I came across a pocket guide to night and city photography settings by Francesco Stancato and it's one of the more useful ones I've seen. It covers ten situations, from a busy commute to fireworks, with a starting aperture, shutter speed and ISO for each.
I shoot almost everything on a Ricoh GR, so I've added a note on each one about how to make it work on a fixed 28mm lens that opens no wider than f/2.8.
The settings
| Scene | Aperture | Shutter | ISO | On the Ricoh GR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City commute | f/5.6 | 1/500s | 320 | Works as is. Snap focus at 2m makes this quick. |
| Moonlit alley | f/1.8 | 1/30s | 3200 | The GR stops at f/2.8, so go to ISO 6400, or drop to 1/15s and lean on the stabiliser. |
| Panning | f/9 | 1/60s | 100 | A daylight setting. After dark, open up and raise the ISO, and keep the shutter slow while you follow the rider. |
| Blue hour | f/11 | 8s | 100 | Tripod or a wall to rest on, and a 2 second self timer. |
| Macro detail | f/4 | 1/200s | 640 | Switch on macro mode to get in close. |
| Rain reflection | f/4 | 1/125s | 1600 | Works as is. Get low so the puddle fills the bottom of the frame. |
| Portrait | f/2 | 1/800s | 250 | Use f/2.8. At 28mm, step closer for background blur. |
| Sunset landscape | f/13 | 1/20s | 100 | Works as is. Brace yourself or rest the camera on something. |
| Fireworks | f/8 | 4s | 200 | Tripod, and focus set manually to infinity. |
| Light trails | f/16 | 15s | 100 | Tripod. The built-in ND filter helps if it isn't fully dark yet. |
How to use them
Treat these as starting points rather than rules. Light changes quickly once the sun goes down, so take a test shot, check the histogram, and adjust from there. If the picture is too dark, the shutter speed is usually the first thing to change, as long as you can hold the camera steady.
The long exposures (blue hour, fireworks, light trails) all need the camera kept still. A small tripod is best, but a wall, a bin or a bridge railing will do the job. Use the self timer so pressing the button doesn't shake the shot.
Shoot RAW if you can. Night scenes mix streetlights, shop signs and car headlights, and fixing white balance afterwards in Lightroom is much easier than getting it right in the moment.