Bulb setting manual mode

[stamper]

I have been doing some research as to using the bulb setting in manual mode. One thing that baffles me is can it be used or should it be used in normal daylight conditions. It isn't just for night-time shooting?TIA

[NikoJorj]

One thing that baffles me is can it be used or should it be used in normal daylight conditions.

Anything is possible... but daytime long exposures generally need a dark filter like a ND400.

[wolfnowl]

Nicholas beat me to it, but exposure for a given light setting = shutter speed + f/stop + ISO - variable depending on the lens, sensor, etc.  So yes you can use B in the daytime, but you need to seriously need to control ISO, f/stop and/or available light.

Mike.

[stamper]

Nicholas beat me to it, but exposure for a given light setting = shutter speed + f/stop + ISO - variable depending on the lens, sensor, etc.  So yes you can use B in the daytime, but you need to seriously need to control ISO, f/stop and/or available light.

Mike.

Using my grad filters - I use two 4 stop filters stacked - then I would have to meter the scene without the filters and work out if the shutter speed exceeded 30 seconds - the bulb setting on the d300 - before doing so other wise I would be wasting my time? I see threads on other forums about photographers using long exposures of about 60 seconds or so, therefore the light has to be very low such as night time for them to accomplish this? Ironically I saw a very good image on flickr that looked as if it was taken in daytime where the photographer claimed he used a 60 second exposure and I wondered how he had managed it? If I am in bulb mode how do I know when to release my remote to get the correct exposure?

[wolfnowl]

Using my grad filters - I use two 4 stop filters stacked - then I would have to meter the scene without the filters and work out if the shutter speed exceeded 30 seconds - the bulb setting on the d300 - before doing so other wise I would be wasting my time? I see threads on other forums about photographers using long exposures of about 60 seconds or so, therefore the light has to be very low such as night time for them to accomplish this? Ironically I saw a very good image on flickr that looked as if it was taken in daytime where the photographer claimed he used a 60 second exposure and I wondered how he had managed it? If I am in bulb mode how do I know when to release my remote to get the correct exposure?

There's two ways to do it.  As you suggested, meter w/o the filters and then multiply your exposure by eight stops.  Alternative is trial and error - you're shooting digital I presume, so go by what the histogram tells you or shoot a sequence at different exposures and compare.  You don't have to worry about reciprocity failure like you did with film.

Mike.

P.S.  When you're shooting really long exposures there isn't a lot of difference between 36 seconds and 37 seconds so you don't have to be that accurate. (one is 97.3% of the other).  It's not like the difference between say 1/60 and 1/250th of a second.

[NikoJorj]

Ironically I saw a very good image on flickr that looked as if it was taken in daytime where the photographer claimed he used a 60 second exposure and I wondered how he had managed it?

A full moon lighting, correctly exposed, looks very close to sunlight, but again the ND400 (not a grad) or one of its siblings are the most usual suspects for that.

Fot light metering, I'd say it's best to measure light without filter and correct for the filter if you know it.
With filter on, be careful that light entering the camera by the viewfinder doesn't screw up the measurement. There is an opaque eyepiece on some straps, just for that purpose.
Shooting digital, histogram is the judge anyway.