7D / 5D II - best settings for sunsets/sunrises

[emilyray]

<p>Hello<br>

I have only had these cameras a couple of months and am not sure which are the best settings for sunsets/sunrises. I am shooting RAW and have a variety of lenses.<br>

If anyone could help me with some suggestions/hints or tips, they would be gratefully received.</p>

<p>I have the chance to go towards the Saudi border tomorrow, where there are huge sand dunes and apparently great sunests/sunrises.... Didn't post this before as only made the decision to go today!</p>

<p>Many thanks</p>

 

[RickDB]

<p>For landscapes, the usual things like tripod, MLU (LV), cable release are essential - LV works really well for accurate focussing on both the 5D2 and 7D. I usually shoot in AP mode (or manual). One useful tip is to set the WB to daylight - it prevents the camera from over correcting for the strong reds and yellows of sunrise/set so that when you preview your shots on the LCD you have better impression of how it really looks. Of course, if you are shooting in RAW you can adjust in post. As for lenses, any thing goes. I've shot dunes in Namibia with anything from 400mm to 10mm. With the long lenses you can get some interesting perspectives, but you have to watch out for atmospheric thermals distorting the image (can make for interesting shots though!). Don't forget to think panoramics too.</p>

[emilyray]

<p>thank you Rick, much appreciated and will try the WB trick!</p>

[PuppyDigs]

<p>Be careful when using a nekid tele for sunsets/sunrises. Besides obvious danger to eyes the concentrated heat from the sun--think magnifying glass and ants--can fry the inside parts of the camera. LV left on for a few minutes can really cook things...</p>

<p>I like to spot meter an area of the sky near the sun I would like rendered as a medium tone and let the other tones fall where they may.</p>

[zigzag]

<p>If　you　can get there before sunrise or stay after sunset then　can get some wonderful colour in the sky using longer exposures. Before the sun comes up the sky can contain a wonderful blue that you may noｔ　necessarily recognise with the naked eye. Try Bulb mode with the camera on a tripod and a cable release.　　Ｄｅｐｅｎｄｉｎｇ　ｏｎ　ｈｏｗ　ｄａｒｋ　ｉｔ　ｉｓ　ｗｈｅｎ　ｙｏｕ　ｓｔａｒｔ　ｙｏｕ　may　ｈａｖｅ　ｔｏ　ｌｏｃｋ　ｔｈｅ　ｃａｂｌｅ　ｒｅｌｅａｓｅ　ｓｈｕｔｔｅｒ　ｏｐｅｎ　ｆｏｒ　１ or 2 minutes (play around with it and see what you get.) You might want o turn on LENR too and use Live View for manual focusing.</p>

[markonestudios]

<p>LENR - Long Exposure Noise Reduction - in case you were wondering :)</p>

<p>Emily, yes, I recall you were going to the middle east and had asked for gear advice a while back. You have received good advice already. Using a long telephoto you can create some stunning abstracts and then wide angle lenses for those panoramics and dramatic skies. I would hasten to add that you should take precautions to protect your gear from the sand. It doesn't do too many good things for electronics :) It won't be fun getting caught in a sandstorm with unprotected lenses and bodies!</p>

<p>Also, you may want to carry a couple of relevant filters: perhaps a Neutral Density (and/or graduated ND) filter and a circular polarizer as well. The former can help balance sky vs sand exposure; the latter helps cut down on unwanted reflections, boost the hues in the sky. Both types also have an overall effect of reducing light coming into the lens, allowing you to use lower shutter speeds than you normally would get. This makes for some interesting long exposure effects e.g cloud motion, etc.</p>

<p>Enjoy your shoot!</p>

[David_Cavan]

<p>I have found that the combination of graduated neutral density (usually just one if you are stacking them) and slightly under-exposing (maybe 1/2 a stop) leaves the sun as a big bright ball without too much in the way of "rings" around it. I shoot in RAW, then work a gradual increase in exposure in the RAW picture after downloading to the computer. What I did recently in the Florida Keys for a sunset was setup on a tripod, and bracket from one stop under to 1/2 a stop over. The best shot was the 1/2 under. That was using a 70-200 on a 60D.</p>

[emilyray]

<p>thank you all - fingers crossed there will be no sandstorm! and I will give all the other suggestions a try - I do have ND and polariser filters just not sure which lens they will fit, as I got new ones recently - need to check my gear!</p>

<p>will pop back to let you know how I get on....</p>

<p> </p>

[simon_t1]

<p>Which is the best strength recommended for the ND filter(ie. 0.9, 1.8, 3.0 etc.)<br />Thanks and sorry for interrupting</p>

[David_Cavan]

<p>I don't know about the "right" strength. I use both a 0.3 and a 0.9 Cokin (I know, but it's cheap). That equals either 1 or 3 stops at the darkest side. Once in a while I will stack two of them, but you get quite a "not-real" look when you try that. For sunsets I use the 0.3 for one stop usually, but have played with the 0.9 and you get an interesting look - certainly the foreground exposure is better matched to the brightly-lit sky.</p>

[dan_south]

Setting the white balance to daylight works, but since you can do this just as easily during post-processing when

shooting raw, why not let the camera take a guess with Auto white balance? If you don't like the guess, just select

daylight or flash or something else on your desktop. Auto gives you one additional choice.

 

Live view is great, but I wouldn't call it essential unless your lenses don't auto focus correctly, in which case they

shoiuld be repaired by Canon.

 

Exposure is critical. Shooting directly into a sunset presents exposure nightmares. Except for the last couple of

minutes before it sets, the sun is too bright and the rest of the scene is too dark. If you can silhouette some object by

placing it in front of the sun, that might work better. Always bracket the exposure on your sunset short.

G

Alsunsets can be dull if they are blocked by clouds in the west. Plan to shoot for about two hours, from 1.5 hours

before sunset to 30 minutes afterward. Somewhere in this range you should get some good light. If you show up ten

minutes before sunset you could miss the best light of the day.

 

If there are clouds in the sky (but not solid overcast), consider turning your back to the sun and taking some shots as

those clouds light up 20-30 minutes before sunset.

 

Turn off IS.when using a tripod.

 

Make certain that the camera is level if your composition contains a horizon. Place the horizon somewhere other than right in the middle of the frame. Anywhere in the 10 to 40 percent range from the top or bottom of the frame should work well.

[Stock-Photos]

<p>In this <strong><a href="../photo/11546511">sunrise photo</a></strong> of mine, exposure compensation was set at minus 1 and 1/3.</p>

<p>This <strong><a href="../photo/11546395&size=lg">sunset photo</a></strong> of mine was shot at minus 2 and 2/3.</p>

<p>I tend to like the saturation increase that come with under exposing a sunset or sunrise.</p>

[emilyray]

<p>hello all,<br>

thank you for all the info - well, we had a fab time away but the sunrise/sunsets do seem to be better at the moment where I live (with cloud/some haze/dust etc) than where we were - they seemed rather bland, the sky didn't light up.... hey ho!<br>

please see link below for some photos of our mini break - it is about 5 hours from where we live, but definitely worth going!<br>

<a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=630378&id=557220564&l=82887a130a">http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=630378&id=557220564&l=82887a130a</a></p>

<p>cheers<br>

Em.</p>