f717 1 - 5 sec exposures

[redearth40]

Hi All,
Being new to the Sony F717, I am trying to shoot "silky smooth look" pictures of waterfalls lit by full sun. My aim is to get 1 to 5 second shutter speed shots of them. I cannot seem to do this even after setting the F Stop down, and exposure at the lowest. Everything is always over exposed.
Is there a filter available for this? A manual work around?
Thanks,
Nathan

[JCW3]

To get the effect your looking for you will have to get a ND filter.

Most Silky Water Effects are done in lower or soft lighting. Full Sunny days are not very effect, but do add a neat touch if done correctly.

The best thing is drop your ISO down to the lowest setting (100) and then adjust your f-stop to f8. This will give you the slowest shutter speed the camera can perform by itself. The thing is you MUST EXPOSE the image correct, or its going to be white or really light. So if your not very good with manual, I would recommend shooting in Aperature Priority.

You can also use a Polirizer, which will allow you to lose about 1.5 stops, but to get a 1-5 second shutter in full sun light, your going to have to really get a DARK ND filter.

For the most part, even a 1/2 -1/4 second exposure should blur the water nicely.

But again expose the image correctly and if at that point if its still not the effect your going for. You will have to wait until it gets darker (less sun light) or invest in some ND filters. But Full Sun is not the type of lighting I would recommend for this type of photography.

Also there was a thread on the this exact topic about 20 days ago. You may look that up for more info as well.

[steelfish]

Get a ND4 and ND8 filter, use one or both depending on light conditions. You can also use Polarizing filter in conjunction. The ND filters will increase length of exposures to your liking. A tripod will be needed of course.