A7 BULB mode + 10sec delay + button. What to expect?

[ActionPhotoPassion]

Hello there,

I decided to go out today for a sunrise morning in the park.

My usual gear is not at home at the moment, so I don't have my remote and decided to go bulb with camera shutter button and delay of 10sec to reduce shaking.

My goal was to shoot 1 minute or more and I noticed that through IEM sony app, it's not possible to shoot more than 30 sec in bulb mode. Hence the workaround.

Now to my surprise after the 10sec delay the shutter wouldn't stay opened, but instead shut off instantly bringing of course a black frame.

So to be sure that my expectation is correct, I'm asking here if it's normal? Or as I expected it should have wait for me to click shutter button a second time to shutoff?

The camera is A7 mark I.

I was able to shoot 30sec shots with 10 sec delay. The camera didn't like the freshness of the ambient temp though as I had other kind of glitches.

Edit: while taking my coffe I'm reviewing the pictures through the EVF and I see something I never saw:

There is an horizontal line in the EVF, exactly at half width. Almost invisible while shooting but very visible when I review the pictures especially in the sky and lake reflections... Normal? Or EVF is going south?

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https://www.actionphotopassion.com

 

[sludge21017]

On the IEM app - the bulb mode is like a slider - you have to move it over so it locks in. You can just release it or else it will think you are done with bulb mode.

Sorry that's my guess from what I remember on other cameras. Kind of like burst mode too you can lock it in, and then slide it back when done.

I'm just not sure if it takes 10 seconds with the delay to lock it in.

Let us know.

 

[ActionPhotoPassion]

On the IEM app - the bulb mode is like a slider - you have to move it over so it locks in. You can just release it or else it will think you are done with bulb mode.

Sorry that's my guess from what I remember on other cameras. Kind of like burst mode too you can lock it in, and then slide it back when done.

I'm just not sure if it takes 10 seconds with the delay to lock it in.

Let us know.

Thank you,

I just gave it a try and I noticed that the remote is the application playmemories remote, the old ones on the A7.

Interestingly, it is still working with the new app IEM.

But inside of IEM the shutter release is just a button and on the camera the max exposure can be set to 30 sec, won't validate bulb.

A quick search on the net led me to a post of someone in 2013 who asked Sony about it: never answered.

Well no biggy, I'll get my remote back soon enough. Never ask too much regarding software from Sony, that I'm used to

 

[Nikolai Vassiliev]

What camera mode did you using?

BULB setting is only available in M mode (and not 1-2-3 MR modes even if they store M-mode).

 

[ActionPhotoPassion]

What camera mode did you using?

BULB setting is only available in M mode (and not 1-2-3 MR modes even if they store M-mode).

 

[Ralf B]

Hello there,

I decided to go out today for a sunrise morning in the park.

My usual gear is not at home at the moment, so I don't have my remote and decided to go bulb with camera shutter button and delay of 10sec to reduce shaking.

My goal was to shoot 1 minute or more and I noticed that through IEM sony app, it's not possible to shoot more than 30 sec in bulb mode. Hence the workaround.

Now to my surprise after the 10sec delay the shutter wouldn't stay opened, but instead shut off instantly bringing of course a black frame.

Well, were you pushing the shutter button the whole time? If not, see below.

So to be sure that my expectation is correct, I'm asking here if it's normal? Or as I expected it should have wait for me to click shutter button a second time to shutoff?

The culprit: BULB means "push me" the whole time. It does NOT mean: Push once to start and push again to stop. So in your case I guess you launched the 10 sec delay with a short push and then let go the shutter button. As result, after the 10 sec the cam did not get a shutter push and made a very short exposure.

The camera is A7 mark I.

Where does the term "bulb" come from:
In the old days with really wired remote triggers, you had an air bulb to squeeze on one end of the cable release to trigger the shutter, and wire extending on the other end pushing the cam shutter release. These releases required to be fixed on cam mechanically, so that they can deliver the push. And it required to squeeze the bulb for as long as you wanted the cam shutter opened. Such remotes are still available today:




old style BULB remote release

I just tried BULB on my a7CII with 10 sec delay, keeping my finger on the shutter button. It worked as long as I kept pushing, and the rear screen showed a timer counting the exposure time until I let go.

Lacking a wireless remote, you should push the shutter button on cam for the whole minute you want the exposure to last. Such photo asks for a solid tripod or other stable foundation anyway, so forget about the 10 sec delay to "avoid shake".

I hope this answers your question.
Cheers,
Ralf

 

[ActionPhotoPassion]

Hello there,

I decided to go out today for a sunrise morning in the park.

My usual gear is not at home at the moment, so I don't have my remote and decided to go bulb with camera shutter button and delay of 10sec to reduce shaking.

My goal was to shoot 1 minute or more and I noticed that through IEM sony app, it's not possible to shoot more than 30 sec in bulb mode. Hence the workaround.

Now to my surprise after the 10sec delay the shutter wouldn't stay opened, but instead shut off instantly bringing of course a black frame.

Well, were you pushing the shutter button the whole time? If not, see below.

So to be sure that my expectation is correct, I'm asking here if it's normal? Or as I expected it should have wait for me to click shutter button a second time to shutoff?

The culprit: BULB means "push me" the whole time. It does NOT mean: Push once to start and push again to stop. So in your case I guess you launched the 10 sec delay with a short push and then let go the shutter button. As result, after the 10 sec the cam did not get a shutter push and made a very short exposure.

The camera is A7 mark I.

Where does the term "bulb" come from:
In the old days with really wired remote triggers, you had an air bulb to squeeze on one end of the cable release to trigger the shutter, and wire extending on the other end pushing the cam shutter release. These releases required to be fixed on cam mechanically, so that they can deliver the push. And it required to squeeze the bulb for as long as you wanted the cam shutter opened. Such remotes are still available today:


old style BULB remote release

I just tried BULB on my a7CII with 10 sec delay, keeping my finger on the shutter button. It worked as long as I kept pushing, and the rear screen showed a timer counting the exposure time until I let go.

Lacking a wireless remote, you should push the shutter button on cam for the whole minute you want the exposure to last. Such photo asks for a solid tripod or other stable foundation anyway, so forget about the 10 sec delay to "avoid shake".

I hope this answers your question.
Cheers,
Ralf

Hi Ralf,

Very interesting and insightful. Well I'll give it a try ASAP.

I expected it to work as the Sony wireless remote that's why but yes keeping the button pushed during the exposure is definitely a good solution to me too.

Thanks I'll give it a spin as I will retry a shoot tomorrow morning.

EDIT: I just gave it a try and forgot:

as soon as I choose to shoot with the remote application, the shutter speed is able to go up to 30sec, but won't pass to bulb mode: rotating the wheel to reach "bulb" has no effect and shutter is blocked to max value 30sec.

So that's the real bummer of this wifi remote app. No biggy though.

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https://www.actionphotopassion.com