see also:

• long exposure dark frame thermal noise in Olympus cameras
• the Olympus OM-D system and how to make the most of it
• astrophotography
• astrophotographic landscapes of the Milky Way
• urban night photography
• long exposure photography
• how to blur water motion - waterfalls, seascapes, etc
• photographing fireworks

• nearly all digital cameras have 2 long exposure modes:
  • Olympus Live BULB mode - press shutter to start exposure and release to terminate it
  • specific timed - most cameras have timed exposures of 1, 2, 4, 8, 15 and 30secs, Olympus cameras almost uniquely extend this to 60secs which is very handy indeed for astrophotography
    • most cameras also allow dark frame thermal noise frames to be taken and subtracted automatically
• in addition, Olympus has introduced some unique modes:
  • Olympus Time mode
    • unlike BULB mode which is terminated on taking finger off the shutter button, Time mode requires a 2nd press of the shutter button so you don't have to use a remote shutter release or have your finger pressed on the shutter button during exposure
  • Olympus Live BULB mode
    • during BULB exposures, the image is able to be viewed on the LCD screen as it “develops” allowing you to terminate the exposure when you think the exposure is adequate
  • Olympus Live Time mode
    • similar to Live BULB but exposure is terminated when shutter button is pressed again (rather than released as with BULB)
  • Olympus Live Composite mode
    • allows in-camera “stacking” of multiple exposures
    • this is fantastic for creating star trail type images with multiple short exposures