Taking photos with digital cameras

[chanty]

Would the Canon PowerShot A610 be good for low light pics?
Seems like a good camera overall with a nice price.

Thanks.

 

[timkin]

Yes the Canon A610 can do the job. Wisbucky, I'll give it another go for you. Try taking a look at the Canon SD550. This is very compact and it has manual settings. A lot of what you get out of the camera is what you put in. DO a lot of experimental photography before you go. This will give you a good idea of what settings you will need in a spur of the moment shot. The key to night shots is a steady hand or tripod of some sort. They make little tripods with flexible legs that will fit into your pocket that can come in handy for a small camera. I hoped this helped.

 

[wdwoldtimer]

And if you're hesitant on a tripod, a monopod such as this

is very compact and can also be used as a stick to beat away the crowds and will double for a light sabre when you ride Star Tours.

 

[monetnj]

I don't know about the A610 or SD550. A maximum ISO of 400 might not quite be enough. It would take a super-human steady hand to take a non-blurry no-flash shot at night. The monopod might work. I would buy a camera someplace with a good return policy and practice taking shots at night at home and see what you get.

One of the reasons I recommended the Digital Rebel XT is because, for a DSLR, it is pretty compact and light. Not as small as these point and shoots, but not what I would consider big and bulky either. Best to see these things in person and make your own judgements.

 

[timkin]

monetnj, I do agree the DSLR route is the way to go. But I've taken decent photos at night with an old Olympus C-3000. Return policy or bringing your own memory card to a good camera shop to try out different models. Go at night, I'm sure a camera store would allow you to go outside and take some photos. You can then review the image quality at home before you purchase.

 

[PolyHereWeCome]

Bought a Kodak Easyshare 5.0 mega pixel camera last year and was able to get some really nice Spectro and Wishes pictures. There's a night option setting, and other than that, keep the camera very steady! A tripod would have been even better, but I wanted the flexibility to move around (no regrets). Great easy-to-use priced-well digital camera. Highly recommend.

 

[Pluto4Pres]

Before you give up on the pictures that you already took, make sure you play with image on your computer. The camera must have come with a software program that allows you to enhance the image, adjust the exposure, contrast etc. I was asked to look at some photos taken with a digital camera from a night time car accident. Initially all we could see were some dots. Playing around a bit, we were able to bring out a lot of detail, cars, people, plate numbers, a lot. I felt like an archaeologist digging for artifacts as these things came in to view. It's worth a shot.