Canon 300D,it's not possible

[Woody]

Hi all,
Wonder if anyone out there has come across the same problem that I have encountered with my 300D. I tried to take a shot of a waterfall using the manual mode, setting the shutter speed to 5 seconds, the minimum aperture it will go to is f29 but it is still way over exposed. To get the exposure down I had to reduce the shutter speed to 1.3 seconds thus not giving me the "waterfall effect". Even in the Av mode it is still not possible to set the shutter speed to anything over 1.3 seconds without over exposure. The iso was set at 100 and the wb was correct....any ideas cos I,m absolutely confused.
Regards
Woody

[JCW3]

Your right your trying to do the impossible. For a photo to turn out you have to EXPOSE it correctly. If your looking to get a 5 second exposure, then you have to wait until th lighting is darker or use a ND filter to give you the effect (a polirizer will drop you about 2 stops, if you use that).

Sound likes you camera can expose the image correctly at 1.3, but your looking for more. Like I stated above the only way your going to get that long shutter speed is wait for the lighting to change, or make it change by using a ND filter.

If your at ISO 100 and the min. aperture, then thats they best you can do with the stock settings.

Very easy to do, you just need a few more goodies to go in the camera bag.

[Woody]

Is this a chink in the Canon armour ?? So all I can use the speeds of 1.3 seconds and above is for taking shots of the moon and pictures of cars off highway bridges..great !
I think its time to re-invest in a 10D or will I have the same problem ? Who knows.

Thanks for the reply
regards
Woody

[photosbyVP]

you can't choose ISO 50? that would help a little..but you still get a decent silkiness in the waterfall at 1.3 seconds!
i'm not sure you could go to 5 seconds with any other camera...unless you use filters...

[jlpriestley]

Go back just before it is dark out and try a 5 second exposure -- you will be surprised how bright the photo comes out. The camera works fine and upgrading will not help in your plight. Like JCW said, a ND filter will effectively cut back the light to lessen the light going into the camera. Not really any other way around it in the daylight.

[Woody]

The lowest iso is 100, so off in search of an nd filter.....I was thinking of upgrading to a 10D but I have to ask if its worth it, 10D users will no doubt say it is but as far as I can tell the main difference is the composition of the body.
Thanks guys

[JCW3]

THis is really photography basic. No mater whether your using a Canon D300, a prosumer digicam, or 35mm you have to expose the image right to get the effect your looking for.

So spending the extra money on the d10 is not going to help. Again this is the basic of exposure, they only way of getting to 5 seconds and have the image exposed correctly is to loss some light. And with that you will have to wait on mother nature, drop your iso, use a ND filter, or something in that nature.

In this case a $15-30 ND filter is truly what your needing. I tend to like to stay in the 1.5 sec range with water since it gives a nice effect, but I work more on exposing the image more than anything.

I may recommend reading a little bit about exposure, this will give you a better grasp on why you cant get that 5 second shutter speed you wanting to get. I am sure you will also find ways of getting that exposure you want at the same time.

[Woody]

Hi JCW
Thanks for your comments..my interest in the 10D was not to acheive something that I thought my 300D wouldn't do, it was merely a presonal quest for a better piece of kit now that I can afford to change.
I have since ,as you say, waited for mother nature and have had some stunning shots up to 15 sec exposure.
But I would still like to upgrade to a 10D but don't know if the extra money will be worth spending
Regards