How do you set an EOS to keep the shutter open for long exposures? Mine seems to be limited to 30 seconds.
Anne Marshall, Derbyshire
Brian Says… For exposures longer than 30 seconds you need to use Bulb mode. This keeps the shutter open for as long as the shutter button is pressed. Bulb exposures are fully Manual – you need to control the time, plus set the aperture and ISO. There are practical limits, of course, as your camera battery will ultimately run out after an hour or more.
The way to set Bulb mode depends on the model of your Canon; if you have a B on the mode dial, that’s Bulb mode. For other cameras, set M for Manual and turn the main dial until you reach 30 seconds, then one more click will take you to Bulb mode. You need to use a remote to trigger and hold the shutter open: use a remote switch, the EOS Utility software, or the Canon Camera Connect smartphone app if your camera supports it
All the current Canon EOS camera models either have built-in Wi-fi, or can work with accessories to provide a Wi-fi connection. I’m often amazed at the number of photographers who haven’t used the technology for the benefit of their photos.
You can download the free Canon Camera Connect app from both the Apple and Android app stores. Once installed, it’s relatively simple to set up the camera as a Wi-fi hotspot to which you connect your phone or tablet. Run the app and you’re all set. The app has two main capabilities: it can view and download photos already stored on the memory cards, plus it can remotely control the camera with Live View.
Downloading a whole shoot from large capacity memory cards to your phone or tablet is a little impractical, but it’s fine for transferring a few selected pictures for your website, social media, or to email.
Remote control of the camera from the phone is ideal when the camera is positioned where you can’t easily see the LCD. With the Camera Connect app, your phone or tablet becomes like a wireless remote LCD. You can tap the screen to select the focus point, and change all the camera settings too. Of course, it is also possible to release the shutter – ideal for long exposures.
You can use the app to send GPS info from your phone to the camera, and this can be stored with the photos you take. It’s quite handy if your camera doesn’t have GPS built-in, but it does use up the phone battery quite fast. For a lot of cameras with Wi-fi, it’s possible to shoot tethered to a laptop or desktop computer without wires – EOS Utility is supplied with each EOS DSLR camera and connects using Wi-fi (or USB). Set the camera to Raw + JPG shooting, and then in DPP choose to only download the JPG file to the computer for speed while you shoot.