Does the Amazon Basics remote control for Nikon cameras allow you to do bulb mode? I want to take pictures of star trails and my camera only lets me go up to 30 seconds so I was hoping to get a remote to let me do bulb. Here is the link to it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003L1ZYZ6/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza
http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Wireless-Control-Digital-Cameras/dp/B003L1ZYZ6
Just the basic IR remote should do the trick. I've done this with a D7000, though it's been a bit since the last time I did.
Basically, put the camera in manual mode and for remote control. The exposure should be a couple of dashes. Press once to open the shutter, and again to close it. The shutter closes automatically after half an hour in case you forget about it.
I'm pretty sure you can do the same with the D3200, though I may be mistaken. One with an intervalometer might be a safer bet.
The single-button ones are perfect for 90% of people. you just set the camera settings, aim the remote at the camera, push the button and done. If you want to do exposures longer than 30 seconds, set the camera shutter to 'bulb', press the remote once to open the shutter and then press it a second time to close the shutter.
The only real issue with such remotes is that, being IR, they require a line of sight with the the camera IR sensor on the front or back,- But again, 90% of the time that is not a problem.
I'd even recommend the generic Amazon brand trigger , as it is basically the same thing as the nikon brand and works largely just as well.
I've been meaning to do this with one of my own projects, but just haven't gotten around to it yet. I hope you find this idea useful.
If you're going to use an Arduino controller, then I highly suggest adding an Infrared LED light to trigger your camera for fully automated photography.
Most DSLR cameras can be triggered by IR. Here's a remote that I purchased for under $10 from amazon An Arduino controlled LED could easily be automated with some simple code and an IR-LED costing about 25 cents. The only thing that makes the Amazon remote worth $10 is that it is programmed to send the right pulses to that 25 cent LED.
Add a little bit of scripting and you could use a WiFi enabled SD card that could automatically transfer files to a PC and then automatically start VisualSFM.
I wish I could remember where I found the pulse width information for triggering Canon, Nikon, etc, but the info is out there.
I just bought this for my D750: Amazon
It works greats.
This one is pretty helpful.
Here's some quick advice after you've read that page.
1- Try to keep ISO as low as possible. The higher the iso number, the grainier the photos. This doesn't look good, especially when you're outside during the day. I've taken some beautiful beach photos in the past where I had assumed the iso was set to low, and came home, uploaded the photos, only to realize my mistake. All of them were basically garbage.
2- Aperture ("f") is so so so important to work with. You know how some portrait photos have the person/subject very clearly in focus, and everything in the background is this beautiful, blurry, colorful mess? That's achieved by having a low "f stop". Meaning, the lower that number, the more the camera will solely focus on the subject you want it to, and blur everything else. Some lenses do this better than others. That effect, by the way, is called "bokeh", and people (including me) are total suckers for it. It's so simple to do, and makes a photo so much more amazing, depending on what you're trying to shoot. Obviously, with a shot like the lovely one you shared, you want a HIGH f stop, because you don't just want the front canyons in focus; You want the entire view to be seen.
3- Shutter speed is by far the funnest to mess around with, in my opinion. When you want to catch an animal doing something quickly, you want a faster shutter speed. But maybe you want an incredible long exposure- This is used for shooting a star-lit sky that shows them brightly; This is what is used when you see a photo of a waterfall or river with that milky white, perfect flowing water. For these shots, a tripod, or even just a solid surface, must be used. I have been super creative with this in the past when a tripod wasn't nearby or couldn't be moved around the way I'd need it to be. I've placed the camera right on the ground before, with a cloth or something underneath. Be creative about it. Just make sure it doesn't move even a tiny bit!
Another thing to look into which is interesting and fun is HDR photography. I wouldn't suggest doing so until you've got the above stuff down, but it adds a whole new dimension to how photos can look. A lot of the photos we see online that we are swooned by are actually done using HDR. Some are just more obvious about it than others.
