how to take night photos with canon sd600?

Hi, when I try to get night shots with the canon sd600 in night time
mode i get pictures where the lighting looks good, bu the pictures are
blurry (the camera shake warning is on whenever i take them, even
though the caera isn't shaking any more than during outdoor daytime
shots, which look great). I don't intend to carry around a tripod, is
there any way i can take good night shots?

Thanks.

 

No.

 

The camera's movement may be the same, but the shutter will be
open a greater amount of time than during the daytime shots. During
the longer time that the shutter is open for the night shots, the
camera will move a greater distance, creating more blur. If the
same shutter speed is used during daylight hours, you'll get the
same amount of blur.

It's up to you to decide how to reduce the camera movement. The
best ways are to rest the camera on something. You've ruled out
using a tripod, but would you also rule out monopods? They don't do
as good a job as tripods, but are much lighter and easier to carry.
Some even do double duty as walking sticks. You could also carry a
small bean bag or a small piece of a towel to rest the camera on
when the bag or folded towel piece is placed on some sturdy,
non-moveable object. If you insist on hand-holding the camera, do
whatever will minimize the shutter speed. This includes increasing
the camera's ISO, but increase it too much and the image quality
will suffer, especially if you try to make large prints. This is
discussed on page 64 of the Advanced Camera User Guide.

The SD600 also has a Night Snapshot shooting mode that

(Basic Camera User Guide, p. 7)

but note that if you use the flash in Night Snapshot mode, the
flash will default to Auto Red-eye Reduction, which you may want to
avoid.

You're probably going to be disappointed with the SD600's night
shot ability, but to get the most out of the camera you'll probably
want to take lots of practice shots in several different low light
conditions. It's a lot easier and convenient doing this indoors,
especially if your lights can be dimmed. It won't allow you to
perform miracles with the camera, but will give you a good feel for
the SD600's limitations and what kind of image quality differences
you can expect to get when you use high ISO settings.

 

If you're wanting to get pictures of people who aren't too far away, a
flash will do the trick. But if you want to shoot scenery, buildings,
a bridge with interesting lighting, or anything like that, you need a
tripod. It seems like a pain in the ass, but the difference it makes
in quality is amazing.

Have a look: http://forrestcroce.com/Galleries/Seattle.html

 

I've sometimes had some luck by parking the camera on something, such as
a bridge railing or the top of a car.

Think of it as an IET, or Improvised Environmental Tripod.