Canon heads: How do I use my camera at night outdoors? Ixy Digital 810 IS

[greatone632]

Whats good everyone.  I've always been under my brothers wings when it comes to taking pics.  He's got a good camera and I can always mooch of him when it comes to rehatching events and getting pics.  I'm off to Vegas this weekend and for some reason, I can never get pictures at night to turn out.  Assuming that people have gotten flash to work for the last how many years, I wouldn't see why mine couldn't take a good pic at night.  If I'm outdoors trying to take pics outside casinos at night or just pics of the hotels themselves, its gonna be nothing but black and gray as the settings are now.  I have tried to check into the night vision, but it seems like I'm either as dumb as a rock when it comes to this or just that the flash isn't capable of hitting a shot beyond 5 or 6 feet in the dark. 

Any words of advice for me?!  Thanks!

 

[greatone632]

Whats good everyone.  I've always been under my brothers wings when it comes to taking pics.  He's got a good camera and I can always mooch of him when it comes to rehatching events and getting pics.  I'm off to Vegas this weekend and for some reason, I can never get pictures at night to turn out.  Assuming that people have gotten flash to work for the last how many years, I wouldn't see why mine couldn't take a good pic at night.  If I'm outdoors trying to take pics outside casinos at night or just pics of the hotels themselves, its gonna be nothing but black and gray as the settings are now.  I have tried to check into the night vision, but it seems like I'm either as dumb as a rock when it comes to this or just that the flash isn't capable of hitting a shot beyond 5 or 6 feet in the dark. 

Any words of advice for me?!  Thanks!

 

[damnitzvin]

there are 3,000$ cameras that don't take good night pictures. night is easily the most difficult to take.

 

[damnitzvin]

there are 3,000$ cameras that don't take good night pictures. night is easily the most difficult to take.

 

[greatone632]

yeah i understand what u mean, but if I get a disposable camera and go to the top of one of the hotels to get a nightshot of everything lit up, it would at least turn out for me. probably not great. my camera, i wouldn't get anything out of it! theres gotta be a way

 

[greatone632]

yeah i understand what u mean, but if I get a disposable camera and go to the top of one of the hotels to get a nightshot of everything lit up, it would at least turn out for me. probably not great. my camera, i wouldn't get anything out of it! theres gotta be a way

 

[rap sizzle]

What exactly are you trying to take pictures of? Buildings and landscape? Flash is fine if you're taking pictures of people only a few feet away. For subjects like buildings and landscapes you'll have to use a slower shutter speed and/or high ISO, setting which can't usually be controlled by most point and shoot cameras. If you want decent shots outside at night, get a tripod or place your camera on something steady, otherwise you'll need to look into DSLRs if you really want to take good pictures at night.

 

[rap sizzle]

What exactly are you trying to take pictures of? Buildings and landscape? Flash is fine if you're taking pictures of people only a few feet away. For subjects like buildings and landscapes you'll have to use a slower shutter speed and/or high ISO, setting which can't usually be controlled by most point and shoot cameras. If you want decent shots outside at night, get a tripod or place your camera on something steady, otherwise you'll need to look into DSLRs if you really want to take good pictures at night.

 

[aldy]

.


^

This.

I absolutely hate taking pictures at Night or without much light actually..

My guess is, the only thing that could possibly help is an external flash.. or just mess with the settings like the person above stated.

I absolutely need an external flash.. but too cheap due to it being the holiday season.

 

[aldy]

.


^

This.

I absolutely hate taking pictures at Night or without much light actually..

My guess is, the only thing that could possibly help is an external flash.. or just mess with the settings like the person above stated.

I absolutely need an external flash.. but too cheap due to it being the holiday season.

 

[greatone632]

ok, thanks for the pointers so far. so let's have a hypothetical situation.. im outside on a balcony and want to take a picture of myself with the skyline in the backround. it should be okay taking a picture of myself, but when i want to take a pic of the landscape itself far off, im gonna get nothing but black. how do i adjust the speed/iso?

 

[greatone632]

ok, thanks for the pointers so far. so let's have a hypothetical situation.. im outside on a balcony and want to take a picture of myself with the skyline in the backround. it should be okay taking a picture of myself, but when i want to take a pic of the landscape itself far off, im gonna get nothing but black. how do i adjust the speed/iso?

 

[rap sizzle]

For landscape by itself, turn the flash off and place the camera on something stable. Putting it on self-timer will also help. If you want a picture of yourself with the background (landscape) also lit well, you have to change your setting to 'night portrait' or a setting similar to it.

 

[rap sizzle]

For landscape by itself, turn the flash off and place the camera on something stable. Putting it on self-timer will also help. If you want a picture of yourself with the background (landscape) also lit well, you have to change your setting to 'night portrait' or a setting similar to it.

 

[remarqable23]

Only thing you can really do is use a high ISO setting (1600+). If not, I hope you have a tripod handy.

 

[remarqable23]

Only thing you can really do is use a high ISO setting (1600+). If not, I hope you have a tripod handy.

 

[kdawg]

In the scenario you describe you want night portrait mode - it often has a picture of a person with a moon behind them as the icon.

What that does is use the flash to light you and then keeps the shutter open to expose the background. You need to keep still after the flash and you'll need a tripod or at least to put your camera on something.

You could do that in manual by setting a longish exposure but adding a flash at the beginning but it would be a bit of trial and error.

 

[kdawg]

In the scenario you describe you want night portrait mode - it often has a picture of a person with a moon behind them as the icon.

What that does is use the flash to light you and then keeps the shutter open to expose the background. You need to keep still after the flash and you'll need a tripod or at least to put your camera on something.

You could do that in manual by setting a longish exposure but adding a flash at the beginning but it would be a bit of trial and error.