What are the P&S that do nighttime pics the best?

[TigerLaw]

I am not a newbie, but by no means an expert (so I have enough knowledge just to be dangerous!) - I know this goes back to that point and shoots have sensor issues. Anyway, I have a Panasonic Tizzy and love it, love the zoom, and just wish it would do better w. low light pics (or in disney terms - the nighttime parades!)

For reasons beyond this post, I can't go the DSLR route, so ARE THERE point and shoots whose nightime picture capabilities are better than average for pointand shoots, and if so, what are they and why are they able to do better nighttime shots than other P&Ss?

also, one last question, are there any camera review websites that allow you to compare/rank cameras just on certain isues like how good it does w. low light situations?

thanks for the help!

 

[Nayan]

Well, my very pricey when I bought it Canon A630 will do just ok night shots but I suspect it's more me than the camera . Dpreview and Steve's Digicams are two of my favorite sites for info. Remember though that P&S cameras are limited and with the price of DSLR's dropping for good ones (that Rebel XS will be mine soon) maybe saving for awhile and grabbing one of these might be better for the shots you want to take.

 

[boBQuincy]

Canon's S90 and G11 share a sensor that has some of the largest pixels for a P&S, these cameras are better than most for low-light work. ISO 400 is good and 800 is decent, plus they can use RAW.

If you consider the micro 4/3 to be P&S then those models are another step up, with their very large sensors (for a P&S). They are also a step up in $$$ but offer interchangeable lenses.

 

[Frantasmic]

Your best bets to look at are the Canon S90, the Canon G11, the Fuji FinePix F70EXR, and the new Sony WX1/B.

Google reviews for these cameras and if you want to see pictures from these cameras, you can usually do that by googling the camera name + flickr for groups on the flickr website or by seeing if anyone has submitted pictures on Amazon as part of their reviews.

Finally, for the Canon cameras, google canon forums and go to the first link that comes up. Then, go to Cameras and find the thread with that cameras pictures on it.

The Fuji looks promising, but the reviews are not as good as the others. Popular Photography reviewed the Sony in its March issue and gave it high marks. The S90 and the G11 are both good, solid cameras that should give you better low-light performance than the average point and shoot.

Still, none of these are going to get as good as the pictures you see here of low-light subjects.

EDIT: Bob snuck in on me with the Canon S90 and G11 suggestions while I was writing this.

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

My only suggestion would be to make sure that your P&S has some manual capabilities that allows you to take some control over your settings - our old Powershot A570IS (which I still take with us even though we have a DSLR) has full Manual mode, Aperture and Shutter Priority modes. If you can get one that allows you to use a remote shutter, that would be a plus, otherwise I've used the self timer option.