Best P&S for dark rides

[bbluvsdis]

I am looking for a new point and shoot for our next WDW trip and would like something that could take pics in dark rides without a flash. It seems mine are always blurry. I have a Canon Elph which takes great outdoor shots but the low light are either grainy or blurry. I would also like a good zoom. I have been looking at the Canon SX260 and the Sony HX20V but I'm not sure how they would perform in low light. I would like to keep it in the $200 to $300 range. Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[wbeem]

Point & shoot cameras typically have shutter lag, which is a problem when you need a photo on a moving ride. Combine that with generally poor performance in low light and I would be astonished if you found a P&S that does a really good job on dark rides.

 

[cjstarr]

Although it is not a pocket camera you might want to look at the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V.

 

[photo_chick]

I am looking for a new point and shoot for our next WDW trip and would like something that could take pics in dark rides without a flash. It seems mine are always blurry. I have a Canon Elph which takes great outdoor shots but the low light are either grainy or blurry. I would also like a good zoom. I have been looking at the Canon SX260 and the Sony HX20V but I'm not sure how they would perform in low light. I would like to keep it in the $200 to $300 range. Thanks for any suggestions!

Dark rides are one of those areas where you have to have the right gear. You need a camera with a fast lens to let more light get to the sensor which will allow you to use a faster shutter speed and avoid that blur. Look for an aperture of at least f/1.8 or wider (that means a lower number). I don't know that there are any point and shoots in your price range that have a fast enough lens. And you can pretty much guarantee they'll be noisy with the ISO you'll have to use. They'll be noisy on many DSLR's.

 

[cmwade77]

I would suggest looking at the Olympus TG-2IHS or TG-830IHS. They are not out yet; however, they have the same sensor as their SLR cameras, which I know take amazing low light pictures.

I have had a chance to play with the TG-1, which does a great job, so I would think the newer models will do even better.

I already have the 830 on preorder (Both come out March 31st), as I like some of the features it has, such as being able to take pictures while taking video and such.

They are both designed for low light situations, one of it's many solutions is to quickly take multiple shots at different exposures and merge them together (I am not sure how well this will work on a dark ride, I suppose it depends on how quick it is).

They both have a shutter speeds of 1/2000 sec for the fastest time.

I currently have a Panasonic DMC-TS3 (which is f/3.3 to f/5.9), which does a good job with the dark rides. The 830IHS is f/2.9 to f/5.9 and the TG-2 is f/2.0 to f/4.9.

Here are some dark ride examples from the Panasonic Camera:

The three above are some of the very first pictures that I took with this camera, we went to Disneyland to test it out and it turned out that it was a AP preview day for the Little Mermaid that day, which we were unaware of. Silly me, bringing a new camera that I know nothing about onto an attraction, which is a dark ride and is hard to take pictures of. But it worked and no, not every picture turns out, but enough do that I am good with it.

Here are a few more examples (NOTE: The Big Thunder ones are while on the ride and not during or just before the lifts):

Please note that all of these were taken without the flash. It also takes decent pictures with a flash.

Since the specs are not as good as the Olympus, I am looking forward to what the Olympus can do. I will try to report back here after I get it and play with it. Please note that the TG-2 is $379 and the 830IHS is $279.

As an added bonus, both cameras are waterproof, crushproof, drop proof and freezeproof. In other words, perfect for theme park travel.

 

[hakepb]

I am looking for a new point and shoot for our next WDW trip and would like something that could take pics in dark rides without a flash. It seems mine are always blurry. I have a Canon Elph which takes great outdoor shots but the low light are either grainy or blurry. I would also like a good zoom. I have been looking at the Canon SX260 and the Sony HX20V but I'm not sure how they would perform in low light. I would like to keep it in the $200 to $300 range. Thanks for any suggestions!

Low light is easy if you have a tripod and a stationary subject. But low light rides have you and the subject in motion.

You won't get stunning photo quality in low light rides, because of the limiting aperature and the small sensor that is really limiting at high ISO.

While I like to think I could now get somewhat better, now that I'm more familiar with the camera, these are my July highlights from my HX30:
(They are nice for Facebook posts, but not good enough for prints larger than 3x5. And while I got a few "keepers", there were many "misses")
POTC

IASW..or is this Los Amigos in Mexico? Darn, I forgot

FOTLK show:

 

[hakepb]

That had to be Mexico, this is IASW:

But yes, if you want great low light shots with a PnS, get an RX100

 

[cmwade77]

I definitely recommend checking out reviews on http://dpreview.com before purchasing any camera.

