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What is bulb in a camera. What is Bulb mode? Use remote trigger

"Rotation of the starry sky" is a popular subject for shooting. To learn how to photograph it, you need to master the skills of shooting in the "Bulb" mode, which allows you to get a very long exposure - a classic technique for night shooting. We will tell you how to open the shutter of your camera for an arbitrarily long time.

Patrick Campbell/Getty Images

In Bulb shooting mode, you can keep the shutter open for as long as you like, from a few minutes to several hours.

In terms of photography, to capture the trails of stars, you need to shoot with a shutter speed of more than 30 minutes.

The simplest technique for photographing a "rotating starry sky" is to hold the shutter open for so long that the movement of the stars is imprinted in the picture in the form of many arcs.

Ambient light sources - lighting on built-up areas of the earth and, most often, the moon - are the main obstacle when shooting "moving stars".

Therefore, find a place for shooting free from "light noise". Choose a night when the moon is still young or will be below the horizon for the duration of the exposure. Use the internet to find the right place and time.

  • Learn more: Night photography - how to set up your camera and take pictures of anything.

A photo of a "moving starry sky" is possible if your camera is equipped with the "Bulb" mode. In order for the arcs to turn out bright and be clearly visible in the final picture, you need to photograph at an open aperture - f / 2.8 or f / 4. Then most of the light will reach the light sensor.

As with landscape photography, wide-angle lenses are best.

Step-by-step guide for shooting in Bulb mode

Step 1. Using Bulb Mode

To shoot in Bulb mode, use the remote shutter release. In this case, by releasing the shutter, you can keep it open for as long as you need.

Set the shooting mode on the camera to "Bulb" … , 0.5``, … , 5``, … The last mode will be “Bulb”).

Press the button on the remote control to open the shutter. Keep the button pressed as long as you want the shutter to remain open.

Step #2. Preparation

To create a good photo of a "rotating starry sky" choose a clear moonless night in a place far from any light noise. Before it gets dark, set up your camera on a tripod. Build the composition of the frame. Include interesting surroundings in the frame, such as a tree or a dark building.

Step #3 Shooting

Use a fully charged battery as while shooting in the "Bulb" mode, it quickly discharges. Set the aperture to open and the sensitivity to between 800 and 1600 ISO. Now wait until it gets dark or return to the shooting location a little later.

In Bulb mode, press the shutter button. To make star trails look spectacular, expose the frame for 30-180 minutes.

Bulb mode allows you to keep the camera shutter open for as long as you want. It could be a few seconds or a few hours.

Patrick Campbell/Getty Images

In order for the camera to capture star trails in the night sky, the shutter must be open for at least 30 minutes. The easiest way to take a picture is with tracks of moving stars. They look like arcs in the sky. The principle of photography is simple. You just need to open the camera shutter for a long time. Interference for the photographer is created by terrestrial light sources and the moon. Compared to stars, they are very bright and can create overexposure.

It is best to shoot outside the city during the young moon. In order for the brightness of the star tracks to be sufficient, you need to shoot with an open aperture (f2.8 or f4). It is better to use a wide-angle lens for shooting.

Instructions for shooting in "Bulb" mode

1. Bulb Mode

Shutter release is best done remotely. This will make it easier to keep the shutter open and eliminate camera shake. Switch to "Bulb" mode. Some cameras have hidden the mode we need at the very end of the shutter speed range. You need to switch to the "M" mode and increase the shutter speed until the "Bulb" mode is enabled.

Many remote shutter releases have a latch. This allows the button to be held down without any effort on the part of the photographer.

2. Preparatory work

For shooting, you should choose cloudless weather and find a place away from extraneous light sources. You can capture not only the sky in the frame, but also ground objects, such as trees, mountains, houses, monuments...

3. Shooting

Taking pictures in Bulb mode drains the battery very quickly, so you should think about it in advance. The aperture needs to be opened, and the sensitivity of the sensor should be increased to a value of 800 - 1600 ISO units. To create a spectacular shot, it is worth continuing to expose the frame from 30 to 180 minutes.

The slowest shutter speed that can be set in auto shooting mode to digital cameras, is equal to 30 seconds. This is sufficient for most plots. However, in some situations you may need longer exposures, such as after dark. This is where the Bulb mode comes in handy. You can expose the frame for as long as you need: minutes or hours.

The "Bulb" shooting mode has worked well for photographing a "rotating" star-studded night sky, moonlit nightscapes, night traffic, fireworks, light shows, and in scenes where long shutter speeds are used in combination with dense neutral (ND) filters .

The picture looks very impressive if you photograph several volleys of fireworks in one frame. Use some kind of light-tight barrier (such as a palm or a sheet of cardboard) to cover the front lens of the objective during the lull between salvos. The partition will act as a shutter, preventing light from reaching the photosensitive sensor.

The “Bulb” mode is activated on the camera or when the appropriate shooting mode is set: the letter “B” on the shooting mode selection wheel. Or, in manual mode (“M”), turn the control wheel until the shutter speeds become longer: 1 ’’, …, 10 ’’, …, 30 ’’. The "longest shutter speed" is the "Bulb" mode. The word “BULB” will appear on the screen instead of the shutter speed number.

In Bulb mode, the shutter stays open as long as you hold down the shutter button. This allows you to expose the frame for an arbitrarily long time. You can hold the button with your finger, but this is not practical. Use the shutter remote control.

