Photographing fireworķs.

Well, its bonfire night tonight, and there is an organised firework display nearby.
Ive never attempted this before, so, any advice on camera settings/lens choice?
I would probably be a few hundred yards away, so not really close.
I have a k5, 18-135, 55-300, da35, da50 and sigma 150-500. Also a tripod and temote release.
Manual focuus?...to infinity?
ISO...100?
AV,TV, or manual?
Any help or advice would really appreciated.

Many years ago I took some handheld with ISO1000 film that I thought looked reasonable, more recently I've found longer exposures with a tripod are much better. Moderately wide angles probably work best - with these at 100m distance infinity focus should be close enough.
Given your lens selection I'd probably use the 18-135 in manual mode.
This one: https://www.pentaxuser.com/photo/revised-jubilee-fireworks-48554/large taken at 15s f/16 ISO 100 is my favorite.

I would broadly agree with Mike, i.e. ISO 100, minimum of 15 seconds exposure, but this depends on how many fireworks there are and how much detail you want to obtain in the general landscape. It's difficult to advise on the lens focal length as it will depend entirely on the effect you are trying to achieve, the location you are in and how far from the display you are.

I always use either the 'Bulb' setting and trigger the shutter via a remote, or alternatively use 'Manual' and set the camera to the desired exposure time.

Regards
David

yep I reckon Mike and David have just about covered it . I once used two bean bags instead of a tripod for the camera as the the crowds kept bumping into the tripod

When I've done them in the past, I found that a shorter focal length works better for what I'm trying to achieve. Keep in mind that there's no way to predict exactly how far the explosion (for want of a better word) will spread, and by the time you've started to get a feel for it the display will be half over. First time I took my Tamron 70-300 and it was far too long at its widest setting, so since then I've used the kit lens. Last year I was a bit closer to the display and even the 18-55 was cutting some patterns off.

For me the really nice images are those that have some interesting foreground content as well as the firework patterns. I got some nice patterns, but my local display is just set basically in a field so there's not really much else there, in fact I decided not to bother this year as I felt the images would be virtually the same as last year. I saw some lovely ones (on here, I think) from a previous year where the display was somewhere coastal and the photographer had also got the seafront in.

Sigma 10-20 on 10mm, manual focus, tripod, remote release, bulb - in this case 2.5s, iso 100; this is from 2016. A couple from previous years taken in different locations follow

Alresford Fireworks by Arle Images, on Flickr

2015, from the hill overlooking the dipslay -100mm, 1.3 s iso 125

Star Wars in Hampshire by Arle Images, on Flickr

2014 from the river- 3200 iso, 2s 16mm (16-45 f4) high ISO o capture the reflection in the river

Fireworks over the Arle by Arle Images, on Flickr

Back to the future? How are things in 2016? Can I borrow your de Lorean please?

Good photos

Sorry, just been doing my local calendar for 2016 and had that date stuck in my mind. By the way the winner of next year's Grand National is.........

I always put the camera on F16 ISO 100 Bulb mode on a tripod (but I shoot from the top of a set of steps to ensure if anyone stands in front of me they are not in the shot), and no-one tends to get too close so never had an issue with the tripod being bumped into. I use the IR remote set on press to start and press to finish. I focus on something at approximately the same distance as the fireworks before they get going then switch to manual focus. I always put the camera in portrait orientation which allows room at the top of the frame for those surprise higher displays and crop accordingly in post.
I watch the fireworks and set an exposure to start as the rockets are launching and leave the shutter open for the duration of the explosion.
I used my DA* 16-50 on a K-3 for these.

Pretty much the same here. Otherwise you don't actually get to see much of the fireworks. I try to arrive early, get a view that also has some interest apart from the fireworks. Set the tripod up, get a few shots which can then be combined with shots taken later. When shooting the fireworks then I use bulb mode. You can use the black card technique if you are a purist or you can stack individual images:

These are good examples, all these things happened but not necessarily at the same time (it's amazing how one quote or variations thereof can be so universally true [Eric Morecambe]):

That's what I mean, the images above are great because there's something else going on, not just the firework trail in the sky. I must try harder next year.

If you lived around here you wouldn't need to wait - the firework season started a week ago and will probably end in early January!