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I want to take some night shots of the sky and landscape showing up stars and cars on a distant road.

I have the option to set the shutter speed to 30s, but I want to take a 2 min (or more) exposure, to capture more movement.

I've seen that you can set it to bulb mode, and hold the shutter down, which isn't practical, as I ned the camera to be completely still.

I could buy a remote, and keep my finger on this I guess, but it still seems a bit fiddly.

Am I missing a trick ? or is the solution to buy a remote?

Thanks Rich.

---- EDIT ---- 6 Mar 2013

I just discovered last week, that whilst in Bulb mode, a single press of the wireless remote opens the lens, and a further press (minutes later possibly) will terminate the exposure, giving you full control of the exposure length. Before I discovered this, I purchased a wired remote, which did the trick also, but the wireless remote is so much easier.

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    I would buy a cheap intervalometer like this amzn.com/B004FKYBJM I use the same one on my Canon 40D. You could buy a remote that isn't a intervalometer, but you would only save a few bucks anyways since this is so inexpensive.
    – dpollitt
    Mar 22, 2012 at 18:11

5 Answers 5

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You have a couple of options, you could shoot four 30 second frames and then average them in software. This solution doesn't require any extra gear, however it requires you to reopen the shutter quickly for each exposure (which could rock the camera) and introduces the possibility of having gaps in your light trials.

Alternatively, most wired remotes offer the ability to lock the shutter button down so you can let go of the remote until you need to reopen the shutter. Combine this with bulb mode and you can get 2 minute exposures easily without rocking the camera.

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  • Yes, I wondered about a remote with a 'lock' feature. Hmm.. I wonder if you can use the multi-shoot mode on a 30s exposure.. I'll have a play. Otherwise, the solution is to buy a remote with a shutter-lock.
    – Rich S
    Mar 22, 2012 at 17:45
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You can use Magic Lantern for Canon 60D to set the bulb timer for very long exposures (up to 8h).
I've personally done this for upto a minute in this photo.
Here is the link to Magic Lantern

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    Installing Magic Lantern firmware will void the warranty of the camera body. Beware :)
    – Hasin Hayder
    Mar 22, 2012 at 18:10
  • Reference to Warranty: magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ#Does_it_void_my_warranty.3F
    – Viv
    Mar 22, 2012 at 18:18
  • yes I have seen that. Whenever you install a firmware in your camera except in canon service centers, it will void the warranty. And canon guys will not install Magic Lantern for you :) no way
    – Hasin Hayder
    Mar 22, 2012 at 18:24
  • Yes drewben, they will run from your card. Still I think it will be wise to consult your local canon service center guys.
    – Hasin Hayder
    Mar 22, 2012 at 18:39
  • I like the idea of Magic Lantern, but I've only just got the camera, and would be reluctant to run something on there which does stuff with the hardware that the manufacturer didn't intend. Maybe I'm worrying too much, but I can't risk messing it up !!
    – Rich S
    Mar 23, 2012 at 12:42
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Use Magic Lantern, it does that and so much more. Won't hurt your camera. You can also purchase a very reasonably priced wired or wireless remote/intervalometer from GadgetInfinity(dot)com. I've bought several items from that site and am quite pleased.

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Well you could always install "Magic Lantern". Using ML you could set a time for ur "Bulb" mode like 5min 10min etc. Then press shutter and go drink coffee, eat something, hang out etc and come back to have photo taken for you. I did a 5 min exposure without a problem with my old 7D I'd assume it'd be no problem for 60D. With ML you also get a lot of other useful features. Search for it on google and decide if it's for you or not.

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I bought a cheap (< £3) remote for my 7D with a lock and it's worked absolutely flawlessly. I just wrap it around the tripod to keep it out of the way.

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