Beamshot advice please, Canon PowerShot G2

[abarth_1200]

Hello all, im usually upstairs reading through posts of LED's and custom lights but I am wanting to take a few beamshots of my lights and need a bit of advice.

My camera is an old Canon PowerShot G2 4 MP, i dont have the user manual and all the settings are really confusing.

I would like to take a few pictures of my lights beams lighting up a few things outdoors, trees, grass, buildings at distance to to compare tint, beam shape and possibly brightness.

Now what do I set my camera to because I know that the auto setting will make all my lights look similair, which I dont want

What does the f setting change?

What does 1/80 and 1/200 etc mean and what number would be better suited to my beamshots, heres the thing I dont know how to change these ones, I have symbols on the other LCD with numbers like 1"6 and 2" then further along the sclae i get just a 4 or 8 no funny symbol.

I think your meant to lock the iso (is this the shutter speed) so that all pics are the same but how do I do that

Should I just set it to landscape and WB to daylight and take the pics?

Please help me out here.

 

[entoptics]

Trial and Error. Monkey with the settings till you find a setup that will "accurately" capture your middle brightness flashlight, and lock it there.

Below are things to lock at one setting or pictures will be variably bright because of the camera.

ISO is the sensitivity of the sensor. Bigger number = more light = grainier photo. On your camera, I suspect 800 would be grainy at large viewing size. You'll just have to test it to find out.

Shutter speed (length of time exposed) - This is the numbers you describe above. 2" = 2 seconds and 2 = 1/2 second. 4" = 4 seconds and 4 = 1/4 second. So the extra little symbol designates a whole number, no symbol designates 1 divided by the displayed number.

Shooting handheld, you'll need this number to be at least 1/30th (30) to prevent hand shaking from making the photo blurry. Shorter = sharper (i.e. 40th, 50th, 100th, etc). With a tripod, you can probably go as slow as 4 seconds (4"), but then you have to be sure the light doesn't move either. I would STRONGLY recommend a tripod for both camera and light (or set the light on something solid). With a tripod, you should aim for shutter speeds of 1/2 (2) to 1/8 (8)

f-stop is the diameter of the aperture (hole that light is focused through in the lens). Bigger number = smaller aperture = less light into camera. A smaller aperture means more focus depth (depth of field).

Hypothetical example of f-stop use...If you have a big aperture (small number) and focus on a subject at 20 feet, things will only be in focus from 18-22 feet from the camera. A big number (small aperture) focused at 20 feet will have objects from 10' to 30' in focus.

White balance should be fixed as well. I'd suggest using the setting with an icon of a cloud (cloudy) or sun (daylight).

I'd start with settings close to these if I was using a tripod.

F-stop ~6 to 8
Shutter ~1 second (1") to 1/10 second (10)
ISO 400 or 800
White Balance - cloudy or daylight.

If too dim... decrease f-stop number (make light hole bigger), longer shutter or Higher ISO

If too bright...Opposite of above.

Hope that helps.

 

[nekomane]

You can download the manual from the Canon website.

 

[nekomane]

Once you read the manual, check out the following threads (as well as others in the Dark Room).

For beginners, I would recommend setting the exposure to manual (M).
Fix the f-stop at 4 or 5.6 and the ISO at 400, and only change the shutter speed.
This is less confusing than fiddling around with different settings, and makes it easier to understand how a single setting affects the result.

You wil need a tripod though. Even a small gorilapod will do wonders.

Once you get the hang of it, start experimenting with the other settings.
Good Luck.

Tips for taking beamshots

How to Take Long-Distance Beamshots?

How to take some beamshots??

 

[abarth_1200]

Wow these are great replies, I had already been out and undergone my beamshots using the 'monkey' method, I think they turned out alright considering I didnt use a tripod, I just sat the camera on a cut log.

I will look into getting a cheap tripod and setting my camera up a little better.

I feel like I need to print this page and take it with me next time lol.

Thanks you guys

BTW I posted my beamshots in the LED section, comments welcome :thumbsup: