Long Exposures
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 shoots very long exposures, up to 60 seconds.

Long exposure times permit the camera to gather enough light to take a quality photo, even in the darkest of environments. If you want to keep the noise levels low and use lower ISO levels in dark environments long exposure times can be very useful. Most people don't normally need to take very long exposure photos, but they can provide an amazing creative opportunity for those interested. For example you can take long exposure shots of the night sky to capture the movement of stars across the sky, capture nigh-time vistas, landscapes at dusk, turn water in to flowing clouds, and add blur to photos for effect.

Get Creative with Long Exposures

The following photos demonstrate how long exposure time can create photos that would otherwise be impossible.


Nighttime Landscape
night time landscape of hills overlooking the waterThis photo by Amir K via flickr shows a great late night landscape. The longer exposure clips out and blends the lights and smooths the water and sky leaving the landscape in crisp detail. Shot on a Canon XSi entry-level dSLR
Flowing Water Effect
photo of a waterfallThis photo by Neils Photography illustrate a 4s long exposure of a waterfall via a Canon EOS 400D a f/16 18mm. The long exposure turns the waterfall and water into pillowing clouds creating a wonderful calming interpretation.
Nighttime Snow
photo of a snowy field and forest late at night Paulo Brandao's great nighttime shot uses a super long 124 second exposure using a Nikon D90, the effect is a wonderfully dark interpretation of the trees and snow at night with rays of light bursting through from the house beyond. Shot at 18mm f10 ISO 100.
Nighttime Highway Scene
photo of traffic lights blurred and trailing off into the distanceThis photo by nrbelex via flickr shows a fantastic interpretation of a nighttime highway - using a long exposure to turn the taillights in to bands of light trailing up the photo to the horizon. Shot with a Canon XTi.

Great Digicams with Long Exposures

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5
from $320
Aperture Wide aperture Help
f/2.0
Sensor size Large sensor Help
1/1.7" 8.3x6.2mm
Wide angle Wide angle lens Help
24 mm

Learn more about the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

Fujifilm Finepix X10
Fujifilm Finepix X10
from $583
Aperture Wide aperture Help
f/2.0
Sensor size Large sensor Help
1/1.7" 8.8x6.6mm
Overall image quality Great image quality Help
50.0

Learn more about the Fujifilm Finepix X10

Olympus XZ-1
Olympus XZ-1
from $499
Aperture Wide aperture Help
f/1.8
Screen type OLED Screen Help
Bright and vivid
Sensor size Large sensor Help
1/1.7" 8.3x6.2mm

Learn more about the Olympus XZ-1

Nikon Coolpix P7100
Nikon Coolpix P7100
from $400
External mic jack External mic jack Help
Record higher quality audio with a microphone
Screen flips out Flip-out screen Help
Great for movies
Sensor size Large sensor Help
1/1.8" 7.5x5.5mm

Learn more about the Nikon Coolpix P7100

Green arrow See more of the top Digicams that can take 30s or longer exposures

Entry Level SLRs with Long Exposures

The following entry level DSLRs provide at least a 30s exposure

Olympus E-5
Olympus E-5
from $1,699
Weather sealed Weather sealed Help
Shoot in extreme weather
Cross type focus points Many cross-type focus points Help
11
Screen resolution High resolution screen Help
920k dots

Learn more about the Olympus E-5

Pentax K-5
Pentax K-5
from $1,030
Low light performance Low noise at high ISO Help
1,162 ISO
Overall image quality Great image quality Help
82.0
Dynamic range Wide dynamic range Help
14.1 EV

Learn more about the Pentax K-5

Nikon D7000
Nikon D7000
from $1,097
Low light performance Low noise at high ISO Help
1,167 ISO
Overall image quality Great image quality Help
80.0
Focus points Many focus points Help
39

Learn more about the Nikon D7000

Sony Alpha DSLR-A580
Sony Alpha DSLR-A580
from $849
Low light performance Low noise at high ISO Help
1,121 ISO
Overall image quality Great image quality Help
80.0
Color depth Great color depth Help
23.8 bits

Learn more about the Sony Alpha DSLR-A580

Green arrow See more of the top entry level DSLRs that take 30s or longer exposures

Discussion

Showing 4 comments

Avatar for Mike Svitek Mike Svitek (0:04 AM, January 04, 2012)
It may be late, but set your camera to the "M" setting and rotate the adjustment dial up to 30" (30 seconds). the "B" mode means a manual shutter speed up to 30 seconds. As long as you hold the shutter button, it will remain open.
 
Mike (8:08 AM, August 03, 2011)
how do i get long exposure on the Fuji HS20 ex???
 
Avatar for Snapsort Snapsort (3:00 PM, January 15, 2011)
Have you tried turning the top dial to "S", then push the up/down buttons on the back (the top and bottom buttons in the circle of four buttons) to change the shutter speed.
 
Aballplayer (2:48 AM, January 15, 2011)
how do I get to the long exposure option on the DMC-ZS7??