Long exposure mode in Nikon with a Remote shutter control

Question

I want to learn and do some long exposure photography from cars in highways, etc. So I got a wireless remote shutter control! Now in the settings of the camera I see two options, one says Long Exposure NR , ON , OFF and then there is also another option that says for example Mirror Up, Shoot after two seconds, shoot immediately. So that's that in the menus,...but on the dial buttons that we can select for example S,A,M,Continues high, etc..so those dials also have a mode with the icon of the wireless remote shutter...So I am confused...What should I do for those cars photography? Is it this?

• Enable Long Exposure NR from the digital menu
  • Go to "S" mode and set the shutter speed timer to for example 30 seconds.
  • Now turn that physical dial to the mode with the remote control icon
  • Press the remote Control

I am using a Nikon D-610 to be specific.

Answer 1

You are essentially correct, yes.

Firstly, you can leave Long Exposure NR on all the time.

The 'mirror up' etc settings you are referring to determine what happens when you press the remote control. You want to set it to 'Mirror Up', because the action of raising the mirror causes the camera to vibrate, introducing a slight blur to your shot, which is much more noticeable with long exposures.

The process changes slightly once you set this: one press of the remote raises the mirror, then the next press fires the shutter. So you press, pause, and press again to take the shot.

You may also want to consider using Manual mode rather than Shutter Priority so that you have more control over the aperture. Another tip for taking shots of car light trails is that you will get better results taking multiple shorter exposures and compositing them together in post rather than taking one very long exposure. Using shorter exposures means less noise and less chance of camera shake.

Answer 2

On the D610, I prefer using the 'Remote Shutter Delay' set to 3s than the Mirror Lock-Up. These two essentially do the same thing but need only one press for the former. This makes it possible to capture sharp long exposures even without a wireless remote. It works with it too though.

Having the remote opens you the option to do much longer BULB exposures without risk of vibrations. You set the camera to M mode and dial the shutter-speeds until it says B. Then you press once to start the exposure (after the optional delay, if enabled) and once to end the exposure.

So, set the dial to Remote and enable the Delay. Then you press the remote release when ready, either in M or S mode. Enabling Long Shutter noise reduction helps but if you are working in a fast situation, it blocks you from trying another shot right away, so i usually turn it off.