Which Digital Camera is great for inside shots?

[tink4ever]

Hi Right now I have the kodak easy share camera with the 10x zoom and every picture it takes inside are awful. We will be at BCV in 2 weeks and I am frantically trying to find the best camera. I have asked everyone I know and they all have different opinions. I have gone on the Nikon, Olympus, Sony and Canon websites to read reviews etc and now I am more confused than ever. I have been reading the dis boards about it and well I was just hoping someone could tell me which camera they think might fit my needs. 1) I would like a slim camera, 2) I would like atleast 5 mp 3) I would like to be able to take great shots inside and outside at night. help I am so confused. Thanks

 

[Charade]

What do you mean by awful? Do you have any samples online you can share?

 

[ndelaware]

All of the small digital cameras I have seen really struggle with poor flash pictures and noise at high ISOs. Hopefully someone knows of one that fits your needs but if you want really good night pictures you made need to go to a DSLR. And a DSLR is a lot of things but slim isn't one of them.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

^^ what ndelaware said about dSLR ^^

The closest thing to that is Fuji F10. Very useable at ISO400, virtually no shutter lag (for a P/S). Too bad it's too tiny for my taste.

 

[safetymom]

I have a Nikon and a Olympus that does well with indoor and outdoor shots. There are usually settings on the digital camera for night shots.

 

[tink4ever]

Thank you for showing me your pictures. They are great. My kodak easy share does not take such great pictures. But maybe it could also be the photographer. Well again thanks and I have olympus and nikon on my list of good cameras so I will have to check those out. Thanks

 

[tink4ever]

Hi: No I don't have any samples online to show. I will have to learn how to do that. My teenage kids are trying to help me. The kodak just takes very dark pictures inside and at night. We have tried the night vision and it doesn't seem to help. But again I am not the greatest at picture taking so that is why I am hoping to find a simple camera that you just aim and shoot inside and out. Thanks

 

[safetymom]

I suggest reading the manual and practicing with your camera. The problem with digital cameras is that everyone thinks it is foolproof. You still need to read and practice. Even the pros don't have every shot come out great.

 

[PaulD]

Unfortunately, night shots are not terribly easy. Regardless of what camera you own (P&S or dSLR) when it gets dark you are probably going to have to do one of two things:

1. Use flash and forget about the background. This way at least you will get a photo of the people in the foreground but your background will be dark. With a P&S camera the flash will generally illuminate out to about 10 feet or so (see your manual). Auto mode will probably work fine to accomplish this.

2. (harder) Use a tripod (or another steady surface) to steady your camera. In order to get those background details to show up you will need a longer exposure than you can reasonably handle by just hand holding your camera. If you try, you will get blurry photos because your hand moves. Hence, the need for a tripod. Your camera should have a night shot mode to make this easier but steadying the camera is absolutely essential.

Your camera is probably more than capable of taking a good shot at night it's just that you have to work within it's limitations. A different camera may make it a little easier (higher ISO capability, larger max aperture, image stabilization) but you'll still eventually have the same problems.

Take a look at the following thread where this issue was discussed previously: http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=987997. There's some good advice in there.

Good luck!

 

[PaulD]

By the way, I'll be down there in two weeks too!! I'm going for two weeks; the first at VWL and the second at BCV. WOO HOO !!

 

[Kelly Grannell]

Your camera is probably more than capable of taking a good shot at night it's just that you have to work within it's limitations. A different camera may make it a little easier (higher ISO capability, larger max aperture, image stabilization) but you'll still eventually have the same problems.

Good luck!

Well, it depend on what considered as "eventually having the same problems". By setting my dSLR to ISO 1600, I don't have any problem in taking 80% of my night shots, handheld and still getting the background very clearly.

For example:

Small Word, ISO 1600, handheld, no flash

Castle, ISO 1600, handheld, no flash

Those were all taken at approximately 1/60 sec shutter speed, the speed required for flash in most camera's auto mode. So if I have people that I want to illuminate in front of all those objects, I just need to turn the flash on and I will still get those objects.

Now with the advent of better dSLR, one can even use ISO3200 with the same quality as the pictures above. Meaning? Unless you WANT low shutter speed, even for night mode you no longer need a tripod and you WILL get the foreground and the background with no problem whatsoever.

 

[PaulD]

Those were all taken at approximately 1/60 sec shutter speed, the speed required for flash in most camera's auto mode. So if I have people that I want to illuminate in front of all those objects, I just need to turn the flash on and I will still get those objects..

I actually have the same same camera as you (Canon Digital Rebel) and have used it extensively at the parks. But by looking at the EXIF for the photos you've included I found that only the first was taken at 1/60. The next two were taken at 1/40 and 1/15. The problem is that the subjects of these photos are all fairly brightly illuminated. They just happen to exist in a dark environment. Most people can get good results at 1/60 (depending on zoom) but 1/15 will require stabilization.

Here's an example taken at 15 sec:

I'll grant that had I taken it at ISO 1600 I could have cut the exposure to 1 sec but it still would have needed stabilization. People can always look through their archives and find a good looking 1 sec hand held shot but that will always be the exception. And there are always going to be those brightly lit background subjects that look ok at 1/60 sec. But in the end, a good portion of those can't be photographed without a tripod (or other stabilization - see the thread I mentioned above). This is especially true if you are using a P&S, most of which max out at ISO 400.

So, my point is that even with more expensive gear or by moving to a dSLR you're only pushing back that point where you need to revert to a tripod. But, you're right that sometimes this small difference is all that's needed in a particular situation.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

So, my point is that even with more expensive gear or by moving to a dSLR you're only pushing back that point where you need to revert to a tripod. But, you're right that sometimes this small difference is all that's needed in a particular situation.

True... sometimes I wish I carry my studio camera so I can have ISO3200 setting. Especially after walking around for the entire day.