Canon pwrshot a480 question

[Scrapbook Stacy]

We are heading to Disney in 3 days and I am wondering what mode to use on my Canon for the spectromagic parade and dark rides...I wasn't sure if I should use a fireworks mode or night photo or what.

Thank you for any help that you can give me!

Stacy

 

[ukcatfan]

I don't think anyone has responded because they do not want to deliver the bad news. That camera is just not enough to capture those conditions. They challenge even the best DSLRs with $1K+ lenses.

The two modes mentioned require a tripod and no movement, so they are out for Spectro and rides. You are best off just enjoying the rides IMO, but if you really want to try, I say set it to manual mode, the highest ISO, the largest aperture(i.e. smallest f/ number), and a shutter of around 1/80-1/125. Slower than that and you are very likely to get blur from either you or your subject moving. If you do not have manual mode or are afraid to try it, then something like a sports mode might pick similar settings. The problem is that the images are going to be very noisy (from necessary high ISO) and lose detail due to that. You could try running them through some noise reduction software, but do not expect to get anything like you see on the dark rides threads on here.

Good luck and have a nice vacation!

 

[Scrapbook Stacy]

Ok, thank you for the info!

 

[Scrapbook Stacy]

So, what kinds of photos can I take with this camera? I bought this specifically for this trip, and now I am bummed out...We also have a Nikon coolpix L10 with 5 megapixels, would this be better?