Newbie needs tips on taking good nightshots

I have a basic 3 mp digicam (SD200 or IXUS 30). When I take pictures
of the skyline at night, it's blurry and sometimes it has fuzzy dots.
After reading the manual, I understand I have 3 choices in fixing my
problem. Turn on the 'long shutter' option, but the manual states that
it would add noise to the picture. The next option is the ISO speed.
I understand that the higher the ISO speed, the more image noise it
creates. The third option is 'exposure compensation', I'm not sure if
this applies.

I think I would need a tripod for night shots don't I? Then turn on
the 'long shutter' mode then move the ISO speed to the slowest speed as
possible. Is this all I could do for now? Thanks for the help.

 

You NEED a tripod.

All the options you mention are good.

One final one is to take multiple photos
and "stack" them.

You'll need to google on that.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q="image+stacking"&btnG=Google+Search

BugBear

 

wrote:
: I have a basic 3 mp digicam (SD200 or IXUS 30). When I take pictures
: of the skyline at night, it's blurry and sometimes it has fuzzy dots.
: After reading the manual, I understand I have 3 choices in fixing my
: problem. Turn on the 'long shutter' option, but the manual states that
: it would add noise to the picture. The next option is the ISO speed.
: I understand that the higher the ISO speed, the more image noise it
: creates. The third option is 'exposure compensation', I'm not sure if
: this applies.

: I think I would need a tripod for night shots don't I? Then turn on
: the 'long shutter' mode then move the ISO speed to the slowest speed as
: possible. Is this all I could do for now? Thanks for the help.

You are on the right track. First you do need a tripod as it would be very
rare that a night scenery (not in a well lit room) shot would be hand
holdable. Depending on the camera (I'm not experienced with your
particular camera) you will probably have to both increase the ISO and use
a (very) slow shutter speed. But one more problem that you didn't cover,
focus. Your description mentions fuzzy dots. This makes me think that it
was dark enough that the auto focus could not find anything to focus on.
There are a few suggestions. You might try to find something like a
lighted building or a streetlight that is lit bright enough that a line
can be seen by the camera. Most auto focuses use an edge to focus on and
so if you center an edge or brightly lit line in the image it will focus
on that. Then continue to hold the half press and re-aim the camera to
compose the image. Or if your camera has manual focus try setting the
camera to infinity. Most lenses are at infinity beyond 12 to 20' and
scenery shots are generally well beyond that.

Unfortunately most P&S type cameras are very poor at night shots. This is
why many of us who like to occasionally "play in the dark" tend towards
DSLRs. The more manual control you have the more options. For example an
SLR set to bulb, set to the smallest f-stop (most open), manually focused,
on a solid tripod, with a shutter speed of 30 or 40 seconds can capture
some images that are just not possible in any other way.

Randy

==========
Randy Berbaum
Champaign, IL

 

Do you want to find out if you need to get a tripod? Try taking
the same shot during dawn or dusk, with the same long shutter speed
that you needed for the night shots. This might require you to
select the lowest ISO and the camera's smallest aperture. Take a
couple of shots this way. Then take another couple with the same
settings, but using the self-timer and with the camera propped on a
bean bag or something similar to keep it steady. If the handheld
shots are blurrier (they should be) then you need to use a tripod.

If you think that you'll often take night shots, keep in mind when
looking for your next camera that some have a special "dark frame
subtraction" feature that can greatly improve night shots that use
long exposures.

 

You definitely need a tripod. It's next to impossible to hand hold
a camera and get non-blurry shots at under 1/60 second.

If your camera can provide exposure times of up to 8 seconds, you
shouldn't need set the ISO high. (Not unless you want to minimize
blur from moving subjects... cars pedestrians etc). Your lowest
ISO setting will minimize noise which tends to get a bit worse during
long exposures.

With no tripod, in a pinch, you can place the camera on a solid surface
such as a fence, your vehicle or a balcony railing. Getting it out of
your hands will prevent blur from camera shake.

If you don't have a remote camera release, then turn the camera self
timer on so you won't be pressing on the shutter button when the shot
is taken. Unless you have an extremely heavy duty tripod, pressing on
the shutter button could create enough movement to cause blur. Most
tripods have a little bit of 'give'.

Finally, don't use the flash. If you try night shots in your camera's
full automatic modes, the flash will fire at night. Set your camera in
a mode where the flash doesn't go off in low light.

 

Agreed. And yet... someone I know took this:

http://mikebeauchamp.com/dump/windmill1comp copy.jpg

Canon A510, tripod, 100 stacked images...

http://mikebeauchamp.com/images/show.php?set=chicago-2006&pic=20

BugBear

 

yeah.. I like night stuff, and my Canon G2 gives me up to 15 sec
exposures so that's more than I currently need. (I'm *also* making sure
I can *fully justify* not upgrading to a SLR, as you can see.. I just
can't afford one. )

P.

 

: Randy Berbaum wrote:
: >
: > Unfortunately most P&S type cameras are very poor at night shots. This is
: > why many of us who like to occasionally "play in the dark" tend towards
: > DSLRs. The more manual control you have the more options. For example an
: > SLR set to bulb, set to the smallest f-stop (most open), manually focused,
: > on a solid tripod, with a shutter speed of 30 or 40 seconds can capture
: > some images that are just not possible in any other way.

: Agreed. And yet... someone I know took this:

: http://mikebeauchamp.com/dump/windmill1comp copy.jpg

: Canon A510, tripod, 100 stacked images...

: http://mikebeauchamp.com/images/show.php?set=chicago-2006&pic=20

True. Skill with what you have (both camera equipment and post processing)
can make up for many less than ideal situations. But for the newby we may
assume that such skill may not have yet been aquired.

Skill and knowledge (as well as persistance) can do wonders. for example I
just saw a program on TV that talked about a photographer in a Civil War
prison camp who built his own camera from a wooden box, a tin can, and a
spyglass lens. And then using purloined chemicals from the hospital, made
his own photographic plates and developer. He then ran a photo studio in
an attic of the barracks, all without any of the guards knowing about it.
This is a prime example of creative folks with knowledge will find a way
to make something work, even under less than ideal circumstances.

I have seen images taken with cheap cameras by young children that have a
high "wow" factor. And I have seen LOTS of images taken with the most
expensive equipment available, by very experienced adults, that could best
be used to line the bottom of a birdcage. Heck I would classify many of
MY images in this category. I'm just smart enough to not show them to
anyone. That's one of the plusses of digital to me. I feel free to
explore and try "questionable" shots. If it works, great. And if it
doesn't, I learned something about what doesn't work, or maybe what might
still work with a bit more experimenting.

Randy

==========
Randy Berbaum
Champaign, IL