How to Shoot Handheld Long-Exposure Photography at Night with the Ricoh GR III

One of the selling points of the Ricoh GR III compact APS-C camera is the IBIS system (In-Body Image Stabilization), which is claimed to allow the user to handhold up to one second. I put this to the test in this night video, where I'm able to show the long-exposure by using passing cars in a small town, creating light-trails on Main Street.

This was a spur of the moment attempt, but I was very pleased with the results. Having thought through the process, I would have used the 2-second delay shutter to make sure to minimize camera shake even more while holding it in my hands instead of using a tripod. I also only went down to .8 seconds (next step is one full second), as again, I hadn't thought about going as low as possible, it was just an attempt at the time to get a decent light-trail.

In a few other parts of town, I capture what would normally be a very boring alley between buildings, as well as the town Visitor's Center, which is lit up with multi-color lights at night. Both locations wouldn't yield much inspiration during daylight hours, but at night, even the smallest of towns will come alive with the proper street light placement.

While watching this video or looking at the photos, keep in mind, there will be a lot of camera noise in the photos since the ISO has to be jacked up so high - as high as 3200 in some photos, that you can't help but have noise in the lights. One way to avoid this, and get better shots in general, would be to use a tripod, and a longer shutter such as 3-5 seconds, while keeping the ISO as low as possible,usually down to 100. Using a high aperture will usually give you a star effect on the lights as well. But if you do not have a tripod, or time to perform such stabilizing chores, you can still get great night shots, and some cool light trails, as low as .8 or 1 full second handheld.