Setting Camera Up For Beamshots

Ok i have just a simple point and shoot camera but it does have iso settings and other things;

exposure compensation,
iso speed,
longtime exposure,

these are the few settings i have but what should i be doing with them
Or do i just keep playing around with shots until i get a setting that looks as close to what im actually seeing???

Or do i need a better camera??!!

thanks in advance,… ady

Buy you a good used $100 Fuji with manual exposure off of ebay.

I set mine for nite shots on manual 1.5” shutter which is 1.4 sec and use a focal of 4 and ISO of 400 on shots that are 100yds or farther. On closer up shots about 1” which would be 1 sec shutter is just about perfect.

I have a Fuji S8000fd. It has a 18X optical zoom. But I never use that much power for beamshots.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fujifilm-FinePix-S8000fd-8-0-MP-Digital-Camera-Black-Used-/200815434410?pt=Digital_Cameras&hash=item2ec1885aaa

What brand and model camera do you have now Ady? You should find the exact details on a manufacturers labels somewhere, possibly the bottom.

If I can find an online user manual I'll have a look for you.

If you can’t control the Shutter and Aperture settings, you will get pretty much the same beamshot from any flashlight beam that you photograph, except for the actual shape of the beam. It is in the nature of “automatic” settings to make the light look the same brightness and color whenever possible.

tell me more about these lens errors, i may be in the market for a p&s in the next few years and have traditionally bought canons
btw CHDK is awesome

I can’t go into great detail, but it’s something that comes up in Canon forums quite a bit. It’s usually the problem listed for parts cameras on ebay. As far as I know, once the error happens, the camera can’t be fixed.

the exact make of the camera is……

kodak easyshare m522 :slight_smile:

What are your settings for 1 meter beam shots? BTW, I have the same camera.

Also if the photo you are trying to take is roughly 50 feet, what settings would you use?

Indoor beamshots - manual settings won’t work right so I use the picture setting an the camera automatically sets the shutter speed which will be a very fast speed.

Crap, I thought I taught you better than that

:frowning:

troop,

Did I get that wrong?

I know I have tried manual setting during the daytime taking beamshots indoors and it always seems to underscore the beam.

Automatic shutter and aperture is fine if you’re just trying to get the beam pattern, but you need those to be the same settings in every beam shot that compares brightness. That means manual settings. It can take a few shots to determine the best settings.

ILIKE, indoor setting are just as important as outdoor settings, they just are not the same because the beam is brighter indoors so you have to manually set a faster shutter speed.

So if you were using 1.4” outdoors at 75 yards, indoors against a white wall you may use 1/60” instead.
What is important is that you find one that works pretty well at the range you have (say, 12 feet) and stay with that Shutter speed and Aperture setting in all your indoor beamshots.

If you don’t have a camera with manual setting, the best way to take consistent shots is use a spot or at least center-weighed exposure mode/setting and a reference light in the middle of the image (and target light to the side)

Beamshots in general are useless unless all taken on the same camera with exact same (manually set) exposure setting, but by using a reference for the exposure, the settings are not only reasonably consistent but the measured light is shown relative to the reference.

I looked at your camera’s manual, and your specific Exposure Metering mode is “Center-Zone”. If the spot for the reference light is oversaturated on default setting (spot completely white with no hint of darkness), you can use the exposure compensation to adjust metering downward. You can also try the long exposure mode which is available on your camera.

As an good example:

as a bad example of oversaturated spot.

yeah i might take it out with a couple of lights to have a go this weekend, iv found a perfectly dark golf course on the side of a track i can take the dog down. was thinking i can use a flag on a green as something to aim at to get consistant shots :slight_smile: iv not even tried my new nite fighter f30c yet so its a good excuse to go out and have a go with it :slight_smile:

Thanks Troop. I'll try to listen better. I'll experiment more with my camera on manual exposure for indoor beamshots. I just got mixed up the last time we talked apparently on indoor beamshots using manual settings like I was using outdoors at nite. So my bad.

It’s really only for consistency if you want to compare flashlights. The auto settings will attempt to make every picture exposed correctly, so for a dull flashlight it’ll use a longer exposure (and make it look brighter) and for a really bright flashlight it’ll use a shorter exposure (and make it look less bright).

Damn, I was trying to avoid buying a DSLR camera… but the Fuji’s look mighty affordable. Thanks…I think.
damn
damn
damn.