How do you photograph lightning with a high speed dSLR?

Question

I have a Nikon D300 DSLR with several lenses to use. Want to photograph night time lightning.

Answer 1

Another option is to use your camera on your tripod and set it to burst mode. If you take a multi-shot burst of a lightning strike you can later overlay them in photoshop and get a pretty cool shot.

Answer 2

Look for an area with a good bit of activity from lightening. Set the camera on the tripod.Use a long exposure time  

Answer 3

Actually, long exposure is the answer.

You would need to have a very fast finger to trigger a shutter to catch lightening.

So, set a low iso (you are fgoing tobe using a long exposure sothe less noise the better)  Set a small aperture.  Maybe have a polariser on there too.

Think about using NEF or RAW equivalent mode.  Much better chance of recovering a poor exposure.

Set M exposure.  Exposure time B(ulb).  Use the remote lock to leave the shutter open.

Bung the whole caboodle on a tripod.  Use mirror lock up.    Fire the shutter.  

Go and have a cup of tea.  Watch the storm.  When you see the forks end the exposure.

Answer 4

Generic answer is:

1. Set the camera on a tripod. I have done hand held shots, but the results are a bit iffy. The wiggle in a hand-held shot is instructive as it shows that a lightning strike is composed of many flashes.

2. Open the shutter, wait for lightning stroke, close the shutter.

3. As for camera settings, I have found that f11 works well when shooting at ISO 100. You may need to play with the lens opening to get things looking right.

4. Use a wide angle zoom setting (12 to 18mm) unless the storm is far away. You don't know exactly where the bolt(s) will strike.

5. Manual focus to infinity.

6. Post editing: Use a photo editor and adjust the image levels to bring out the detail of the stroke. There are lots of dim events in a lightning stroke which add to the beauty of the event. If you use raw mode, you can post process the image to your liking.

Use the Bulb setting. It will keep your shutter open for as long as you press the shutter release button. After the stroke of lightning, release the shutter release button. If a stroke of lightning doesn't occur within a minute, release the shutter button and start anew. Keeping the shutter open for a long time will give you excess background noise and sometimes a purple fringe on the image. If you have excess city lights, it will fog your exposure.

You need to disable the flash. That shouldn't be a problem since you need to set your camera in manual mode to do the above.

Answer 5

Same as with any other camera. Patience and the right gear. By gear I'm talking about wide angle lens, tripod, remote shutter, and umbrella.