Sorry if this was already asked
- Thread starter mommytoe
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zackiedawg
WEDway Peoplemover Rider
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- Aug 5, 2008
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There are two types of low light photography essentially: snapshot style, and slow shutter style.
Almost any camera can take very nice slow shutter style night shots, but it requires learning some techniques like setting low ISO levels, using timers or remotes to trigger shutters, and using tripods or level surfaces to snap the shot.
For the other type, which sounds like the type you are looking for (snapshots - or handheld shots of indoor or poor lighting situations). One method is to use the flash - you will be limited to the flash's effective range (which on compact cameras can be just a few feet sometimes) and get well-illuminated subjects with dark backgrounds. Or you can use high ISO levels, and a wide-open aperture that has a good low light sensitivity instead of a flash. However, most compact cameras will struggle with this - high ISO values are usually very grainy and noisy on compact cameras and you lose alot of detail like hair and textures, and lenses are usually not capable of very wide aperture values required to absorb as much ambient light as possible. A few - like Fuji's F20/30/40/50 were better than their competitors in this area.
Otherwise, you'd have to look at getting a DSLR camera. These have significantly larger sensors than compact cameras, therefore allowing much higher ISO sensitivities allowing them to shoot snap-shot style in low light and still not have too much grain and noise in the shot. But often the 'kit' lenses that come packaged with the entry-level DSLRs are not suitable for this type of shooting, so alot of folks who are photography amateurs and buy themselves a DSLR because of all the marketplace hype promoting them end up taking worse photos than they did with their compacts because they don't properly understand how to set and adjust the camera for best performance, haven't learned the different style of shooting with an optical viewfinder and a much shallower depth of field on focus, and are often only using the one cheap kit lens that came with their camera.
That said, even with a cheap kit lens, a DSLR can usually outperform a compact camera in low light situations, but not by as much as you'd think - the great gain in high ISO sensitivity being offset by the several-stop loss in aperture size limiting the amount of light the lens can pull in. Ideally, for low light shooting hand-held style, you'd want a DSLR with a lens that has an aperture value of F2.0 or better (smaller F number means WIDER aperture and more light getting to the sensor, while smaller F number means smaller aperture and less light getting to the sensor.
Just remember that with the DSLR, you are committing to a larger, heavier camera designed to take various lenses as needed for each function, have lots of user-controllability, and usually at least a small knowledge of photography basics since most of the time you don't get to see how all the settings come out until AFTER you press the shutter (compact cameras are 'live view' style, meaning you are seeing on screen exactly what you are going to capture to the sensor...with DSLRs you are looking right through the lens glass, so exposure, white balance, contrast, sharpness, color, etc won't be known until you review your shots.
Hope that didn't confuse the wits out of you. In the compact arena, you don't really have any current choices that are going to be great in the situation you are asking about. With a DSLR, you should have no problem, but are buying a fairly substantial camera and to get the most out of it will probably need to brush up your photography knowledge and consider some additional lenses.
Almost any camera can take very nice slow shutter style night shots, but it requires learning some techniques like setting low ISO levels, using timers or remotes to trigger shutters, and using tripods or level surfaces to snap the shot.
For the other type, which sounds like the type you are looking for (snapshots - or handheld shots of indoor or poor lighting situations). One method is to use the flash - you will be limited to the flash's effective range (which on compact cameras can be just a few feet sometimes) and get well-illuminated subjects with dark backgrounds. Or you can use high ISO levels, and a wide-open aperture that has a good low light sensitivity instead of a flash. However, most compact cameras will struggle with this - high ISO values are usually very grainy and noisy on compact cameras and you lose alot of detail like hair and textures, and lenses are usually not capable of very wide aperture values required to absorb as much ambient light as possible. A few - like Fuji's F20/30/40/50 were better than their competitors in this area.
Otherwise, you'd have to look at getting a DSLR camera. These have significantly larger sensors than compact cameras, therefore allowing much higher ISO sensitivities allowing them to shoot snap-shot style in low light and still not have too much grain and noise in the shot. But often the 'kit' lenses that come packaged with the entry-level DSLRs are not suitable for this type of shooting, so alot of folks who are photography amateurs and buy themselves a DSLR because of all the marketplace hype promoting them end up taking worse photos than they did with their compacts because they don't properly understand how to set and adjust the camera for best performance, haven't learned the different style of shooting with an optical viewfinder and a much shallower depth of field on focus, and are often only using the one cheap kit lens that came with their camera.
