Time long exposure mode - which current Nikons support it?

I just noticed that neither the D610 nor the D800 has the time long exposure shutter mode, where you trip the shutter by pressning it once and close it by pressing it a second time. My old D7000 had it in manual mode, I memory serves me right.

 

I suppose either multiple exposures or a cable release for the D800 should do the trick.

 

Does the D750, D810 or D850 support it?

For Nikon DSLRs, that functionality is not built into the camera body. One option is to get something like the MC-36A remote cord, which uses the 10-pin connection, compatible with the D800 but not the D610.

 

Some of those Nikon accessories are very expensive, but you may consider some third-party clones:

Vello ShutterBoss II Timer Remote Switch for Nikon RC-N1II B&H

 

I have neither used the MC-36A nor that Vello clone, but I have used other Vello remotes for Nikon. The ones I have used work well.

The Nikon Df has both the B and the T settings on the shutter speed dial.

The D7100 and D7200 have bulb and time settings in manual. For some reason the time setting is shown on the LCD screen as "- -" only.

 

When the IR remote is used, the bulb setting reverts to time.

 

The D3200 has no time setting on the dial, but also reverts to time when the remote is used.

I think the "T" setting went missing from most cameras years ago.

 

As Shun says, almost any cheap remote cable will have a lock on it to allow long time exposures without holding the button down manually. On simple release cables this usually consists of a plastic slide that covers the button and prevents it popping up until the slide is pulled back. Simple, but effective.

If you would like to use the B option, every Nikon DSLR has that shutter speed selection. All you need is a low-end electronic cable to lock it down until you release it. I mentioned the MC-36A (or third-party clone) because you can set a long exposure time up to 100 hours with it. If you are willing to press a button again to end the exposure manually with the B setting, you don't need such an expensive cable. Edited September 24, 2017 by ShunCheung

Thanks for your replies!

 

I did remember correctly and thanks Matthew Currie for reminding me how it worked! I did what I should have done in the first place and looked it up the manual of the D610. It worked like Matthew described, which testing also confirmed. The manual states Time is limited to a maximum exposure of 30 minutes.

 

Out of curiosity, I checked the manuals for D7500, D750, D810, D850 and the D500 - they all have it. The D7500, like the D610, requires the Nikon ML-ML3 remote for it to work but the other cameras do not require any external remote for Time to work albeit the D750 also work with the ML-ML3.

 

So no, it has not disappeared. :-)

I wonder if the "B" setting is also limited to 30 minutes?

 

Mind you, with no reciprocity failure a 30' exposure, even @ ISO 100, is going to capture a lot of black cats in coal cellars at midnight!

 

Anyone pushed a digital exposure beyond that? 90" is my limit as I recall, with a 12 stop ND on the lens.

I would think there would be a lot of noise as the sensor heats up, but I have not tried any really long exposures. Also wonder how long the battery would hold out?

 

 

Kent in SD

Here's a 45 minute exposure at iso 800 using a Nikon D610. I can't recall other details off the top of my head. The deep blacks help hide some of the noise

 

Here is one with the D810 that went for 40 minutes at ISO 800. It was taken at 3AM, 12,400 foot elevation, about -10F. The battery did fine, I only went through one on a night long shoot.

 

I had not more than a dozen hot pixels to get rid of.

 

As I recall, no it is not color corrected. That's pretty much the color of the bioluminescence.

Thanks, Les. Yes, bulb with a cable release.

Edwin and DB, both very nice images, demonstrating the effect of very long exposures. Glad to know the batteries hold up.

Using aperture priority for extremely long exposures would require the eyepiece to be well blanked.

 

Due to the position of the meter sensor in the prism, all Nikon DSLRs are very sensitive to stray light entering the eyepiece.

 

I'm not convinced that the overlapping leaf eyepiece shutter on higher-end Nikon's is entirely light-proof.

Using aperture priority for extremely long exposures would require the eyepiece to be well blanked.

 

Due to the position of the meter sensor in the prism, all Nikon DSLRs are very sensitive to stray light entering the eyepiece.

 

I'm not convinced that the overlapping leaf eyepiece shutter on higher-end Nikon's is entirely light-proof.

 

If you put the lens cap on and viewfinder blind on and shoot in A mode how long the shutter stay open? I don't think it's anywhere near 30 minutes.

If you put the lens cap on and viewfinder blind on and shoot in A mode how long the shutter stay open? I don't think it's anywhere near 30 minutes.

Bebu Lamar, in P, S and A the usable range for automatic exposure is 30"-1/8000s (or 1/4000s depending on camera). That is why you need M and B/T mode for these long exposures.

The light meter still works, which is why it is not all guesswork. Crank up the ISO to get a usable reading and then turn it back down while you multiply the suggested exposure time accordingly.

 

Albeit it not an extremely long exposure, it was still long enough for the night sky and some very weak lights behind me to cast light on the field and trees.

Bebu Lamar, in P, S and A the usable range for automatic exposure is 30"-1/8000s (or 1/4000s depending on camera). That is why you need M and B/T mode for these long exposures.

The light meter still works, which is why it is not all guesswork. Crank up the ISO to get a usable reading and then turn it back down while you multiply the suggested exposure time accordingly.

 

Albeit it not an extremely long exposure, it was still long enough for the night sky and some very weak lights behind me to cast light on the field and trees.

 

I response to Rodeo Joe who said for extreme long exposure you need to cover the eyepiece. Well for extreme exposure auto doesn't work as it ony 30'' max.

I was forgetting that auto exposure is limited to 30 seconds, but even to get that the viewfinder needs to be capped. Otherwise any light behind the camera will shorten the auto exposure considerably.

 

It's also something to watch out for if you wear spectacles so that your eye doesn't cover the eyepiece snugly. Any light sneaking into the eyepiece can upset the meter reading if the subject is in dim light.

I was forgetting that auto exposure is limited to 30 seconds, but even to get that the viewfinder needs to be capped. Otherwise any light behind the camera will shorten the auto exposure considerably.

 

It's also something to watch out for if you wear spectacles so that your eye doesn't cover the eyepiece snugly. Any light sneaking into the eyepiece can upset the meter reading if the subject is in dim light.

 

For long exposure and exposure on tripod I always use manual mode so the eye piece blind isn't needed. I do feel the Df without the finder blind is a cost saving I don't like.

Just for reference, I tried a very long exposure in bright ambient light with lens cap on, and there is some light leakage to the sensor on some cameras, so I'd still use the blinder for very long exposures, even though it has no visible effect on anything reasonably short.

Since I don't think it's been mentioned yet, I guess I should bring up the D810a? It lets you manually set longer exposures than a normal D810. I'd forgotten that the D810 (and D810a, but not D800) has a time mode (in addition to bulb). The D850 seems to have this too. (Sorry, Heimbrandt already said that but I'd missed it because I'm writing on a later page... I've clearly never got around to using it on my D810, partly because I live in very bad light pollution, but it's useful to know.) Edited October 3, 2017 by Andrew Garrard