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Long Exposure Photography with an Advanced • Landscape Photography

Compact Camera • Wildlife Photography

• Portraiture
BY ALPHA WHISKEY | 11 COMMENTS
LAST UPDATED ON SEPTEMBER 22, 2018 • Post-Processing
• Advanced Tutorials

Most compact camera users may fear that you can only achieve long exposure
images at night with a DSLR or mirrorless camera. But an advanced compact
camera with manual controls can achieve some pretty decent results, as I found VOTE
using the Canon G5X. On Our Next Lens Reviews

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30 secs. F/5. PHOTOGRAPHY TUTORIALS

Yes, it’s my sister’s camera but she had just returned from the Christmas
markets in Paris and Stuttgart and I ‘borrowed’ it to test its long exposure
capabilities. I had intended to photograph the Christmas lights in London but
PHOTOGRAPHY LANDSCAPE
they didn’t impress me any more than previous years so I stuck to shooting BASICS PHOTOGRAPHY
familiar scenes around the South Bank and Trafalgar Square.

WILDLIFE MACRO
PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHY

COMPOSITION & BLACK & WHITE

CREATIVITY PHOTOGRAPHY

NIGHT SKY PORTRAIT

PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHY

15 secs. F/5.

I mounted the camera onto a small but sturdy Velbon tripod that I had knocking
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
around (not sure why – never used it before). The articulated screen meant I PHOTOGRAPHY VIDEOS
could fold it out and look down at the result rather than, for some exposures,
crouching awkwardly behind the camera. UNIQUE GIFT IDEAS

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15 secs. f/9.

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I shot either in Manual Mode or Shutter Speed Priority, using a shutter speed of
between 15 and 30 seconds. The G5X’s maximum shutter speed is 30 seconds.
There is also a bulb option but that requires keeping the shutter depressed with
your finger for the requisite time or using a remote. The former didn’t appeal to
me and the latter didn’t interest me. And for my purposes I didn’t need more than
30 seconds.

25 secs. F/11

All the long exposures were shot RAW at ISO 125 as I wanted to keep noise to a
minimum. Aperture values depended on the shutter speed; I adjusted them to
keep a neutral or slightly over-exposed image. The minimum aperture available
was F/11, which may not be such a bad thing as I imagine diffraction may play a
part sooner with a smaller sensor. The camera’s built in ND-filter came in handy
for slowing down the shutter speed. Unfortunately, my preferred dusk blue light
evaporated pretty quickly.

25 secs. F/11.

As for the images themselves, these have been processed in Lightroom and
reduced in size for display here. Yes, there are some blown highlights, but when
you expose a light source for 15 seconds or more it tends to be blown out. I tend
to view the image as a whole, myself, rather than picking out individual
imperfections. I wanted to achieve stillness to the water to get my reflections,
and also a blur to the spinning London Eye. I personally like the lights a little
bright (life in the big city); perhaps they have a touch of Thomas Kincaid if not
quite as saccharine.

30 secs. F/7.1

Anyway, I was fairly impressed by the results. Yes, at the pixel level the images
won’t beat those from a DSLR, but good luck trying to get to me to worry about
pixels. This post wasn’t so much a technical tutorial but hopefully some
reassurance to those of you that want to use an advanced compact camera to
shoot long exposures at night. Well, now that I’ve shot these images I have to
sneak the G5X back to my sister’s place.

20 secs. F/4.5

Hope you all have a great Christmas and New Year, and remember that a great
way to work off that seasonal excess is to go out and shoot!

15 secs. F/5.

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FILED UNDER: ESSAYS AND INSPIRATION

TAGGED WITH: CANON, LONG EXPOSURE PHOTOGRAPHY, NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY, POINT AND SHOOT

About Alpha Whiskey

Alpha Whiskey has pursued his enjoyment of photography both
at home in the UK and overseas, capturing scenic views from
Alaska to Bulgaria, from Iceland to California. He has pointed his camera and
trained his eye at almost every subject, from wildlife to architecture, from
portraits to landscapes, from the Red Bull X-Fighters to the Northern Lights.
His photographs have been published on the covers of national publications
and within media for the National Trust. His blog is a growing library of
images from his travels, excursions, and his photowalks with friends, and he
hopes that by sharing them he can encourage others to worry less about
gear and simply go out and shoot.

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11 COMMENTS Newest

Albin
January 3, 2016 10:03 am

As long as you’re shooting Canon, the (free) CHDK enhancement has provided 64 second
exposure and RAW / DNG for almost a decade, even for the lowest priced Canon p&s
models. Recent versions make it simple to install and the user interface is increasingly user-
friendly. The G5x is a recent model and doesn’t have a finished version yet.)

0 Reply

Andrew V.
December 29, 2015 10:09 am

Sharif,

Love the post the images are awesome. I totally agree that pro-level gear is not really
needed. I recently bought the LG G4 phone after seeing Nasim’s review of it on this site and i
have to say that using the manual mode to drop the ISO and do some long exposures even
with a camera phone can get excellent results. Also the ability to shoot raw increases the
potential quality from a phone as well something i never thought I’d be able to do.

Keep up the good work and interesting articles!

0 Reply

Alpha Whiskey Author

Reply to Andrew V. December 29, 2015 1:10 pm

Thank you Andrew! I’m very glad you got some great results. Best wishes for the New
Year :)

0 Reply

DavidB
December 27, 2015 10:15 am

Your photo essays are always a joy to read and view.

It’s nice to know that these cameras can produce such evocative and emotional images. And
isn’t that the point of photography, after all?

DavidB

0 Reply

Alpha Whiskey Author

Reply to DavidB December 27, 2015 12:21 pm

Indeed it is, David! Thank you for the kind words. Best wishes for the New Year. :)
Cheers.

0 Reply

Martin_G
December 25, 2015 8:28 pm

Great article. Working with a borrowed camera is great fun. There should be more of it. I
always enjoy the opportunity to use other people’s cameras. The images are wonderful.

0 Reply

Alpha Whiskey Author

Reply to Martin_G December 26, 2015 1:43 am

Thank you Martin. Yep, I imagine I’ll be asking sis to borrow it again at some point in the
future :)
Cheers.

0 Reply

Raghuram
December 25, 2015 8:14 am

Dear Sharif, merry Xmas and a happy new year to you. Good to see you here again! Thanks
for yet another inspiring post full of lovely pics. It’s a shame, couple of years back, I stood in
the very same places you did and I came back with snapshots! Your’s are in a league of their
own. I always look forward to your posts which fly in the face of obvious and ubiquitous gear
related articles that subliminally reinforce the message that better gear somehow leads to
better photos! Amazing photos with compacts!! Cheers and keep ’em coming!!

0 Reply

Alpha Whiskey Author

Reply to Raghuram December 26, 2015 1:41 am

Thank you for the kind words, Raghuram. I’m pleased you enjoyed the post and the
images. :)
Regards.

0 Reply

Sam
December 24, 2015 3:53 pm

Absolutely love this post. It shows there’s no need to have the pro level gear 99% of the
other articles on this site are about to enjoy this passion. I, like many others here I’d imagine,
have a wide range of pro gear we work with but for me that’s what that gear is for, work.
There’s always been a naughty little compact which calls out to me to go and play and those
times have been without a doubt the most enjoyable.

0 Reply

Alpha Whiskey Author

Reply to Sam December 26, 2015 1:39 am

Thank you Sam. When you enjoy something I guess you can make anything work for you
:)
Cheers.

0 Reply

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