Fireworks with the Z7 at DVinfo.net

Bruce G. Cleveland · July 8th, 2009, 08:06 PM

Does anyone have any advice on what settings I might expect to use at a wedding next week with a fireworks finale at 10:00? Thanks for any help.

Bruce

Gary Nattrass · July 10th, 2009, 12:53 PM

I did some fireworks last year and as it was just for the pub IPTV site and chucking it down with rain I did the unthinkable and just set it to auto! There was also a 20 watt sony light for the non firework shots.

Have a look at the bonfire night clip on here:- 14-4-2009

Flash banding will be a big problem with the bigger flashes, I have a panasonic 301 now so would be interested how the flash band compensation works.

Bruce G. Cleveland · July 10th, 2009, 05:13 PM

Thanks Gary. Looks like the fireworks are going to raise hell with my cmos. Had not thought about that. Your fireworks look good though. Thanks again.

Bruce

Barry Wilkinson · July 22nd, 2009, 04:49 AM

I shot several years of international fireworks competitions for Blackpool( big seaside resort in the uk ) tourist board both on a Sony DSR 570 and a Sony HVR S270E. I found the best results came from "pre set tungsten lighting" which is 3200 Kelvin on the 570 and the 270.This also gave greater sensitivity on the 570 as you add a glass filter for daylight balance and that reduces the amount of light going into the chip. However I now use the 270 mainly on auto white balance unless I know that will cause problems. Having the colour LCD to confirm (approximately) correct colour balance is such a luxury after years of black and white eyepieces.
Exposure can be a problem as there are sometimes vast changes in illumination and you can get caught out zooming in if the fireworks suddenly appear in different parts of the sky. At least focus should be more or less constant!
The problem comes with less impressive displays in making the pix look spectacular ( say on a cheapskate wedding) but that can be improved in editing by simply doubling up on shots and addinga bit of distracting music.

Bruce G. Cleveland · July 24th, 2009, 05:52 AM

Thanks for the help. I shot the wedding and fireworks last weekend and I think the fireworks turned out great. Just put the camera on manual focus, manual everything actually and no gain. I think they look great.

Bruce

John Knight · July 25th, 2009, 11:33 PM

Hi Bruce - I've got a wedding with fireworks coming up soon as well. Any ND? Can you remember F-stop? Cheers.

Bruce G. Cleveland · July 26th, 2009, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Knight

Hi Bruce - I've got a wedding with fireworks coming up soon as well. Any ND? Can you remember F-stop? Cheers.

No ND John and I pretty much had the iris wide open. Make sure you have manual everything though, especially manual focus. I had mostly a fairly wide shot. Everytime I zoomed in, the fireworks exploded out of view. Good luck.

Bruce

July 8th, 2009, 08:06 PM	#1
Bruce G. Cleveland Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Oshkosh, WI Posts: 190	Fireworks with the Z7 Does anyone have any advice on what settings I might expect to use at a wedding next week with a fireworks finale at 10:00? Thanks for any help. Bruce

July 10th, 2009, 12:53 PM	#2
Gary Nattrass Trustee Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Cornsay Durham UK Posts: 1,992	I did some fireworks last year and as it was just for the pub IPTV site and chucking it down with rain I did the unthinkable and just set it to auto! There was also a 20 watt sony light for the non firework shots. Have a look at the bonfire night clip on here:- 14-4-2009 Flash banding will be a big problem with the bigger flashes, I have a panasonic 301 now so would be interested how the flash band compensation works. __________________ Over 15 minutes in Broadcast Film and TV production: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1044352/

July 22nd, 2009, 04:49 AM	#4
Barry Wilkinson Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Grange over Sands UK Posts: 99	I shot several years of international fireworks competitions for Blackpool( big seaside resort in the uk ) tourist board both on a Sony DSR 570 and a Sony HVR S270E. I found the best results came from "pre set tungsten lighting" which is 3200 Kelvin on the 570 and the 270.This also gave greater sensitivity on the 570 as you add a glass filter for daylight balance and that reduces the amount of light going into the chip. However I now use the 270 mainly on auto white balance unless I know that will cause problems. Having the colour LCD to confirm (approximately) correct colour balance is such a luxury after years of black and white eyepieces. Exposure can be a problem as there are sometimes vast changes in illumination and you can get caught out zooming in if the fireworks suddenly appear in different parts of the sky. At least focus should be more or less constant! The problem comes with less impressive displays in making the pix look spectacular ( say on a cheapskate wedding) but that can be improved in editing by simply doubling up on shots and addinga bit of distracting music. __________________ Cameraman BBC and ITV since 1966

July 10th, 2009, 05:13 PM	#3
Bruce G. Cleveland Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Oshkosh, WI Posts: 190	Thanks Gary. Looks like the fireworks are going to raise hell with my cmos. Had not thought about that. Your fireworks look good though. Thanks again. Bruce

July 24th, 2009, 05:52 AM	#5
Bruce G. Cleveland Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Oshkosh, WI Posts: 190	Thanks for the help. I shot the wedding and fireworks last weekend and I think the fireworks turned out great. Just put the camera on manual focus, manual everything actually and no gain. I think they look great. Bruce

July 25th, 2009, 11:33 PM	#6
John Knight Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 588	Hi Bruce - I've got a wedding with fireworks coming up soon as well. Any ND? Can you remember F-stop? Cheers.