Night shots

Dolby

Dolby

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As mentioned, I got my first 'above budget' digital camera yesterday and learning a little by reading the forum and google etc.

First gripe : Why bother giving a free 32MB SD card anymore? Rather include nothing! Second gripe : Why don't they print the manual anymore? I don't want to go through a PDF on my PC!

Now that that's out the way - what's the best metho when taking night shots (typically city landscapes)?

I read one site that increasing ISO is better, another says slow shutter speed to let through more light and a guess would also be open aperture all the way?

Is it a combination of the 3?
 
Yeah, a combo would do well. I'd suggest around ISO800 - ISO1600, and perhaps a few seconds on the shutter, but you may need to play around until you get it right.
 
Could I achieve exactly the same with ISO 200 and 15 second shutter speed? Or ISO 2500 with .5 second shutter speed?

EDIT : Oh - 1600 is the highest ;)
 
I wouldn't suggest going higher than ISO1600. It needs to be a higher ISO so that the sensor can be more sensitive to the light in dark locations.
To answer your question, I don't think it will. I've done astrophotography and have played around with all sorts of ISO and shutter settings and ISO800 - ISO1600 works best, at least in my experience. My suggestion is try all the possible settings and see the results for yourself.
 
You probably have a small sensor (compared to a dslr) and a small sensor generally leads to more noise so keep your ISO as low as you can.
 
Sensor

• 1/2.3" Type CCD
• 9.0 million effective pixels

Lens

• 36-360mm (35mm equiv)
• 10x optical zoom
• F2.8-4.3
 
Dolby said:
As mentioned, I got my first 'above budget' digital camera yesterday and learning a little by reading the forum and google etc.

First gripe : Why bother giving a free 32MB SD card anymore? Rather include nothing! Second gripe : Why don't they print the manual anymore? I don't want to go through a PDF on my PC!

Now that that's out the way - what's the best metho when taking night shots (typically city landscapes)?

I read one site that increasing ISO is better, another says slow shutter speed to let through more light and a guess would also be open aperture all the way?

Is it a combination of the 3?
Click to expand...

Mmmm I am venturing a guess here but ISO would be my last resort to increase as it causes more "noise" the higher it is set (mostly). If you are shooting landscapes with no moving parts like cars etc etc then a slow shutter speed and a smaller aperture would make for a more crisp and clear shot at a low ISO. (lol, i am a complete amateur :D)

http://www.picturecorrect.com/photographytips/professional_night_landscape_photography_lessons.htm

There are some nice tips towards the bottom, doubt if you would need advice like "take warm clothing" :p
 
Noise is inescapable and that should not be the reason for not shooting at higher ISO. Fact is, every camera needs a good ISO range to cater for all situations. You need more ISO for low light locations/situations.
 
mercurial said:
Noise is inescapable and that should not be the reason for not shooting at higher ISO. Fact is, every camera needs a good ISO range to cater for all situations. You need more ISO for low light locations/situations.
Click to expand...

Yes but rather a longer shutter speed and smaller apeture before higher ISO. But that is just my view. :D
 
Devill said:
Yes but rather a longer shutter speed and smaller apeture before higher ISO. But that is just my view. :D
Click to expand...

From my experience, longer shutter will not give you the desired effect. You must keep in mind that even with IS, if your shutter is too slow, your image becomes blurry/shaky, but this was from my astro shots so results may differ.
Dolby: Try ISO800 for 2 seconds and then try ISO200 for 10 seconds and compare the results.
 
mercurial said:
From my experience, longer shutter will not give you the desired effect. You must keep in mind that even with IS, if your shutter is too slow, your image becomes blurry, but this was from my astro shots so results may differ.
Dolby: Try ISO800 for 2 seconds and then try ISO200 for 10 seconds and compare the results.
Click to expand...

That's what tripods are for. IS is not a replacement for a sturdy form of support.
 
Not sure how it is with digital as I am still learning (and a whole lot is different, Dont have to slap in a whole new "memory card" every time you want to change the ISO setting :D ).

With film at night I got better results with ISO 200 film at longer exposures, than with ISO 400 at shorter. By better I mean colour quality, though I think that could of been the film itself.
 
mercurial said:
Yeah I know but I'm assuming that a person who has a digicam does not have a tripod.
Click to expand...

Tripod, pod, beanbag, even resting it on the ground are preferable to hand holding a long exposure even with is.
 
I lean it on my balcony ... but I have a mini tipod too ;) I had an old real tripod, but I think sold it ...
 
As Bwana said, that's what tripods are for. Don't waste your time with night time / landscape photography without a good sturdy tripod. The lower the ISO you can use the better, but in some cases you need to bump your ISO as high as possible, it really depends on what you are trying to achieve and what light you have to work with.
 
A tripod is mandatory and if you got it for a good price - throw it away, it is useless. It needs to be rock solid. A cable release is also needed but you can use the timer on your camera to make do in a pinch.

The next thing is to understand that there is a relationship between the F stop and the shutter speed. The longer the hole is open, the smaller it needs to be. This relationship has a bearing on how the optics work. A smaller hole has a great depth of field, i.e. more stuff will be in focus. You may not want everything in sharp focus - this applies mainly to portrait photographers.

But other photographers may also want a longer exposure - flowing water looks really cool when taken with a long exposure. But for a long exposure you may have to stop down the lense, i.e. smaller hole for the amount of light needed.

There may come a time where you are photographing a waterfall in the moonlight, you want the water to look creamy but the rocks must be razor sharp, and you can't wait all night. This is where you can play with the ISO setting. Longish exposure, small aperture, high ISO.

Don't get hung up on artifacts - there may be some but nothing that a little patience and photoshop couldn't sort out.
 
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