Long Exposure Tips Needed

[Ted Striker]

Hey All,

I'm out on a trip with my TX-1 and should have researched this earlier. I want to do some long exposure shots at night and want to know what tips you have to make this successful. Reading about this on the interwebs says that the meter is very poor in low light. Should I ignore the meter and just use an iPhone app to calculate exposure?

Is it safe to use the B mode all the way up to 30 seconds? Some web pages reference a bug in the firmware that says the camera will rewind the film entirely after one shot if you hit the 30 second mark in B mode. That sounds nasty but I dont know if that has been corrected since then.

Thanks for any tips!! Wish I had a cable release. I'll be using my finger on the shutter button.

 

[Niko]

In very low light i wouldn´t use any meter, but estimate the exposure with some guide like this one: http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm#Light Intensity Chart

Remember to take into account your films reciprocity failure.

 

[oftheherd]

The above is good information. I remember using the top two charts in the 70s after finding it in one of the then current photo magazines. It is not perfect because none can be, not knowing what you want emphasized. I didn't look at all the other information at that link, but you need to look up reciprocity if you are using film, whether b/w or color. If you are on a trip you probably don't have time to experiment and look at results, so bracketing is a good idea. Film is the cheapest part of photography. Good luck, and share some of you favorite shots.

 

[Ted Striker]

I'll be shooting Acros so reciprocity is not really an issue.

 

[rogue_designer]

Does the TX-1 have a T setting? I know the TX-2 did, up to 30 seconds on T and B for longer than. I'd go that route if you have the option, since you don't have a cable release.

 

[Ted Striker]

In very low light i wouldn´t use any meter, but estimate the exposure with some guide like this one: http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm#Light Intensity Chart

Remember to take into account your films reciprocity failure.

That's a nice chart. Thanks.

 

[Ted Striker]

Does the TX-1 have a T setting? I know the TX-2 did, up to 30 seconds on T and B for longer than. I'd go that route if you have the option, since you don't have a cable release.

No, it only has B.

 

[snaefell]

In very low light i wouldn´t use any meter, but estimate the exposure with some guide like this one:

This is a great resource, thanks for it. Will be part of my bag in the future.

Remember to take into account your films reciprocity failure.

If you search for "reciprocity failure table" you will find a lot of information on this topic. Older films have quite a resonable reciprocity failure, while more modern films are less affected.