Good Night-time Camera?

Hello,

I'm in the market for a new digital camera, preferable one that's slim and compact. I also want one that takes good night-time photos. I have friends who have cameras that take horrible night-time shots unless you hold the camera motionless for 10 seconds (not possible) or use a tripod (a pain to carry around).

Any info would be appreciated.
H

use a tripod

Slim and compact does not equal great night time shots. Slim and compact almost means smaller sensors. Smaller sensors = less quality in low light.

Basic rule of photography, low light requires shutter to be opened longer. For sharp images, stability is key in low light. Use of tripod is a must if you want great nightshots unless the subject is brightly lit in the dark. Example, a cityscape of urban architecture. And even then, the shutter's gotta stay open for 1/2 of a second and higher to take in all that light, especially on a slim and compact P&S.

photography...like many things in life...is less efforts = less results

i guess what the OP wants is the BEST POSSIBLE solution.. i think s/he gets the point we're trying to bring across

try the lumix FX series, ihave had good experience with it
it has custom ISO settings from 80-400 and longer exposure times of 1/8s up to 1s

find a digicam that supports an ISO of 1600. that's the best you're gonna get.

Originally Posted by Little Dragon

find a digicam that supports an ISO of 1600. that's the best you're gonna get.

Fuji F31fd or any of the newer F series comes to mind. ISO 3200 baby, but the noise..try Noise Ninja, a 3rd party plug-in for PS. You can purchase it online, I did and its awesome. You lose some details though at higher ISO processing.

I have a Fuji F30, FANTASTIC camera for at night no question about it.

yeah.. cameras with small sensors get the noisiest/blurriest pics at night without flash. it's best to invest in a camera with the highest iso, and a good manual mode if possible!

Originally Posted by VorteC

yeah.. cameras with small sensors get the noisiest/blurriest pics at night without flash. it's best to invest in a camera with the highest iso, and a good manual mode if possible!

My Canon 40D has an option ISO 3200, but I can't find how to change that. Do you know?

This camera has live view shoot. I love it

Originally Posted by Little Dragon

find a digicam that supports an ISO of 1600. that's the best you're gonna get.

The Ricoh Caplio R7 is a very small camera (fits in your shirt pocket). It has 7 times zoom and ISO up to 1600.

Originally Posted by nden

My Canon 40D has an option ISO 3200, but I can't find how to change that. Do you know?

This camera has live view shoot. I love it

It's not in the same selection menu as all the other ISOs?

Even if your camera supports ISO 1600 or 3200, it doesn't mean it's going to be "good". More often than not, it'll turn your pictures into watercolour paintings

Fuji F series cameras are probably your best bet for high iso/ low light performance. I've seen some nice pics at iso 800 from the F30/F40's substantially less noise than other brands. The F50fd should be out soon, I'd give that a look and they're relatively compact.

Originally Posted by zoob

Even if your camera supports ISO 1600 or 3200, it doesn't mean it's going to be "good". More often than not, it'll turn your pictures into watercolour paintings

true, i refrain from using anything higher than ISO800.. especially with a tripod.

Originally Posted by grego9198

Fuji F series cameras are probably your best bet for high iso/ low light performance. I've seen some nice pics at iso 800 from the F30/F40's substantially less noise than other brands. The F50fd should be out soon, I'd give that a look and they're relatively compact.

Yes, the Fuji F30/31fd cams are generally regarded to have the best-in-class image quality when it comes to high-ISO pictures. The newer F40/50fd are more compact and have more features, but due to megapixel-cramp, their noise level aren't controlled as well as the older models when you crank up the ISO.