Best Camera Setting when taking beamshots?

[Dandrop]

What is the best Camera setting when taking beamshots 1)indoor in total darkness and 2) Outdoor relatively dark.

Can someone advise shutter speed and aperture size. I will be using a Nikon CP5700. Thanks!

[mm85]

This is where the fun of experimenting comes into play! Everyone is going to get different exposures as no two camera environments are perfectly equal. Try resting your laser with a rubberband keeping it on, then try various time exposures, but make sure to rest the camera firmly for the entire shot, or it will easily blur as you probably know. Beam shots also show up better with the laser coming at you, but if the source is visable it will bloom bigtime in a time exposure, so try and get it where it can't be seen. Here is a pic with I beleive a 3 sec exposure, it's a 60mw.

[jtice]

If you are going to be comparing 2 different lights, the thing you must make sure of, is that the camera is on teh same EXACT MANUAL settings for each light. That way, the camers isnt auto adjusting to each light,,, that would make comparing the differnt shots impossible, sence the camera took them differently.

Just putting the cam on a daylight, night, etc setting will not work, the camera will be auto adjusting to suit each beam.
You want to do it on manual, and set the exposure yourself, to something that shows the beams well, and LEAVE it there for each pic.

email if you have any questions.
mainly, it just takes practice.

-John

[NewBie]

The drop dead beamshots are side by side in the same photo, imho, I don't place much faith in anything else.