Nikon D5100

[bayoubelle]

I just got my new Nikon D5100 last week and took it to our fireworks display on the 4th. I had researched it to get the best settings to try to get good shots of the fireworks. Everything I read said to set it on BULB and use a remote so you didn't shake the camera. I bought the remote at our local camera store and the lady showed me how to set the camera to remote. I set the ISO, f stop, etc before the show started so I would be sure to have everything set correctly before it got dark. When the fireworks was about to start I set it to remote and found out that you can't use BULB and remote at the same time. When I set it to remote it wouldn't come up on BULB. All I could get was TIME. So I had to use the timer instead. I played with different times and did have some success but I don't understand why you can't use these two settings together. Does anyone have any idea? When I had it set on BULB I couldn't set it to the remote setting and vice versa. It's not a big deal but I would have liked to have had a little more control over the shutter.

[chipmaster]

Sorry to hear of your frustration, the D5100 is a fine camera.

 

I've had luck doing this:

1) ISO 200

2) Focus at infinite and on M

3) F-stop between F5.6 to F11

4) Shutter set between 3-5" With that long an exposure a little shake on a good tripod shouldn't be an issue just pushing the shutter.

 

Adjust 3 and 4 to adjust for wind and how many fireworks you want.

 

Always try a dry run before the real thing with new equipment, I've had that happen to me again and again :o

 

I just got my new Nikon D5100 last week and took it to our fireworks display on the 4th. I had researched it to get the best settings to try to get good shots of the fireworks. Everything I read said to set it on BULB and use a remote so you didn't shake the camera. I bought the remote at our local camera store and the lady showed me how to set the camera to remote. I set the ISO, f stop, etc before the show started so I would be sure to have everything set correctly before it got dark. When the fireworks was about to start I set it to remote and found out that you can't use BULB and remote at the same time. When I set it to remote it wouldn't come up on BULB. All I could get was TIME. So I had to use the timer instead. I played with different times and did have some success but I don't understand why you can't use these two settings together. Does anyone have any idea? When I had it set on BULB I couldn't set it to the remote setting and vice versa. It's not a big deal but I would have liked to have had a little more control over the shutter.

[zackiedawg]

I'm assuming you were using a wireless infrared remote? If that's the case, then unfortunately you need to engage the camera's wireless mode, which can often override other settings or not work in certain modes...so this is likely what happened with you.

 

The other option would be to go with a wired remote - with one of these plugged into the accessory port, you should be able to control the camera shutter in all modes, including bulb. The wired remote includes a shutter lock function so the shutter can be left open for as long as you wish in bulb mode.

 

Wireless remotes tend to be more useful for people doing self portraits and such - I always preferred hard-wired remotes for long exposure photography and bulb mode shooting.

[bayoubelle]

I set it on ISO 100, f 8 and then tried different timer settings. I did have some trouble trying to focus since the fireworks were launched from a barge on the river and there are no buildings in view on the other side. I just focused on the lights on the other side of the river and that worked pretty well. I just can't understand why the BULB and remote setting don't work together. I thought maybe it was something I was doing wrong. But the remote itself worked really well. I had fun with it.

[bayoubelle]

Yes. It is a wireless remote. But as long as I know how the camera works, I can deal with it. I just thought I was not setting the camera correctly. The timer worked fine. As soon as the camera finished taking one picture I clicked the remote again and started the process over. Some of the pictures came out really good.

[zackiedawg]

Should you ever want to do bulb exposures using a remote, you could always shop around for the Nikon MC-DC2 wired remote, which will allow the full range of camera controls with shutter actuation and lockdown.

[bayoubelle]

Thanks. I may check into a wired remote. I appreciate all the info!

[awboater]

Here is the way my D90 works. Since many of Nikon's functions is common across cameras, I would not be surprised if your 5100 works the same.

 

"Bulb" is only displayed if you don't set the wireless remote active.

 

In bulb mode, you have to use a wired remote (or keep the shutter release depressed on the camera - which is not very practical).

