D50 Infinite Shutter (bulb)

[higabyte]

Has anyone used this/familiar with it? I've been trying to force myself to manual mode and just realized the D50 has an infinite shutter. I saw an article last month in one of the photo magazines and he did a shot with infinite set while focused on the sky and it showed the circular track the stars make. I thought it would be cool to attempt but didnt think i could since I didnt have infinite, but i do.. haha

I know I need to get an ac adapter to do this, but has anyone used it? I turned it on last night and when i shot the photo, it just clicked right away taking the picture, so i'm not sure what to do...

It talks about it on page 45 and 46 in the user manual but doesnt say much about it...

[NaturesPixel]

hey you dont really need a power cord.. i have never used it and i have taken shots using bulb... but then again i have only done 10 min shots or soo...

what you do need tho to make Bulb work is the remote control ML-L3 they are about 20$ other wise you have to sit there with finger fully pressed on shutter button ^.^

[higabyte]

hey thanks, I'll try this remote out, but how does the remote work in regards to that? wouldn't it be the same as pushing and releasing the shutter button when I push the remote button?

[hpebley3]

I'm not sure about the Nikon remotes, but if they're the same as the Canon ones, they have a means of locking the switch down for long exposures. On mine if you just press and release it's like hitting the shutter release on the camera. However it also slides forward while in the down position, locking it in down. You slide it back when you want to close the shutter.

Hope it helps,
Harley Pebley

[Nicole]

What you have to do is make sure that your shutter speed is set to "bulb" before you use the remote if you want to control how long the shutter is open. Basically, just keep turning the dial to adjust shutter speed until you go beyond the 30" mark, and there's bulb. At that point, one click with the remote opens the shutter, and the second click closes it. :) But hpebley3, nope, the standard remote from Nikon doesn't have a way to lock the switch down.

[higabyte]

hpebley, wouldnt that drain the battery in the remote if you were doing say a 12 hour exposure?

thanks nicole, the response about the remote is exactly what i was looking for!!

[Tiberius]

I use a remote for my Canon when I have the camera set to bulb. I press the button once to start the exposure and I press it again to end the exposure.

[janesa13]

you better check again. As far as I know, D50 doesn't support wired controller, only the infrared type.
Don't want to get a wrong one here.

[Tifosi248F1]

Correct Janesa, the D50 can only use the wireless IR remote.

Higabyte, as NaturesPixel said you want the ML-L3 remote. It is a fantastic, inexpensive addition to your gear. It was the first thing I bought after I got my D50. It is helpful in all kinds of situations, not just bulb mode. If you want to take long night exposures, an AC adapter may be useful...however the D50 has a time limit on bulb shots. The shutter will automatically close after 30 minutes. The only way I have seen to get multiple-hour exposures is by combining a bunch of 30 minute exposures together. I am yet to try this because of sensor noise. I always shoot my star trails with Long Exposure NR turned on in the menu, which in turn doubles the exposure time by closing the shutter and recording an image of pure black, then subtracting this from the actual exposure. This removes the noise generated by such a long exposure time, and the glow you get around the edge of the frame due to the power going to the sensor. It all sounds complicated, and I'm probably not the best at explaining things but it gets simple when you get a chance to try it.

[higabyte]

Thanks for the info Dave, I ordered the remote the other night, also ordered the SB-600 flash, so hopefully I have some fun times ahead of me. I'm a little depressed about the 30 minute thing, but o well, there are other things to play with... lol

[Tifosi248F1]

You're welcome. I was disappointed when I learned about the 30 minute limit too, but it hasn't slowed me down. I actually had a shot come out overexposed in 30 min, which was a bit of a challenge to save in Photoshop. For good results with star trails, make sure your camera is real stable. I stick mine on a chair and surround it with pillows and soft things since I havn't ordered a head for my tripod yet. Also, to get real good arcs, point the camera North or off a little bit to make sure the stars rotate around a stationary point. I'm still new to the forum here, so I havn't had time to post much but I will post one of my star trails when I can get it uploaded. Good luck with your long exposures and have fun with your flash, I'm looking forward to seeing some of your work.

[Demo24]

im a little late, but 30min will give you some nice star trails. I've seen some on a 12 min exposure and they had some longer trails than I expected.