In-Focus Light Trails.

[illxpanda]

Got my first DSLR a couple weeks ago and I have tried light trail a few times. I have seen pictures of light trails where other parts are still in-focus. With the light trails I have tried, everything seems to blur or be out of-focus. How can I shoot a light trail with the image still being in focus?

Thanks

Using a nikon d40 without tripod if that helps an answer. Will be using a tripod in a couple of days(need to purchase one)

[jorgemonkey]

My thought would be to put the camera on a tripod, focus on what you want to be in focus, then put a piece of gaffers tape on the lens to stop it from focusing, and put it into manual focus.

But to get a long shutter speed and having some stuff in focus, you'll want a tripod.

[illxpanda]

thank you very much, tried it with a tripod and definitely came out alot better.

Need a few tips though on how to make light trail better. I read somewhere else that I should set my ISO to the lowest which on my d40 is 200. I was wondering why it should be set on the lowest and what does it do or do better than what my current ISO setting is, which is auto(total noob at DSLR's). Others tips are certainly welcome.

Thanks

[dumpy]

I'll echo the tripod statement, but it seems like you've figured that one out for yourself. Trying to do star trails hand held is like trying to get Barrack, Hillary and McCain into a group hug.

I'd try shooting in full manual mode. Set the ISO low because it will allow the longest exposure times and will provide the most noise free image. Go with a small aperture for the best depth of field (more stuff in focus) and again to allow a longer exposure. Now play with the exposure to get the best image. Manually focus on the other portions of the image, which hopefully are far enough away that you can focus to infinity.

[jorgemonkey]

Trying to do star trails hand held is like trying to get Barrack, Hillary and McCain into a group hug.

Now that is sig worthy!

[fx101]

If you want even sharper images, keep in mind that wind will shift objects (i.e. trees) and so shooting on a calm day really helps. You may also want to consider getting an ND (Neutral Density) filter for your lens so you can shoot longer exposure times without having to stop your lens down to f/22'ish. At really small appertures your lens will cause diffraction and blur your image. I recommend using a neutral density filter, shooting at f/8, manually focusing to infinity, and setting your iso to 200. Then just have the camera fire and that's it!

[another view]

Now that is sig worthy!

That's what I was thinking...

If you have "other stuff" such as a building in the background, focus on it rather than the spot the cars will be. The building will show up in the shot but the cars won't (only the light trails) and it won't matter if they're in focus or not because they'll be a blur anyway.

ISO200 is fine - but really so is 400 or 800... It depends on what you want from the shot. For example, say you wanted to shoot a building and have it properly exposed but have light trails around it. I'd shoot well after sunset (but before the sky is totally black - this lasts for a few minutes) and manually meter and focus on the building. Start at f8 and ISO200 and see what your shutter speed is based on the light level that you're in. You'd probably want (or at least hope) for the cars in the shot to go all the way thru the frame in the exposure time, so your shutter speed would have to be long enough to allow this to happen. If you're coming up with two seconds but it takes four seconds for a car to move from one side to the other, then change to f11 and you'll be able to use that four second shutter speed. Hope this helps...