PIXELMANIA! You In?

Solo trips are nice even if you aren't there just to photograph . ; I've always had at least a few days solo on each trip and it is so nice to be able to see what I want when I want with no one telling me we have to be somewhere at a particular time (show/meal/etc.). ;
 
Nancy and I will most likely not be there. ; It looks like we'll be traveling to China in November to get Kai. ; So, the ability to get to WDW in very early December seems an impossibility. ; Especially considering I don't get paternity leave for Kai or the birth of my child in March
 
Wow, Ray, that was fast, wasn't it? ; Or has it been longer than I remembered? ; We'll catch you, Nancy and your kids in the future! ; Hope everything works out and bring back pics from China to show us (and not just of Kai, either. :) )
 
So now I have discovered that I will be bringing all 3 of my digital cameras to Pixelmania. ; I was playing around with my "old" Kodak 4mp camera and realized that the exposure settings are not locked out like my newer Sony. ; That means I can go from f2.7-f8 and 16" to 1/3200 with no restrictions. ; Now I can start taking some of those Fancy-Shmancy Night-time photos. ; All I have left to do is find a small mirror to attach to the newer Sony so I can use the IR remote from behind the camera (for fireworks).
 
"RedOctober25" said:
So now I have discovered that I will be bringing all 3 of my digital cameras to Pixelmania. ; I was playing around with my "old" Kodak 4mp camera and realized that the exposure settings are not locked out like my newer Sony. ; That means I can go from f2.7-f8 and 16" to 1/3200 with no restrictions. ; Now I can start taking some of those Fancy-Shmancy Night-time photos. ; All I have left to do is find a small mirror to attach to the newer Sony so I can use the IR remote from behind the camera (for fireworks).
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You shouldn't have any restrictions on your Sony camera at all for taking night shots - Do you still have the DSC-H50? ; If so, you should be able to enter 'S' (shutter priority) mode, and choose a shutter speed between 1/2000 to 30 seconds. ; In 'A' (aperture priority) mode, you should be able to choose any aperture from F2.7 (at wide) to F8, and the camera will select the shutter speed between 1/2000 and 8 seconds. ; Finally, in 'M' (Manual) mode, you can actually choose any shutter speed from 1/4000 to 30 seconds AND any aperture from F2.7 to F8. ; Plus, your ISO can be fixed manually from 100-3200 or kept on auto.

I believe the only modes that restrict your shutter speeds and aperture range are the 'green camera' auto mode, the 'P' (Program) mode, and the scene modes. ; I took thousands of night shots to great effect with my H5, the forerunner to your H50...up to 30 second shutters.
 
"zackiedawg" said:
You shouldn't have any restrictions on your Sony camera at all for taking night shots - Do you still have the DSC-H50? ; If so, you should be able to enter 'S' (shutter priority) mode, and choose a shutter speed between 1/2000 to 30 seconds. ; In 'A' (aperture priority) mode, you should be able to choose any aperture from F2.7 (at wide) to F8, and the camera will select the shutter speed between 1/2000 and 8 seconds. ; Finally, in 'M' (Manual) mode, you can actually choose any shutter speed from 1/4000 to 30 seconds AND any aperture from F2.7 to F8. ; Plus, your ISO can be fixed manually from 100-3200 or kept on auto.

I believe the only modes that restrict your shutter speeds and aperture range are the 'green camera' auto mode, the 'P' (Program) mode, and the scene modes. ; I took thousands of night shots to great effect with my H5, the forerunner to your H50...up to 30 second shutters.
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I haven't figured that out yet then. ; Whenever I enter the PASM modes it limits all the options that it doesn't want you to take a "bad" photo. ; The lowest shutter speed I have been able to attain that way is 1/4 of a second. ; I can ramp it up to 1/4000, but the only way to get more that a quarter second is to shoot in the "Fireworks" Scene mode. ; I may have to quick lesson at Pixelmania if there is a workaround.
 
Guess what I did... I read the manual again! ; Anyway, I figured out what was wrong with my camera/me. ; I mainly shoot sporting events and use the continuous shooting mode almost exclusively. ; Within that mode you are only able to shoot 1/4 to 1/4000 and an ISO of 80 to 400. ; However, when I turned off the Continuous mode I was able to run it down to 30 seconds. ; You know, I had even e-mailed Sony about this and they gave me a blanket statement with no help what so ever. ; Guess that leaves my Carry-on bag a little lighter. ; Thanks Justin for making me dig deeper.
 
Glad to hear you figured it out! ; I don't have the H50, but I have had the H1 and H5 and many years experience shooting with those cameras - from the Sony boards I occasionally follow, I knew the H50 hadn't changed those parameters from the H5. ; Now, set those apertures around F4-6.3, 5-10 seconds of shutter, and the lowest ISO, and rattle off some awesome night shots!
 
"RedOctober25" said:
Guess what I did... I read the manual again! ; Anyway, I figured out what was wrong with my camera/me. ; I mainly shoot sporting events and use the continuous shooting mode almost exclusively. ; Within that mode you are only able to shoot 1/4 to 1/4000 and an ISO of 80 to 400. ; However, when I turned off the Continuous mode I was able to run it down to 30 seconds. ; You know, I had even e-mailed Sony about this and they gave me a blanket statement with no help what so ever. ; Guess that leaves my Carry-on bag a little lighter. ; Thanks Justin for making me dig deeper.
Click to expand...

Yep, the manuals aren't easy to read sometimes but they hold the keys to many mysteries. ; BTW, does it have a Bulb setting? ; That would allow you to open up the shutter and leave it open for as long as you want and then close it. ; It's a handy setting to use for fireworks.
 
Nah...no bulb settings. ; That's not something I've ever seen on ultrazooms or prosumers. ; Most of them cap at 30 seconds...which is still reasonably long enough to pull in as much light as you'd need for most situations, especially considering the depth of field advantage the small sensors give which allows you to shoot reasonably wide open (2.8) and still get everything in focus. (the flip-side of course, is that you generally don't have the shallow DOF for when that effect is desireable).

When I shot with my H5, I would use 20-30 seconds a lot for dark night scenes...always got very good results. ; Key was low ISO to keep any noise at bay.
 
I'm sure Tim's giving it a lot of thought this week while he's scouting out locations at Disney World. ; ;)
 
finally got my plain ticket purchased. Looking forward to meeting everyone. Are there any threads for ADR's? Traveling solo and would be nice to share a few meals.
 
there should be a schedule of events coming soon. ; i don't think adr's has even been discussed at this time but if you want to start a thread about it, please feel free!
 
I'm getting closer and closer to being able to commit and officially register for at least the Saturday events. Can't wait until we get the 'schedule of events' and to meet folks! :)

Zeagle, great idea about the ADRs....I think that we definitely should plan it out. :D
 
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