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Digital cameras: Night shots on Digital?
Night shots on Digital?
by AmbientShadow - 7/22/07 11:37 PMI've been through a few digital cameras, and used a few more, mostly all Canon models, one a Canon SLR, some Kodak and some Fuji, never a Nikon, but one thing I've noticed: night shots are always crap.
Which really sucks, because the bulk of my photos seem to be night shots, or low-light; neither of which is handled well at all by any digital camera I've ever worked with: the image ends up grainy if you have the shutter open for short amounts of time to cut blur, or blurry if you leave it open longer to try and cut down on the grain. PictureCode Noise Ninja (a photoshop plugin) helps with digital camera noise significantly, but even it tosses you a blurry image at the end.
People will say "use a good flash!" but I never liked the color that camera flashes tend to put on things. I enjoy the hues of nighttime light. And usually, the camera gets the right color balance I'm after, it's just always grainy to the point you need to take that 8MP photo and shrink it to 640x480 so you don't notice the grain.
I suppose what I'm after is a digital camera that really shines with night shots. Currently I own a Canon SD630 which I cart around for most daytime shots and "spur the moment" things (the size of the camera (small) and large screen coupled with long battery life I just love) and previously I was borrowing a friend's Powershot G7 for dedicated shoots because the image stabilizer seems to help with night shots.
Does anyone have a digital camera that really shines in this regard? A photographer friend of mine that tells me I'm stupid and should just get a film camera, but I'm sure there's a digital solution out there somewhere?
forgot...
by AmbientShadow - 7/22/07 11:40 PM In reply to: Night shots on Digital? by AmbientShadowI forgot to say; the last forum post about night shots was over a year ago, and things have changed since then. Also, I'm not too concerned about price. We'll say, less than 2000 dollars, preferably between the $500-800 range but if anyone can inform me of a good model it would be greatly appreciated.
You need a fast lens
by hjfok - 7/23/07 10:21 AM In reply to: Night shots on Digital? by AmbientShadowYou already have a Canon SLR. What lenses did you use? For zoom lens, you need at least f/2.8 aperture. Prime lenses have wider aperture lens, like the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM ($310) for normal perspective, 100mm f/2 ($390) for mid range tele, etc. The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 is below $80.
For low light action shots, the key is the lens. If you use low end lenses with small aperture, like those kit lenses with f/3.5-5.6, then you will not get good low light action shots without flash. You need a wider aperture lens to allow more light to pass through the lens and reach the sensor, so you can use lower ISO and faster shutter speed.
I use the Canon 30D with EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS (general purpose, $1000) and EF 70-200mm f/2.8 IS (tele zoom, $1700) for low light and action shots. You can probably get similar results with the Rebel XT or XTi. It is the lens that make the biggest difference in low light actions. I posted some photos in these two links, some of which are low light photos. All photos are taken handheld with the above system, without flash or tripods. If you think these photos meet your expectation, then f/2.8 is probably okay for you. If you think that they are below your standard, then you probably need some even faster lenses like f/2 or even wider like f/1.2.
http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u45/hjfok/
http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u45/hjfok/Photos%207-2007/
Hope this helps.
thanka kindly
by AmbientShadow - 7/24/07 12:11 AM In reply to: You need a fast lens by hjfokindeed it does, alas the SLR is not mine it is a friend's and I hesitate to drop a grand on a piece of equipment I may not be able to use on a whim.
are there any P&S-style cameras that are good this way? ie. anything non-SLR with the really low f-stops?
Night Shots
by snapshot2
- 7/24/07 11:03 AM
In reply to: thanka kindly by AmbientShadow
The real cure for your problem is a tripod.
A point and shoot camera with manual controls and a tripod will give you excellent night shots.
Set the camera to Aperture Priority, set the aperture to the brightest setting (likely f/2.8), set ISO to 100.
Put camera on tripod and set the 10 second shutter delay.
Frame your shot, press the shutter button and step away from the camera. The camera will set the proper shutter speed.
If you want a portable tripod, use a "bean bag".
You can position a camera on a bean bag at just about any angle.
You just need to find a spot to set the bean bag.
Perhaps, the top or hood of your car.
Canon makes several inexpensive point and shoot cameras with manual controls:
Canon A570IS, A630, A640, A710IS
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Point and Shoot cameras with really low f-stops:
There were several f1.8 and f2.0 cameras available, but they have all disappeared over the past four years. That type lens is too expensive to manufacture. The Canon G6 has an excellent f/2.0 lens but Canon dumped it and put a f2.8 on the new G7.
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thanks again
by AmbientShadow - 7/24/07 6:53 PM In reply to: Night Shots by snapshot2
you guys have been most kind in your responses. i've already taken a few shots with the beanbag tripod, seems to work great. thanks again =)
night shots on digital
by jravensmith - 7/15/09 4:52 PM In reply to: Night shots on Digital? by AmbientShadowI'm searching for any hints that anyone might have. Digital is completely different then SLR because it usually is grainy but so much more convenient and I need to be able to send via email.
I'm like you in that I want the color of available light not the glare of a flash. An image stabilizer does help but if you can spend some time and set up your shot nothing beats a tripod. Also, the larger format you use will look better when it is reduced in size.
Please let me know if there is anything else that you have tried and if it was successful or not. We learn alot from errors as well so I'd be glad to hear any experiences.
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