That said, even with a cheap kit lens, a DSLR can usually outperform a compact camera in low light situations, but not by as much as you'd think - the great gain in high ISO sensitivity being offset by the several-stop loss in aperture size limiting the amount of light the lens can pull in. Ideally, for low light shooting hand-held style, you'd want a DSLR with a lens that has an aperture value of F2.0 or better (smaller F number means WIDER aperture and more light getting to the sensor, while smaller F number means smaller aperture and less light getting to the sensor.
Just remember that with the DSLR, you are committing to a larger, heavier camera designed to take various lenses as needed for each function, have lots of user-controllability, and usually at least a small knowledge of photography basics since most of the time you don't get to see how all the settings come out until AFTER you press the shutter (compact cameras are 'live view' style, meaning you are seeing on screen exactly what you are going to capture to the sensor...with DSLRs you are looking right through the lens glass, so exposure, white balance, contrast, sharpness, color, etc won't be known until you review your shots.
Hope that didn't confuse the wits out of you. In the compact arena, you don't really have any current choices that are going to be great in the situation you are asking about. With a DSLR, you should have no problem, but are buying a fairly substantial camera and to get the most out of it will probably need to brush up your photography knowledge and consider some additional lenses.
zackiedawg
WEDway Peoplemover Rider
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2008
- Messages
- 3,862
NaeNae...I've got a Sony A300 DSLR myself...and love it. I've been a photographer for years, but learned much since I got my first digital in 1997. Nothing beats going out and snapping away!
Actually, many DSLRs have live view...but their implementations are different. Nikon and Canon offer live view on a few of their models, but it is more for Macro and tripod work - very slow in use, but more accurate in focus detail than the Sony system. Sony designed their Live View system to be as simple to engage and fast as possible in operation - which in my opinion they succeeded masterfully with. Throw a switch, and 1/8 of a second later, you're ready to fire. Plus, focus and shutter speed are identical whether in live view or optical viewfinder mode. The Canon, Pentax, and Nikon systems require the mirror to flip up, refocus, then fire which causes a delay from the time you press the shutter to taking the photo - it can be quite long too. But with their systems, you can zoom in during live view to see minute detail of your subject to confirm your focus is accurate before snapping the pic. Olympus was first to come up with a system that has no mirror flip, like the Sony...but it uses a different focus system which is slower when in Live View mode. Theirs was by most accounts the best implementation of live view until Sony speeded it up and simplified the engagement.
Of course, there are those who like each type of Live View for their own reasons, and many who do not like Live View at all, as they prefer traditional optical viewfinders and don't like compromising the viewfinder size in order to have Live View.
Anyway...just an aside for those looking for DSLRs that have a live view option!
Actually, many DSLRs have live view...but their implementations are different. Nikon and Canon offer live view on a few of their models, but it is more for Macro and tripod work - very slow in use, but more accurate in focus detail than the Sony system. Sony designed their Live View system to be as simple to engage and fast as possible in operation - which in my opinion they succeeded masterfully with. Throw a switch, and 1/8 of a second later, you're ready to fire. Plus, focus and shutter speed are identical whether in live view or optical viewfinder mode. The Canon, Pentax, and Nikon systems require the mirror to flip up, refocus, then fire which causes a delay from the time you press the shutter to taking the photo - it can be quite long too. But with their systems, you can zoom in during live view to see minute detail of your subject to confirm your focus is accurate before snapping the pic. Olympus was first to come up with a system that has no mirror flip, like the Sony...but it uses a different focus system which is slower when in Live View mode. Theirs was by most accounts the best implementation of live view until Sony speeded it up and simplified the engagement.
Of course, there are those who like each type of Live View for their own reasons, and many who do not like Live View at all, as they prefer traditional optical viewfinders and don't like compromising the viewfinder size in order to have Live View.
Anyway...just an aside for those looking for DSLRs that have a live view option!
If you can provide answers to these basic questions, help would be much easier.
What did you use the last time and can you post some shots? I am suprised that they came out dark as those places are usually lite up pretty good.
What did you use the last time and can you post some shots? I am suprised that they came out dark as those places are usually lite up pretty good.
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