Tripod mounted K10D, B mode with a 28mm A series F2.8 at F8.

Hey, unlocker, by any chance are you going to the Rugby club tonight? just noticed your location as Aylesbury. That's where I'll be with my family and K10D.

bearing in mind that I have never been particularly successful at fireworks up until now, this is what I intend to try this evening

Tripod mounted K10D + 28mm A series prime (the 18-55 will have to do in your case)

something on the order of F8, and use Bulb mode to hold the shutter open while a couple of rockets go off. If you haven't got a remote release, I suggest a fairly long timed exposure as holding down the button on the camera will introduce shake. Say about 20 seconds.


You'll want to adjust the aperture and ISO to suit the ambient light and brightness of the display.

I make no guarantee that this will work, but it's where I plan to start.

bit of a snub to Canon that they are available in F and K mount but not EF

nice looking lenses.

assuming exposure time is less than one full rotation of the prop, he's right.

I think

although I am about to go to bed, so it's quite possible I am just not thinking straight.

if exposure time is greater than one full prop rotation then speed of prop becomes irrelevant, because of an averaging effect.

I got one or two shots, I'll stick them up shortly

good tip, fallen for that one myself several times while shooting the moon.

the Histogram is your friend

I'm certainly leaving the NR function turned off on my 10D, especially as last nights astro session proved that it is quite happy with no NR out to 2 minutes at ISO 800 anyway. The only problem is there seems to be a heat source just off the sensor which starts to cause fun beyond about 1 minute.

Also don't forget you can always do your own dark frame subtraction if you feel you need to, just take a shot with the lens cap on.

/me packs portable hard drive

thanks for the tips gents, I've never had a lot of luck with fireworks but hoping tonight will be the night!

Even the Tamron version has only just come out, hopefully the price will drop of its own accord in the fullness of time. Particularly if Sigma come out with an equivalent, since at the moment the Tamron has something of a monopoly.