RE: Fireworks ?

[Dave Buyens <davepe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

From: Jakob Sigurdsson
>>>I recently bought a Horizon 202. I want to take some pictures
of the new year fireworks here in Reykjavik. I will try to find some
high ground and capture the sky over a large portion of the city.
Here in Reykjavik the whole sky lights up around midnight. If the
weather will be calm then I believe that it will be a spectacular show.
I have never tried to photograph fireworks before. There are some pointers
on the net
about this but not regarding panoramic cameras.

Any recommendations regarding film, shutter speed etc. will be appreciated.
Maybe a swing lens camera is not well suited to do this?  Well I'm pretty
clueless.

Horizon specs:
    - multi coated 28mm/f2.8-16 lens
    - exposure times: 1/2-1/4-1/8s and 1/60-1/125-1/250s <<<

Jakob,
  Exposures for fireworks typically are in the 2 to 10 second range.
Shorter exposures will not show the shape of the burst because the burst
"paints" itself on the sky, rather than lighting up all at once.  No doubt
the 1/2-second shutter speed takes much longer as the 202 rotates, but only
a small portion of the film is exposed at any one time.  Hence, only
incomplete bursts will be shown.  You can try the slowest exposure, but
don't be surprised if you only get small streaks.  Use a f-stop to expose
the background (you will want to include some landmarks in your
composition).
   A conventional camera might be more suited to the fireworks display you
are wanting to capture.  Though I don't own a 202, the strength of a
swing-lens camera is the wild view.  Even electronically stitching photos
together cant match the swing lens because any movement is not consistent
between stitch frames (whereas the swing-lens will render all well).
  Flash photography wouldn't seem to work with the 202 either.  Use the 202
for interesting daytime shots.

  If you try the fireworks just for the heck of it, let us know how they
turn out.

Dave B.