Night traffic photos

[ezgoer]

Can anyone tell me how to take a pic above traffic at night so it looks like the lights are just streaks? Do I turn shutter speed way up? Thanks

 

[saudio]

Way down actually. You want the shutter speed to be several seconds.

 

[ezgoer]

ahh yes down lol. Makes sense. Thanks

 

[Former Member]

Can anyone tell me how to take a pic above traffic at night

Hopefully not from a drone...

 

[ezgoer]

Hopefully not from a drone...

Of course not lol

 

[tracer bullet]

Yep, low shutter speed, low ISO. Definitely try tripod mode. Don't fly above the traffic not only because it's a bad idea in general, but especially because at night you have that much more increased chance of a flying related accident happening.

Dang, was hoping this thread would have photos taken that way. If you have some success please share your results!

 

[Alastair]

With the correct camera setting as described above and a good steady hover, you might get the result you want . Any horizontal movement of the aircraft would probably result in motion blur across the whole image. Best case scenario I believe would be fairly short traffic streaks, not the long white and red lines you might be hoping for. I’d be interested in knowing for sure though.

 

[Hitec_NL]

I actually tried this for the first time yesterday. Was flying around sunset and noticed the shuttertime getting longer quite rapidly.
Took this picture with 3 seconds shuttertime, ISO 100. It's the JPEG the Mavic produces.

It wasn't very dark yet, but you can see the lights as lines down the road and at the highway. First few pics came out blurry as the gimbal was still centering itself, so when you want
to take a picture of traffic or anything else at night, make sure to hover for a few seconds prior to taking the picture so the gimbal is completely level and centered.

 

[Alastair]

Nice job!

 

[mfrydendall]

Here’s a long exposure shot of traffic lights taken with my Mavic.

 

[Fifty7]

Not much traffic but here you go

 

[hjmavic]

its amazing what our little bird can do with long shutter exposure. When i saw it for the first time I was surprised, so stable hanging upthere. Exposure of several seconds and no movements at all.

 

[Insideout]

I would think the shot would benefit from very little wind as well. Don't even bother if it's blowing.

 

[Fifty7]

its amazing what our little bird can do with long shutter exposure. When i saw it for the first time I was surprised, so stable hanging upthere. Exposure of several seconds and no movements at all.

That's what amazes me as well. Ever try holding a camera steady to take a night shot?

 

[tictag]

Definitely gonna have to try this!

 

[Adamcain112]

I cant focus for anything at night

 

[angusc]

Can anyone tell me how to take a pic above traffic at night so it looks like the lights are just streaks? Do I turn shutter speed way up? Thanks

Thank you for starting this thread, it has given some of us more things to think about and *try!

*Making the slow shutter speed shots and not flying at night and over traffic I mean.

 

[tictag]

Quick tip re focussing in the dark: use the digital 2x zoom. Zoom in, focus as best you can (or auto focus if possible), zoom out, record. Don't do this whilst recording, though: the zoom is done by the aircraft and the zoom changes are, therefore, recorded in the footage (lesson learned! )

 

[Ping^Spike]

I cant focus for anything at night

Me too!

 

[Mako79]

I cant focus for anything at night

All cameras have problems focusing at night.
Max the ISO up so the mavic can see in the dark. Use manual focus and then use focus peaking (red outlines) to confirm focus. Drop ISO back down to 100 and set long exposure. Click away.
Also, make sure its not a windy day. The mavic has to be dead still like a tripod for the exposure time.