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In line with @Reid, I would strongly recommend a tripod if at all possible (when you don't have human subjects). The advice from previous answers is good advice: a fast prime and modest amount of ISO (below visible noise distortion levels) and the longest shutter speed where you can hold the camera still (I don't think your rig has image stabilisation but if so great) will just about get you what you need. Distinguishing between different areas of the composition however will be very difficult.

A tripod opens up a world of creative possibilites:

  1. the fast lens approach creates relatively uniform exposure which is such a waste at night given the extremes of light and dark (depending upon where you on).

  2. basic effects like glassy smooth water - achievable with an appx 8 second shutter speed or more - are no can do.

  3. you get to have a whole new level of control of the composition, determining what you want to be the subject rather than having your arm twisted.

  4. the risk of ISO distortion is eliminated

  5. you can jack the f-stop number way up to levels which would cause diffraction in the day time but at night allow for a wide range of affects (and, of course, compensate with shutter speed)

  6. And perhaps the most magical element: you're relying on the "eye of the camera" not your own eyes. Human's don't do long expsosure vision, cameras do it very well. Things too faint to see for a person can come into sharp relief with a camera that spends a minute staring at something.

Night photography and/or long exposures are great fun and a good education. You'll be able to slip by with some okay shots attaining your precise objectives with the fast prime approach or you can take the shackles off and discover (literally) a whole new world.

I took this image at 2am in the middle of the countryside. It was so dark (and I'd forgot my flashlight) that I kept tripping over rocks. This photo had a shutter speed of ten minutes. The camera was able to pick up light pollution coming from the nearest town which was too faint for the human eye to see in an instant. It's a crude example but an illustration of what I am saying about the principle of night photography + long exposure + tripod which can be equally used in your desired context.

enter image description here

In line with @Reid, I would strongly recommend a tripod if at all possible (when you don't have human subjects). The advice from previous answers is good advice: a fast prime and modest amount of ISO (below visible noise distortion levels) and the longest shutter speed where you can hold the camera still (I don't think your rig has image stabilisation but if so great) will just about get you what you need. Distinguishing between different areas of the composition however will be very difficult.

A tripod opens up a world of creative possibilites:

  1. the fast lens approach creates relatively uniform exposure which is such a waste at night given the extremes of light and dark (depending upon where you on).

  2. basic effects like glassy smooth water - achievable with an appx 8 second shutter speed or more - are no can do.

  3. you get to have a whole new level of control of the composition, determining what you want to be the subject rather than having your arm twisted.

  4. the risk of ISO distortion is eliminated

  5. you can jack the f-stop number way up to levels which would cause diffraction in the day time but at night allow for a wide range of affects (and, of course, compensate with shutter speed)

  6. And perhaps the most magical element: you're relying on the "eye of the camera" not your own eyes. Human's don't do long expsosure vision, cameras do it very well. Things too faint to see for a person can come into sharp relief with a camera that spends a minute staring at something.

Night photography and/or long exposures are great fun and a good education. You'll be able to slip by with some okay shots attaining your precise objectives with the fast prime approach or you can take the shackles off and discover (literally) a whole new world.

I took this image at 2am in the middle of the countryside. It was so dark (and I'd forgot my flashlight) that I kept tripping over rocks. This photo had a shutter speed of ten minutes. The camera was able to pick light pollution coming from the nearest town which was too faint for the human eye to see in an instant. It's a crude example but an illustration of what I am saying about the principle of night photography + long exposure + tripod which can be equally used in your desired context.

enter image description here

In line with @Reid, I would strongly recommend a tripod if at all possible (when you don't have human subjects). The advice from previous answers is good advice: a fast prime and modest amount of ISO (below visible noise distortion levels) and the longest shutter speed where you can hold the camera still (I don't think your rig has image stabilisation but if so great) will just about get you what you need. Distinguishing between different areas of the composition however will be very difficult.

A tripod opens up a world of creative possibilites:

  1. the fast lens approach creates relatively uniform exposure which is such a waste at night given the extremes of light and dark (depending upon where you on).

  2. basic effects like glassy smooth water - achievable with an appx 8 second shutter speed or more - are no can do.

  3. you get to have a whole new level of control of the composition, determining what you want to be the subject rather than having your arm twisted.

  4. the risk of ISO distortion is eliminated

  5. you can jack the f-stop number way up to levels which would cause diffraction in the day time but at night allow for a wide range of affects (and, of course, compensate with shutter speed)

  6. And perhaps the most magical element: you're relying on the "eye of the camera" not your own eyes. Human's don't do long expsosure vision, cameras do it very well. Things too faint to see for a person can come into sharp relief with a camera that spends a minute staring at something.

Night photography and/or long exposures are great fun and a good education. You'll be able to slip by with some okay shots attaining your precise objectives with the fast prime approach or you can take the shackles off and discover (literally) a whole new world.

I took this image at 2am in the middle of the countryside. It was so dark (and I'd forgot my flashlight) that I kept tripping over rocks. This photo had a shutter speed of ten minutes. The camera was able to pick up light pollution coming from the nearest town which was too faint for the human eye to see in an instant. It's a crude example but an illustration of what I am saying about the principle of night photography + long exposure + tripod which can be equally used in your desired context.

enter image description here

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In line with @Reid, I would strongly recommend a tripod if at all possible (when you don't have human subjects). The advice from previous answers is good advice: a fast prime and modest amount of ISO (below visible noise distortion levels) and the longest shutter speed where you can hold the camera still (I don't think your rig has image stabilisation but if so great) will just about get you what you need. Distinguishing between different areas of the composition however will be very difficult.

A tripod opens up a world of creative possibilites:

  1. the fast lens approach creates relatively uniform exposure which is such a waste at night given the extremes of light and dark (depending upon where you on).

  2. basic effects like glassy smooth water - achievable with an appx 8 second shutter speed or more - are no can do.

  3. you get to have a whole new level of control of the composition, determining what you want to be the subject rather than having your arm twisted.

  4. the risk of ISO distortion is eliminated

  5. you can jack the f-stop number way up to levels which would cause diffraction in the day time but at night allow for a wide range of affects (and, of course, compensate with shutter speed)

  6. And perhaps the most magical element: you're relying on the "eye of the camera" not your own eyes. Human's don't do long expsosure vision, cameras do it very well. Things too faint to see for a person can come into sharp relief with a camera that spends a minute staring at something.

Night photography and/or long exposures are great fun and a good education. You'll be able to slip by with some okay shots attaining your precise objectives with the fast prime approach or you can take the shackles off and discover (literally) a whole new world.

I took this image at 2am in the middle of the countryside. It was so dark (and I'd forgot my flashlight) that I kept tripping over rocks. This photo had a shutter speed of ten minutes. The camera was able to pick light pollution coming from the nearest town which was too faint for the human eye to see in an instant. It's a crude example but an illustration of what I am saying about the principle of night photography + long exposure + tripod which can be equally used in your desired context.

enter image description here