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I have recently tried to take pictures of stars using my wife's D7000, but I couldn't get it to expose for more than 30 sec. In my old D70 I used the wired remote to do long exposures, but now I have only the wireless one. How can I get it to work?

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3 Answers 3

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You need to set the shutter speed to Bulb, which can only be done in Manual mode (turn the mode dial to M).

Once you've done that, and set the camera to use the remote, simply press the remote button once to open the shutter, then again to close it.

It's worth noting that there is a 30 second limit on bulb mode when using the Nikon ML3 wireless remote. You need to use a cabled remote for longer exposures, for some reason.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Ah I didn't figure out to try the manual mode, cheers! \$\endgroup\$
    – Grzenio
    Sep 4, 2011 at 14:09
  • \$\begingroup\$ @ElendilTheTall Manual exposure mode, but what Release mode? Single or Remote? \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Oct 23, 2014 at 22:43
  • \$\begingroup\$ Remote, as I said: 'once you've set the camera to use the remote' \$\endgroup\$
    – ElendilTheTall
    Oct 24, 2014 at 6:37
  • \$\begingroup\$ It is also worth noting that you can't use bulb mode with the remote when live-view is enabled. It took me a while to figure that out. \$\endgroup\$
    – kevin waddell
    Oct 28, 2018 at 23:50
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Further to ElendilltheTrail, I would also consider putting the camera in mirror lockup mode to reduce the risk of camera shake. Also note, that if you expose the sensor for more than ~30 seconds the rotation of the earth will create star trails, unless you have some kind of celestial motion-control tracking rig. Good luck, I've tried this a few times without much success (but I live in NYC).

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I live in London - we don't have any stars here either :) But I was trying to take this photo in Sourth Africa. \$\endgroup\$
    – Grzenio
    Sep 4, 2011 at 14:10
  • \$\begingroup\$ Not mirror lockup mode, which is used for cleaning, but Exposure Delay mode, which delays the shutter opening until after the mirror has fully raised. \$\endgroup\$
    – ElendilTheTall
    Sep 4, 2011 at 15:23
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Follow these steps to take exposures over 30 seconds with the wireless remote (ML-L3) on the Nikon D7000:

1) Go to manual mode and select "bulb" for shutter speed.
2) Change the release mode to remote.
3) Go into the "Shooting Menu", select "Remote Control Mode" and note the setting.
4a) If in "Delayed remote" or "Quick-response remote" mode, begin the exposure by pressing the remote button once .
4b) If in "Remote mirror-up" mode, begin the exposure by pressing the remote button twice within 30 seconds. If the remote button is not pressed a second time within 30 seconds, an exposure with 1/4 second shutter speed will be taken (see page 81 of the manual).
5) Wait the desired time for the length of the exposure and press the remote button a final time. If the remote button is not pressed within 30 minutes, the exposure will automatically end to prevent overheating of the sensor.

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