Shoot in Manual mode. I cannot stress this enough. It is the best mode, unless you are in a huge hurry and suddenly see something and know that one of the other modes will help you out quicker. Get a good tripod. It doesn't have to cost $400 like many do, but it should cost over $100 at least. I'd also recommend getting a remote. I have a super cheap one from Amazon that has worked just fine. This will help for long exposure shots when you don't want to touch the camera to effect the image, or when you have the camera on a cliff somewhere and don't want to run up to it every time. Also a great tool for "selfies" ;). Unlike a lot of the other equipment, this is not one of those things that you need to spend a bunch of money on. And most importantly- shoot! Shoot all the time. It doesn't have to be amazing. But every time you shoot, you will get better and understand your camera more. Don't take long breaks, or you will forget a lot of what you just learned. Figure out what angles work best, what poses if you decided to shoot people. There are a lot of things about photography that no website or course will teach you, that you can only really understand with experience.
I am so excited for you to progress and learn. I am very passionate about photography myself, and one my favorite things about this hobby is the constant ability to learn new things. I look forward to seeing more of your photos soon.
First, let me ask: What is your budget and what do you plan to capture?
As for the camera triggering, for less than $10, if your cameras are compatible, I would suggest using an infrared remote to trigger the cameras. Here's an example for Nikon cameras: https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Wireless-Control-Digital-Cameras/dp/B003L1ZYZ6 This way there's no risk in damaging the cameras by opening them and modifying them. If you used externally mounted mechanical solenoids to depress the triggers, there's an added risk of slightly shaking the cameras and introducing motion blur, so that's something else I would avoid. Different camera companies offer USB based triggering systems, but I don't know much about them. This might be a good way to keep your cameras charged and triggered with a single cable to each.
/u/iontrades_ and others have figured out how to pulse IR LEDs using Arduino microcontrollers, so that's another route if you plan on automating the capture process. There's nothing wrong with using the $10 Amazon remote, and I have one myself, but I see an Arduino setup in my future - hopefully an automated setup built by /u/iontrades_
Another completely different option would be to use Raspberry Pi computers with each camera triggered on demand. While it would be a fun project, I'd avoid this method for my own projects because I'd rather invest in quality glass (optics) than multiple sets of uncalibrated $20 Raspberry Pi cameras. Again, how much precision are you need and how much are you willing to pay for?
For the camera mounts, I really like what they did with the flexible mounts on the original beastcam. If you need to make an adjustment, you don't need any tools. If you don't want to spend that much money, you could consider drilling holes in a piece of plywood and attaching cameras with zipties. You could even attach casters for rolling your rig around the floor. There are thousands of different ways to do this.
I have a D3300, grabbed this off amazon a while ago and it works perfectly fine (I'd be surprised if it suddenly would lose compatibility on a later gen: https://www.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasics-Wireless-Remote-Control-Cameras/dp/B003L1ZYZ6/?th=1
Supposedly it keeps draining the battery when it's in, so just take it out whenever you're not using it, just a head's up
Night photography is my favorite genre, especially light painting and city scenes. I highly recommend investing in a remote shutter release, it makes taking those tedious shots much easier because you can guarantee that there's no camera shake. For the best quality shots, use the lowest ISO you can, and play around with the long exposure noise reduction settings on your camera. I usually leave mine off and do the noise reduction in post processing. This saves time while shooting as well, as it takes less time for the camera to save the image.
You have a smokin' car, you want to show off the lines, right? The nice thing about low-light photography is that you can really take the time to figure out your shot and compose it before you shoot. I think it would be cool to find some nice street lighting and play around with the composition to highlight the features of the car. Try to find something that won't screw up the white balance with the headlights on. Don't be afraid to get low, shoot from the level of the driver's head or lower. Once you have it set up, you have the opportunity to take multiple shots, you can easily jump to HDR if you want.
Also, I found a pretty great article about just what you're maybe trying to do.
yes, this works on nikon
http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Wireless-Control-Digital-Cameras/dp/B003L1ZYZ6/