I have been really into light painting but I have a Nikon coolpix p520 and the exposure can only go to 8 seconds. Is there any kind of shutter remote that is able to extend shutter speeds and that is compatible with my camera. Bulb mode would be ideal but I need at least 30 seconds.
Note: I am not able to get a better camera and google has not helped what so ever
Taking a look at page 78 of the manual as far as I can tell your camera does not have any option to extend beyond 8 seconds in camera. I also don't see an option for a remote control or shutter release that would give that ability.
You could(and should) stack multiple 8 second exposures in post processing though. Take a look at this existing question:
How can I simulate a long exposure photo using a set of shorter exposure photos?
Alos see the image stacking tag: https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/image-stacking
Sorry, the P520 will only expose for up to 8S at ISO100. For 200 and 400 it's 4 seconds, decreasing to 1/2 second max at HI1 ~ISO64000)
This is very disappointing and is teh weakest aspect of an otherwise excellent camera IMHO.
The P520 can make fairly good astrophotos despite its 8 second maximum shutter time. Use the highest ISO setting, tripod mount, manual focus to infinity and use the 'self timer' to delay the shutter action two seconds. The delay gives the camera time to settle down after you press the shutter button. For bright objects, like the moon, use lower ISO, like 200, and a fast shutter speed. The P520 will actually focus on the moon rather well as it is almost as bright as terrestrial daylight. Even handheld I have achieved sharp photos of the moon with lots of detail. Make sure the camera's internal noise reduction is turned on! In post processing, use the 'levels' adjustment to bring up more detail of dimmer objects.