 

If you set the wireless remote active, you will see the display for the shutter speed change from "bulb" to "- -". But this is bulb mode for the wireless remote.

 

Then, to use the wireless remote (with the shutter displaying "- -"), depress the remote and the shutter will close, and remain closed.

 

To complete the photo after your desired elapsed time, depress the remote again, and the shutter will open.

 

This alleviates the need to keep the remote depressed during the entire exposure.

 

When using a wired remote (and the display indicating "bulb"), you have to hold the remote down for as long as you wish the shutter to remain open.

 

I think the display changes from "bulb" to "- -" to differentiate that in bulb, you have to keep the shutter depressed (with a wired remote), but in -- mode, you depress the wireless once to open the shutter, and again to close it.

 

I have a 3rd party aftermarket remote that has a lock on the shutter release button so that I don't have to hold it down either.

 

Also, on my D90, there is only one IR receiver on the front of the camera. Some Nikons have two IR receivers, one on front and one on the rear, but I am not sure off hand if the D5100 has one or two.

 

And on my D90, bulb or -- is only available in manual mode.

 

If you buy a wired remote, make sure you get the right one. Nikon DSLRS have different connectors for the Remote/GPS/Utility port, so make sure the remote is for a D5100. Again, I don't recall which one it requires, so just make sure the remote says specifically that it works with the D5100.

 

Anyway, see if your D5100 works like the D90 does.

[bayoubelle]

My D5100 has two IR receivers, one on the front and one on the back. The one on the back is the one I was using when I used the remote Monday night. I loved that because after I set up the camera I could watch the fireworks. I just kept pushing the button on the remote to take the pictures. I didn't feel like I missed the fireworks just to take some pictures of them.

 

Anyway, I just tried it and when I set it to Manual and "Quick Response Remote", instead of BULB I get the word TIME, not "--". After the word TIME, there is 30" and so on. That is what I used Monday night. I tried different settings from 5 seconds to 30 seconds and some of the pictures came out really good and some not so much. But later I may look into the wired remote just to play with. I'm still trying to figure out all the settings and how to set the camera for different situations so that will keep me occupied for quite a while I'm sure!

 

Thanks!

[awboater]

I looked at the D5100 manual, and it is almost identical to the D90 instructions other than the 5100 uses "TIME" whereas the D90 uses "- -".

 

Per page 66 of your manual, when using the LM-M3, the shutter is supposed to stay open for 30 minutes, or until you depress the remote the second time, so I am certain you will get it to work if you experiment with the settings.

 

I did find out that my D90 also has a 30 minute limitation when using the LM-M3 wireless remote. I did not know that.

 

However, the manual could be a mis-print. I didn't check to see if there is an errata sheet or not. And I did not check to see if my D90 stays open for only 30 seconds rather than 30 minutes, so perhaps I have the same limitation.

 

I use the wired remote normally, as my camera only has the front IR sensor. I have only tried the wireless remote for a few seconds - definitely less than 30 seconds - so who knows, perhaps my camera behaves the same.

 

I bought an off-brand ("Shoot" brand) MC-DC2 wired shutter release for my camera - which should be the same release as your camera would use. It was under $10.

[bayoubelle]

I will try to play with it this weekend and see if the TIME will let me use the remote to open and close the shutter myself instead of the timer. I don't think I actually tried this at the fireworks show because I thought it meant you had to use the timer.

 

The remote that I bought at the camera store is a universal remote. It is a ProMaster SystemPRO Infrared Remote Control. It works on a few brands of cameras. I wish they had had the Nikon remote because it only has one button. This one has a bunch of buttons and you have to press the one for Nikon to get it to work.

 

Thanks for the help!

[awboater]

You can get the Nikon ML-L3 from Amazon for under $15. For that amount, you might save yourself more value in reducing frustration...

[bayoubelle]

That's what I would have done, except I needed it for the fourth and the camera shop was the only place in town I could find one at all this past weekend. It works fine if you just keep your finger on the right button. I may still look for the wired remote later though.

 

My next challenge is going to be trying to photograph the full moon next week!