Shooting in Bulb mode

Step 1: Eliminate camera shake

Take a tripod with you or find a sturdy stand to make sure your camera is stable during long exposures. Make sure the tripod is secured with extra weight or other means so that the wind cannot shake it. For stability, if necessary, place the camera lower to the ground. Disable any stabilization features built into the camera or lens.

Step 2. Connect the remote control

The remote control, equipped with a shutter button lock, will allow you to open the shutter for any period of time. Release the lock when you need to close the shutter to complete the exposure. Some remotes have a built-in timer that helps you set the exposure time accurately.

Step 3: Adjust your exposure settings

Bulb mode requires you to manually adjust the exposure settings. Before shooting, determine the aperture value and other parameters that affect exposure. Set your aperture to f/8 and experiment with your shutter speed. If the picture is too dark, slow down the shutter speed, if too light, shorten it. Shoot at a low sensitivity to minimize the appearance of digital noise in your photos.

  • Note. translator– And also to keep the smoothness of tonal transitions due to the maximum width of the dynamic (tone) range of the photosensitive sensor. If necessary, you can make the image flat, graphic at the processing stage, but to give it naturalness, plasticity - alas ...

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The slowest shutter speed that can be set in automatic shooting mode on digital cameras is 30 seconds. This is sufficient for most plots. However, in some situations you may need to, for example, after dark. This is where the Bulb mode comes in handy. You can expose the frame for as long as you need: minutes or hours.

The "Bulb" shooting mode has proven itself well in photographing the "rotating" night sky dotted with stars, night landscapes illuminated by moonlight, night traffic, light shows and in scenes where long shutter speeds are used in combination with fast shutter speeds.

The picture looks very impressive if you photograph several volleys of fireworks in one frame. Use some kind of light-tight barrier (such as a palm or a sheet of cardboard) to cover the front lens of the objective during the lull between salvos. The partition will act as a shutter, preventing light from reaching the photosensitive sensor.

The “Bulb” mode is activated on the camera or when the appropriate shooting mode is set: the letter “B” on the shooting mode selection wheel. Or, in manual mode (“M”), turn the control wheel until the shutter speeds become longer: 1 ’’, …, 10 ’’, …, 30 ’’. The "longest shutter speed" is the "Bulb" mode. The word “BULB” will appear on the screen instead of the shutter speed number.

In Bulb mode, the shutter stays open as long as you hold down the shutter button. This allows you to expose the frame for an arbitrarily long time. You can hold the button with your finger, but this is not practical. Use the shutter remote control.

Shooting in Bulb mode

Step 1: Eliminate camera shake

Take a tripod with you or find a sturdy stand to make sure your camera is stable during long exposures. Make sure the tripod is secured with extra weight or other means so that the wind cannot shake it. For stability, if necessary, place the camera lower to the ground. Disable any stabilization features built into the camera or lens.

Step 2. Connect the remote control

The remote control, equipped with a shutter button lock, will allow you to open the shutter for any period of time. Release the lock when you need to close the shutter to complete the exposure. Some remotes have a built-in timer that helps you set the exposure time accurately.

Step 3: Adjust your exposure settings

Bulb mode requires you to manually adjust the exposure settings. Before shooting, determine the aperture value and other parameters that affect exposure. Set your aperture to f/8 and experiment with your shutter speed. If the picture is too dark - lengthen the shutter speed, if it is too light - shorten it. Shoot at a low sensitivity to minimize the appearance of digital noise in your photos.

  • Note. translator- And also, in order to maintain smooth tone transitions due to the maximum width of the dynamic (tone) range of the photosensitive sensor. If necessary, you can make the image flat, graphic at the processing stage, but to give it naturalness, plasticity - alas ...

Almost all digital SLR cameras have a special mode that allows the photographer to go beyond the longest auto tuning shutter speeds of 30 seconds.

In fact, this special mode allows you to get an exposure of almost infinite duration.

This bulb modeor long exposure mode.

The shutter speed range on DSLR cameras ends at 30 seconds. The next click on the program dial is Bulb mode, which allows the photographer to manually hold the camera shutter open for as long as the shutter button is pressed. Setting the exposure to Bulb is only available in manual mode.

Bulb mode is basically a creative function. It allows you to take pictures with, the duration of which is calculated in tens of minutes. Typical example Use this feature to capture star trails when the night sky is clear of clouds. Simply point your camera at the north or south celestial pole, depending on your hemisphere.

Another common type of photography that can be taken in this mode is photographs of car navigation light trails at night. These moving lights will create patterns of stripes of white and red light emitted by the main and side lights of the moving traffic. If you are on the track near a road junction, you will be able to capture the orange patterns from the turning lights of the cars.

And if you're lucky, you might even be able to capture the blue stripe from the emergency vehicle's flasher.

Here are the three main conditions that you must meet in order to be able to shoot in Bulb mode, or in other words, in the camera's bulb mode.

  • Use .

Mount the camera on a tripod to prevent any camera movement that could spoil the picture. A tripod is only unnecessary if the camera is placed on a stable and solid base, such as a low brick fence. Turn off any anti-vibration devices you may have on your camera or lens.

  • Use the remote shutter

The remote shutter release will prevent vibration that could ruin a photo when you press the shutter button. No matter how careful your movements are, you will always make a slight movement of the camera when you press the shutter button. It doesn't matter when fast shutter speed, but in Bulb mode, camera movement (however slight) will be reflected in the final image. If you don't have a remote control, use the camera's built-in self-timer delay, which is just as effective. A delay of two seconds will be quite adequate.

  • Switch to manual mode

Since automatic metering is completely irrelevant when working in Bulb mode, switch the camera to manual mode.

  1. Next, select the appropriate