Night Photography

How do I calculate exposure times for night photography?

My cameras inbuilt exposure meter only calculates shutter speeds up to 30 seconds long. Anything longer and you have to use bulb mode.

Hypothetical meter readings beginning at ISO 3200 to illustrate the relationship:

3200, f8 @ 20 seconds
1600, f8 @ 40 seconds
800, f8 @ 80 seconds
400, f8 @ 160 seconds
200, f8 @ 320 seconds
100, f8 @ 640 seconds

3200, f5.6 @ 10 seconds
1600, f5.6 @ 20 seconds
800, f5.6 @ 40 seconds
400, f5.6 @ 80 seconds
200, f5.6 @ 160 seconds
100, f5.6 @ 320 seconds

3200, f4 @ 5 seconds
1600, f4 @ 10 seconds
800, f4 @ 30 seconds
400, f4 @ 60 seconds
200, f4 @ 120 seconds
100, f4 @ 240 seconds

3200, f2.8 @ 2.5 seconds
1600, f2.8 @ 5 seconds
800, f2.8 @ 10 seconds
400, f2.8 @ 20 seconds
200, f2.8 @ 40 seconds
100, f2.8 @ 80 seconds

Since ISO is a measure of the sensitivity to light of a light-sensitive surface, either film or sensor, each step down the ISO scale means that the sensitivity of our film or sensor has been reduced by 1/2. Since the shutter speed determines how long our light-sensitive subject is exposed to light, our shutter must stay open longer for a correct exposure at a given f-stop.

As you change f-stops you have to remember that f2.8 admits twice as much light as f4 and f4 admits twice as much light as f5.6. The inverse is that f5.6 admits 1/2 as much light as f4 and f4 admits 1/2 as much light as f2.8.

DSLR Tips: Night Photography

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