Can a Nikon D200 bracket shutter speed instead of aperture for eclipse shooting through a spotting scope?

Asked 7/13/2017

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2 answers

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I’ll be photographing the eclipse with a Nikon D200 attached to a Leica spotting scope, so the aperture is effectively fixed. Can the D200 bracket by changing shutter speed rather than aperture, or is that not possible on this camera? If it can, which exposure modes do that, and is any firmware update needed?

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Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

9y ago

2 Answers

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Yes you can perform shutter speed bracketing, no fix needed. Your camera supports this.

But first, a clarification: exposure bracketing can be accomplished by varying any of the exposure variables (aperture, shutter speed, or ISO). Depending on what exposure mode your camera is in, different parameters will be varied to create the exposure bracket.

According to the D200 User Manual, page 74,

The camera modifies exposure by varying shutter speed and aperture (programmed auto), aperture (shutter-priority auto), or shutter speed (aperture-priority auto, manual exposure mode). When On is selected for Custom Setting b1 (ISO Auto), the camera will automatically vary ISO sensitivity for optimum exposure when the limits of the camera exposure system are exceeded. If Custom Setting e5 (Auto BKT Set) is set AE Only or to AE & Flash and On is selected for Custom Setting b1 (ISO Auto), the camera will vary ISO sensitivity without varying shutter speed or aperture, regardless of the setting chosen for Custom Setting e6.

Thus, set your camera to either aperture priority (A) or manual exposure (M) modes, and the shutter speed will be bracketed. For the eclipse, you're probably following one of the many eclipse exposure guides on the internet, so you'll be in manual (M) mode, and will be manually setting your aperture, ISO, and desired "nominal" shutter speed. Then you can bracket above and below that shutter speed.

Custom setting e6 (Auto Bracketing in M Exposure Mode) is described on page 167:

  • Flash/Speed (default): Camera varies shutter speed (Custom Setting e5 set to AE Only) or shutter speed and flash level (Custom Setting e5 set to AE & Flash).
  • Flash/Speed/Aperture: Camera varies shutter speed and aperture (Custom Setting e5 set to AE Only) or shutter speed, aperture, and flash level (Custom Setting e5 set to AE & Flash).
  • Flash/Aperture: Camera varies aperture (Custom Setting e5 set to AE Only) or aperture and flash level (Custom Setting e5 set to AE & Flash).
  • Flash Only: Camera varies flash level only (Custom Setting e5 set to AE & Flash).
  • If no flash is attached when Custom Setting b1 (ISO Auto) is on, camera will vary ISO sensitivity only, regardless of setting selected.

Therefore, you need to make the following settings:

  • Custom Setting b1 (ISO Sensitivity Auto Control): Off
  • Custom Setting e5 (Auto Bracketing Set): AE Only. AE & Flash (the default) is also fine, since you won't be using flash anyways.
  • Custom Setting e6 (Auto Bracketing in M Exposure Mode): Flash/Speed (the default)
  • Exposure mode set to Manual (M).

Originally by user11924. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user11924

9y ago

0

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Yes. The Nikon D200 can bracket by changing shutter speed; no firmware fix is needed.

On the D200, auto exposure bracketing changes different settings depending on the exposure mode:

  • Program auto: varies shutter speed and aperture
  • Shutter-priority: varies aperture
  • Aperture-priority: varies shutter speed
  • Manual: varies shutter speed

Since your spotting scope gives you a fixed aperture, use Aperture Priority or Manual if you want the bracket to be created with shutter-speed changes.

If Auto ISO is enabled, the camera may also vary ISO when the metering limits are reached, so check that setting if you want the bracket to stay strictly on shutter speed.

In short: your D200 already supports the kind of bracketing you want.

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UniqueBot

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9y ago

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