch stuck to the tripod for more accurate times.
Enjoy the show, don't worry if every shot isn't a keeper. There's a learning curve to timed exposures and the first try is just that- a first attempt, something to build on.
Good Luck!
Ron

[cali92rs]

In addition to what others have said, i would also bring a longer lens in addition to your 10-20mm, unless you know for sure that you will be real close to the fireworks. Otherwise, they will appear tiny and 50 miles away

[Docrwm]

In addition to what others have said, i would also bring a longer lens in addition to your 10-20mm, unless you know for sure that you will be real close to the fireworks. Otherwise, they will appear tiny and 50 miles away

I've taken with the 10-24 when its right in front of us at Epcot's Lagoon and with the DA50/1.4 when its further away at Magic Kingdom. Here locally I've even used the DA70 and the Vivitar 85/1.4 when we're further away. The 10-24 shots were more spectacular but the 85/1.4's were the most vivid.

[Allison]

I like using the cable shutter trigger and either an 8 or 10 second exposure - it gets you the right amount of trailing. As others have said, MF. If you don't do the interval shooting mode you can change you lenses every now.

This was from a parking garage:


I think this was my first time shooting fireworks:

[tclausen]

I have a K-5, I am going to Niagara Falls to take fireworks pictures.

I will be using a tripod with the K-5 shutter release.

I want to ask what is the best settings to use. I will be using a Sigma 10mm-20mm Wide angle lens.

Any help will be greatly accepted.

Thank You

From where will you be photographing the fireworks?

I generally find that (with a few exceptions) I end up using longer focal lengths - the last fireworks pictures that I posted on here were taken with a 40mm.....with a 10-20mm, it'd have been nothing but specks in the viewfinder. I've occasionally used up to 200mm for fireworks, actually.

I usually start out at f/16 (on the 40/2.8) for about 5-10s, and see how it goes, adjusting from there. Not all flares are of the same intensity.

The "danger" in fireworks is overexposure of the individual flares, and exposure is controlled (in fireworks) exclusively with the aperture. The amount of "fireworks" you get on each frame is determined by the shutter speed.

These flares were rather bright, so I went to f/19 for about 7 seconds, but I should have exposed for longer to get more into the frame.



Oh, and it's cheating to combine several shorts in photoshop, to get a more "spectacular" shot

[mike.hiran]

I'd suggest bringing multiple focal lengths too - when you get to where you're going to be, take some test shots to see how you want to frame the shot. And you'll probably want to make some changes on the fly too. Some nice shots posted too - I really like the one w/ the stadium in the foreground. Sounds like a great opportunity - good luck!

[MegaPower]

http://www.dchome.net/data/attachment/forum/201301/01/195955hhyvbm4m1mhch458.jpg
I found f8-f11 is good.
timing, 2s-10s depending on the firework
ISO 100-400.
Original picture is much sharper than the web size pic.

[murviper]

May be heading to Walt Disney World in Florida for our 25th Anniversary. Will be taking my Sigma 50mm lens and also my Lensbaby composer with my sweet optic 35 as well. going to experiment to see how this turns out.