Use Bulb Mode On Sony RX100M3 III To Get Night Shots With Light Streaks Photos

RX100m3 light streaks
Want to capture a night scene clearly but have the moving cars headlight streak with movement across the photo image. Your Sony RX100M3 can do it and here is how.

Mount your camera on a tripod or sit it down on a very sturdy base so to get no movement of the RX100III when taking shot.

You will need to use “Bulb Mode” when taking the shot. It allows for long exposure times to capture streaks of light.

RX100III Bulb Mode

Bulb mode will let you hold the shutter open as long as you wish. This allows the movements of light to be photographed, like fireworks, auto lights, planes landing at night.

Keeping the RX100M3 as still as possible makes or breaks this technique. Using the free remote app (Sony Playmemories) will eliminate all shake and movement. You will control the shot from your Android or iPhone.

Use these setting on your RX100III:

Set the mode dial to M. (Manual)
Connect your phone to the camera using Wifi or NFC.

Dial exposure time to Bulb on the app.
Dial in a suitable Aperture value from F/5.6.
Press the shutter button on the app to start the exposure.
Press the shutter button again on the app to stop the exposure.

3 thoughts on “Use Bulb Mode On Sony RX100M3 III To Get Night Shots With Light Streaks Photos

  1. You mentioned “Dial exposure time to Bulb on the app.”
    I’ve been trying to do this with my Smart Remote Control app on Samsung S4 and the shutter speed is limited to only 30″.
    There is no option to choose “BULB” in the app just like in the camera.
    I called Sony Tech Support and they said at this moment the app doesn’t support BULB mode either.
    Have you tried this in the app yourself? If yes, and doable, please let me know how to do it.
    It will indeed be a very useful feature but somehow I can’t figure out how to do it in the app.

    Klink: Sorry, but if I remember correctly I have to set the camera to bulb mode in the camera settings first them use the app to start and stop the exposure. I am out of town for a few weeks but I will check it again on my RX100 III when I get back.

  2. I had the same problem, and then I updated the Smart Remote Control app on the camera to the latest version (2.0), and the problem went away.
    (There are also a few settings on the camera that will prevent the camera from even displaying Bulb as an option. I forget what they are, but they are listed in the camera’s manual.)
    Hope this helps.

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