night

[joe5-0swoman]

Hi there. I have a REBEL XTI and was wondering how to take night photos... What settings it should be on... I find my flash always flickers, and I get a busy message on the display... Does anyone know what or how to change the settings.

[ebiggs1]

Hi there, it all depends on what you want to shoot at night.  There is going to be millions of situations and settings, more or less.  First off the tiny flash on your XTi is useless.  If you think you require a flash get a real flash like one of the 430 EX models.

Here are some night shots that have very different settings. Each requiring special attention to details possible multi-exposures.  They are not snap shots, to say the least.

Besides settings in the camera soem shots require serious editing in post.  Can you be a little more specific on what you want to shoot at night?  What gear do you have exactly?  Besides the flash, a good tripod is usually a must have.

[ScottyP]

Hi

The flash is flickering because it is too dark for your autofocus to see what it needs to focus on and the camera is trying to use little micro flashes to light up the scene enough to autofocus.  The busy indicator is just telling you this. 

Rebel cameras, especially older ones, really struggle to AF in low light. I had a T3i and it was frustrating and a bit embarassing when it was doing all that flashing and not taking a shot. This would happen even in seemingly not too bad indoor light. 

Newer cameras and more expensive cameras are a lot better at this. Look at the specs on the lowest EV (exposure value) at which a body can autofocus.  Older ones needed an EV of 1 to work. Newer rebels can af at ev0. A 5d3 can af at -2 ev. 6d and a 5d4 can af at -3ev.  This point was a major consideration for me in upgrading and I can say the difference is like night and day. The problem basically no longer exists. 

Other than upgrading, try to give the camera some help. Focus on something with contrast like a pattern or sharp edges and not something low contrast like a flat wall. Try to improve lighting in the area by turning on lights or move your subject to a brighter place.  

[Waddizzle]

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@joe5-0swoman wrote:

Hi there. I have a REBEL XTI and was wondering how to take night photos... What settings it should be on... I find my flash always flickers, and I get a busy message on the display... Does anyone know what or how to change the settings.

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The display may flash "buSY" in the viewfinder for a couple of reasons, depending which camera mode that you are using and what optional noise reduction, NR, settings are enabled.. The camera may display "buSY" on the LCD if the camera is still writing a file to the memory card, even when the power is switched <OFF>.

Some causes for a "buSY" display:

• Continuous shooting may cause delay in completely saving all of the images in the buffer memory
• The Long Exposure Noise Reduction setting requires a period of itme equal to the length of the original exposure.
• The built-in flash is recycling, which will be accompanied by a lightning bolt symbol in the viewfinder.

There could be other reasons I may have missed, but the last reason, the flash recycling itself, could be why you're seeing "buSY".  The camera has been firing the flash as an AF Assist Beam, and it needs a little time to recharge itself.

[StanNH]

I always use the manual settings, then adjust my shutter speed and aperture as needed.  I also always use manual focus in low light.  Very slow shutter speeds will require a tripod or resting the camera on something solid to avoid camera shake.

[joe5-0swoman]

the sky... stars... people, buildings.... etc... everything. fireworks

[joe5-0swoman]

Thank you very much... everyone has told me i have a fantastic camera. but its from 2007, wasnt originally what i even wanted, and I have been frustered for 9 years.

[joe5-0swoman]

the camera was ON 🙂

[joe5-0swoman]

scotty P you are bang on... that is exactly what it is doing....

[ebiggs1]

"... everything. fireworks"

Fireworks are among the easiest to shoot.  Set the Rebel on a tripod.  Manual mode. Av to f8 and SS as long as you want.  Shoot away.