Also, some prints will work for larger prints and some won't, to give you an idea, here is what Ursula looks like in the largest format that I can share from SmugMug in:

My issue with the RX100 is it is not water proof, is very high price and doesn't appear to be able to take photos at the same time as video (the ones that I have seen Sony make are limited to 8 photos while taking video, whereas it appears the Olympus will not have this restrictions), doesn't have the high speed camera feature that the Olympus does and is very expensive. That being said, you have to go with what will work for you and what features are important to you.

My guess is that most 2013 model year and newer cameras in the $250+ range will now take decent low light pictures (some will of course do better than others, but all will do at least an acceptable job), so you should look more at the other features and what is important to you.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

I will have to reinforce those that talked about the difficulty of the the dark ride images. It is probably one of the more, if not the most difficult shot to get. To obtain decent/good dark ride images it going to be expensive. For those that inhabit this forum know, I was obsessed with the ability to capture dark ride images. I purchased a new body and lens (actually two) to get those shots. If I hadn't come across the deal of all deals, the cost would have been north of $1,900! As it was it was slightly over $1,200!! There was still no guarantee I was going to get those shots. It took a lot of studying other's work and practice with the new equipment to get what I got. Are they the best? No, but with the short period of time I had to learn the new equipment and the limited ride time, I was satisfied. I used an APS-C DSLR. If I had purchased a Full Frame DSLR, the expense would have been greater.

My advice is you can try to get them, but don't be disappointed if you can't. Personally, it was a challenge, especially Peter Pan which scoffed at me for years, that I chose to try to overcome. Unless you are willing to expend the time, effort and money, I would just ride the rides and enjoy them. Here a few that I have posted before:

My favorite because of its difficulty

PP Mermaid by Terry McGraw Photography, on Flickr


HM4 by Terry McGraw Photography, on Flickr


PotC 1 by Terry McGraw Photography, on Flickr


PotC 21 by Terry McGraw Photography, on Flickr


LK Fire Man 4 by Terry McGraw Photography, on Flickr


GMR 6 by Terry McGraw Photography, on Flickr

Another favorite

GMR 3 by Terry McGraw Photography, on Flickr


IASM 12 by Terry McGraw Photography, on Flickr

You can click on the images to and check the EXIF on Flickr.

 

[hakepb]

CMWade,
I'm not sure about the RX, but on my HX, I've never run into a restriction taking too many stills during video. It does take several seconds for the buffer to clear since its busy recording video, too.

 

[havoc315]

As said by others, you need the right gear for true dark rides. For some of the brighter scenes, you may get away with less. It's a matter of a fast lens, plus a camera capable of high ISO. Typically, it requires a dSLR with a good lens. I use the RX100, 1 of the few point & shoot cameras capable of it, but it's well above your budget.


Peter Pan - Disney - Wendy by Havoc315, on Flickr


Tower of Terror library by Havoc315, on Flickr


Aug 31, 2012-65 by Havoc315, on Flickr


DSC01290 by Havoc315, on Flickr

 

[bbluvsdis]

Thanks for all of your input. It looks like you all have taken some great pics! I am still reading all of the reviews and leaning toward the Sony HX20V. I have seen some amazing shots on this board taken with this camera. When I am on vacation I want something that I don't have to think about too much. I just want something that will take some good shots without too much fuss. I love what everyone on this board does but I'm not there yet!

 

[cmwade77]

I ended up getting the Olympus TG-2, the two Olympus cameras that I mentioned above gets around some of this with what they call Handheld Starlight Mode. Basically what it does is takes multiple pictures, very rapidly and combines them into one picture.

I was concerned that this would not work while moving, but I figured it has a f/2.0 and up to ISO6400, so figured between everything, it should be possible to get some decent shots.

I definitely do not expect to get every single shot, nor do I expect it to be the same quality as a dslr; however, I do expect it to meet my needs (Waterproof, portable, easy to use, HD Video, etc.) and so far it is doing just that.

I have been amazed by the Handheld Starlight Mode, I am still playing with the settings, but thought that I would share a few of the first images I have taken, since I said I would come back and do so:

As I said, I am still playing and these were some of the very first shots I took with the camera, other than a few random outdoor shots to make sure the camera was running. You can probably tell by the numbering that I had one shot in there that isn't shown, it did not come out well, like I said, experimenting with the settings to get it right.

It should also be noted that the camera comes with software that will clean up some of these images; however, I wanted to post how they came out from the camera.